Welcome to the 2011 season of Peregrines on the Clock Tower.

There has been plenty of activity around the tower in the last few weeks - in fact the adults have not left all winter. Perhaps more surprising is that 2 of the youngsters from last year have also been putting in occasional appearances.

3 weeks ago the young female was flying around calling for food when the adult male flew in clutching a bird in its talons. Then last week I was lucky enough to see the young male tearing at a carcass alongside his mother - who didn't seem to mind the intrusion, although he only butted in once she had eaten her fill!

The bad news this, as far as we're concerned, is it looks like they're going to use the nest on the north face of the tower. This will make life difficult for all of us trying to watch what's going on.

It's not all doom and gloom though, we can still see the nest - just not as well as the one on the east side - and we'll be able to see the adults bringing food into the chicks a little later in the summer.

Here's to a successful 2011 season.

Breaking news

Female appears to have started incubating.

Dim ond un wythnos sydd ar ôl bellach i ysgolion anfon eu data tywydd atom ni. Mae llawer wedi gwneud yn barod ac maen nhw ar eu ffordd i gael tystysgrifau gwyddonwyr gwych.

Hyd yn hyn yr wythnos hon, rydw i wedi derbyn 305 o gofnodion! Bydd yr ysgolion sydd wedi cadw cofnod orau yn cael y cyfle i ennill taith weithgareddau natur. Byddwn yn dewis ac yn cyhoeddi’r enillydd ddydd Iau nesaf!

Erbyn hyn hefyd mae adroddiadau o flodau wedi’n cyrraedd o bob cwr o Gymru. Dwi mor falch bod cymaint o flodau wedi goroesi’r gaeaf caled. Fe gollodd rhai ysgolion eu cennin Pedr i’r rhew – dyna biti mawr – ond bydd tystysgrif ar eu cyfer nhw hefyd am fod yn wyddonwyr mor dda.

Bwlb dirgel eleni yw’r tiwlip. Dwi’n hoffi’r blodyn yma am ei fod mor lliwgar.

Ar ddydd Sadwrn 2 Ebrill, byddwn ni’n cynnal diwrnod o weithgareddau natur yn Sain Ffagan. Cliciwch ar y ddolen i weld ffilmiau byr am ystlumod ac anifeiliaid arbennig eraill sy’n byw yn Sain Ffagan.

Archaeologists from University College London and Cardiff University have been excavating remains of Isca, the Second Augustan Legion’s permanent fortress, since 2007. The area excavated has centrered on a building in Priory Field, located in modern day Caerleon, South Wales.   

Excavations in summer 2010 focused on an area of a courtyard building, with evidence to suggest it was a warehouse. A room in this building revealed some very exciting finds: the apparent remains of Roman body armour, ‘lorica segmentata’.

Archaeologists spent days carefully exposing these rare finds, which seem to have been thrown haphazardly on the floor of the warehouse.

These fragile artefacts were then carefully removed by conservators from the National Museum of Wales. The exposed objects were wrapped in Clingfilm, to prevent them from being contaminated by the materials used to support them.

Plaster of Paris bandages, similar to those used in hospitals, were very useful for holding these soil blocks together, and preventing damage to the artefacts whilst in transit.

Once the plaster had set, the team undercut the plaster blocks: this was a tense moment, as the archaeologists did not want to cut through any material that they could not see.

Supporting the artefacts with robust materials meant that they could be driven back to the National Museum at Cathay’s park safely. There they will be re-opened and carefully micro-excavated in the conservation laboratory.

The largest of the blocks removed measures about a metre squared, and had to be carried into the museum by 6 men, given its weight.

Progress of the investigation of this block will be recorded here.

Ar 2 Ebrill byddwn yn lansio prosiect Archwilio Natur. Bydd digonedd o weithgareddau ar gael, felly cofiwch ymweld â’r blog a twitter am fwy o wybodaeth.

Fel rhan o’r lansiad byddaf i’n cynnal sesiwn celf a chrefft yn ymwneud ag adar. Os ydych â diddordeb mewn gwinïo, bydd cyfle i wneud bathodynnau neu bypedau bys, ac i’r plantos bach thaumatropes sy’n troi.

Rhag ofn nad ydych yn gwybod beth yw thaumatropes (doedd dim syniad gen i!), cylchoedd papur ydynt sydd, fel arfer, â llun aderyn ar un ochr a chaets yr ochr arall. Pan ydych yn eu troi mae’n ymddangos fel bod yr aderyn yn y caets. Gan ein bod yn dathlu natur, yn hytrach na chyfyngu yr adar i gaets, fe fyddwn ni’n eu dangos yn hedfan.