Pembroke Millponds Projects
OTTER SURVEY
AIMS:
To carry out a year-long study in the Pembroke River catchment area
To collect data by making fortnightly visits to spraint sites, in order to build up a picture of Otter activity and behaviour
To raise the profile of Otters, and to encourage the reporting of all evidence by using simple record sheets and/or Otter postcards designed for the purpose
To develop a database for all records - sightings, road casualties and spraint records.
Project update
Since last summer 10 volunteers have been regularly surveying the Pembroke River catchment areas for Otter Spraints.
The areas being surveyed are as follows:-
Quoits Mill, Monkton
Pembroke Castle Pond
Middle Pond
Upper Pond/Little Gates
Holyland Reed bed boardwalks
Lamphey Bishops Palace
Commons Stream
Water Lane off Lower Lamphey Road
Results to date are good, and show that Otters are present along the Pembroke river and its tributaries at all times of the year, with Castle Pond and Underpass to Upper Millpond being the current Otter ‘hot spots’.
There have been several recent local sightings of Otters, and anyone wanting to become involved with the project, or who would simply like to see spraints, please contact
Nikki Anderson, Project Coordinator - 01646 686469
Otter spraint seen on the Barrage
The nocturnal activities of some of Pembroke’s residents are the subject of a three year study by Pembroke 21C Community Association Ltd. This is not a new neighbourhood watch scheme but a scientific study into the secret lives of the bats which use the town’s millpond and Holyland Wood.
It is already known that greater horseshoe, lesser horseshoe and pipistrelle bats use the area and it is hoped that the information gathered over the three years will provide detailed information about these priority species which will feed into a national species database. Pembroke 21C are indebted to the Pembrokeshire Bat Group as the project could not have taken place without their expertise. David Harries from the local bat Group has been instrumental in devising a protocol for the study and leading the initial survey work.
Pembrokeshire Bat Group chairman, Dr. Robin Crump, said he was ‘delighted the group and David Harries in particular, was supporting the Pembroke 21C project, which will involve volunteers from the Pembroke community recording bat activity around the Pembroke Millponds and Holyland Wood over the next three years.’
Funding for the project came from a successful bid by Pembroke 21C to Countryside Council for Wales’ Species Challenge Fund. As a community project Pembroke 21C are looking for volunteers who would like to learn more about bat detecting and who could help with the survey over the coming years.
Any queries, contact Karen Houser at Pembroke 21C
if you would like to find out more about the Pembrokeshire Bat Group check out their website www.pembsbats.org.uk