ITVX an opportunity

 Bore da pawb

Wel, mae'r wythnos wedi bod mor gymysg ag erioed, gyda tipio anghyfreithlon, difrod, ac ymddangosiad teledu, a hynny ddydd Llun yn unig.

Bu cynnydd yn y tipio gwastraff adeiladu yn anghyfreithlon, y diweddaraf ychydig gilometrau yn unig o ddepo ailgylchu Trostre.

Mae cyfarfod defnyddiol gyda Jason, Swyddog Diogelwch Coed y Sir, yn ein Gwarchodfa Natur Leol Morfa Berwig i wirio rhes o Elms marw, yn rhoi dial dros dro iddynt rhag gorfod cael eu cwympo, byddwn wrth gwrs yn monitro'r sefyllfa'n rheolaidd, efallai na fydd y coed ynn gerllaw mor lwcus, gydag arwydd o'r clefyd y bydd angen iddynt hwythau hefyd eu monitro.

Yna, aeth i Barc Gwledig Llyn Llech Owain i gwrdd â Lewis, gohebydd gydag ITVX, a Liam ei ddyn camera am ddarn byr ar gadwraeth a bioamrywiaeth y Parc Gwlad.

Dim ond dydd Llun oedd hynny!

Why Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is a wildlife haven with a legend at its heart - Latest From ITV News

Well, the week has been as mixed as ever, with fly tipping, damage, and a television  appearance, and that was just Monday.

There has been an increase in the fly tipping of builder’s waste, the latest just a few kilometres from the Trostre recycling depot.

A useful meeting with Jason, the County’s Tree Safety Officer, at our Morfa Berwig Local Nature Reserve to check on a row of dead Elms, gives them temporary reprieve from having to be felled, we will of course monitor the situation regularly, the nearby Ash trees may not be so lucky, with sign of disease they too will need monitoring.

It was then off to Llyn Llech Owain Country Park to meet up with Lewis, a reporter with ITVX, and Liam his camera man for a short piece on the conservation and biodiversity of the Country Park. 

(Not sure about the tame Little Owl though!)

And that was only Monday!

Mixed week.

 Bore da Pawb

Mae'n braf cael rhywfaint o dywydd gaeafol, oer a sych, mae'r ddaear yn gyffredinol yn dal yn wlyb dan draed ond nid mor ddrwg ag i atal gwaith tir.

Wythnos gymysg sydd wedi golygu talgrynnu 20 o wartheg oedd yn meddwl bod cerdded ar y traeth yn syniad da ar brynhawn Gwener, er gwaethaf ein hymdrechion gorau fe gymerodd ychydig oriau i'w darbwyllo mai digon oedd digon, gyda'r ffermwr yn ennill y dydd.

Roedd hi'n braf mynd allan a gwneud cwpl o ymweliadau safle ym Mharc Gwledig Llyn Llech Owain a Pharc Coetir Mynydd Mawr, gan wirio ar y gwaith sydd wedi cael ei wneud dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf.

Yn Llyn Llech Owain neu'n benodol adran Carmel Cernydd roeddwn wedi arbrofi gyda chrafu'r tir i reoli rhedyn, mae un maes wedi dangos gwelliant tra bod un arall wedi trawsnewid o rhedyn i Heather, buddugoliaeth fach ond yn ddangosydd o reolaeth bosibl yn y dyfodol. Doeddwn i ddim yn rhy falch o weld adfywio Lodgepole Pine, mae angen mynd i'r afael â hyn yn fuan dim ond trwy dynnu llaw neu dorri i ffwrdd ar lefel y ddaear.

Its nice to have some winter weather, cold and dry, the ground is generally still wet underfoot but not so bad as to stop land work.

A mixed week which has involved rounding up 20 cattle who thought a walk on the beach was a good idea on a Friday afternoon, despite our best efforts it took a few hours to convince them that enough was enough, with the farmer winning the day.

It was nice to get out and do a couple of site visits at Llyn Llech Owain Country Park and Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park, checking on work under taken over the past few years. 

At Llyn Llech Owain or  specifically the Cernydd Carmel section I had experimented with scraping the ground to control bracken, one area has shown improvement whilst another has transitioned from bracken to Heather, a small triumph but an indicator of possible future management. 

Lodgepole pine

I wasn't too pleased to see regeneration of Lodgepole Pine, this needs tackling soon just by hand pulling or cutting off at ground level.

At Mynydd Mawr, I wanted to check the condition of the meadow area where previously most of the Willow scrub had been cleared in rotation - well as expected it needs doing again. Its such a big job that the most effective answer is to use machinery to cut and collect the arisings; this will probably be a job for the Autumn of 2025 rather than sooner, the meadow won't suffer from not being cut earlier, if you have never visited June is a good time to see the range of Orchids.

Heath Spotted Orchid

How it all started.

 

Croseo pawb,

Rwyf bob amser wedi bod â diddordeb dwfn yn y byd naturiol sy'n cael ei feithrin gan fy rhieni a brodyr a chwiorydd. Dylanwad mawr arna i oedd cyfres Ladybird o lyfrau, yn enwedig y tymhorau. Faint o ddarllenwyr hefyd oedd â'r llyfrau hyn yr oeddynt, yn eu hamser, y llyfrau mwyaf hygyrch ac rwy'n ddyledus iawn i'r awdur a'r artist.

Diddorol yw darllen rhai o'r sylwadau yn y llyfrau ac adlewyrchu sut mae ein byd naturiol wedi newid; Er enghraifft, cyfeirir at y telor cyrs fel "ymwelydd sy'n pasio i Loegr yn unig" pan ddechreuais wylio adar yn iawn Ystyriwyd bod Pwll Cynffig "ar eu terfyn gorllewinol o'u hystod" nawr maent i'w gweld ledled y wlad.

 

I have always had a deep interest in the natural world fostered by my parents and siblings. A big influence on me were the Ladybird series of books, especially the seasons. How many readers also had these books they were, in their time, the most accessible of books and I owe the writer and artist  a huge debt of gratitude.

It is interesting to read some of the comments in the books and reflect how our natural world has changed; for example, the reed warbler is referred to as “only a passing visitor to England” when I first started birdwatching properly Kenfig Pool was considered to be “on their western limit of their range” now they are found across the country.

I hope I haven't pushed my Welsh translation too far this week!

Despite still being in winter now is the time to start looking out for Frogs and possibly Toads being out, Frog spawn could be anywhere there is a pool of water whilst toad spawn will need water with some depth. As long as the weather doesn't turn "beastly" the spawn should survive. As I mentioned recently any area with Frogs or Toads could turn up the feeding signs of Otter, Polecat or  Mink all of which enjoy "frogs legs"

I recently watched a film on YouTube, Europe's lost paradise -The untold story of Hollands wild side, a great watch with a feeling of "why can't we have more of this in the UK- well worth a watch.

Something to watch out for, (a bit early yet but soon)

Mink sighted, or was it?

 Bore da Pawb

Rwy'n ceisio ysgrifennu rhywfaint o'r blog yn Gymraeg, y rhai ohonoch sy'n gallu darllen Cymraeg, cysylltwch â mi a dywedwch wrthyf pa mor bell i ffwrdd yw fy 

I am attempting to write some of the blog in Welsh, those of you who can read Welsh please get in touch and tell me how far off my translation is.

Rydym wedi derbyn adroddiad o Minc Americanaidd ym Mharc Gwledig Pen-bre, nid y cofnod y byddwn i wedi'i ddymuno, mae'n haeddu ymchwiliad pellach.

We have received a report of an American Mink at Pembrey Country Park, not the record I would have wanted, it does warrant further investigation.

Lets see how the Welsh translation has worked, before I do more!

There have also been, confirmed, reports in the last month of a Polecat, we know we have a healthy population of pure Polecats in the park and on the Pembrey Burrows LNR - did you know their eyes shine blue in torchlight!

Whilst on the subject of the Mustelid family it will soon be time for the annual decimation of the Common Toad population by Otters, how any toads survive at all amazes me when you see the carnage caused by the otters which we have filmed munching away on this amphibian - well that's nature. look out for the front half of the toads, the Otters don't eat the front end where the toxic substances are stored in glands behind the head, Polecats will bite in to the skulls, one way of determining who the murderer is!

Barn Owl !

Bore da pawb,

 A week of head work and meetings, which always hurt, but I have managed to get out and about, Monday was brilliant working alongside the conservation volunteers, there's no denying they certainly graft.

Litter remains an on going issue with a small cohort of volunteers beavering away at the eastern end of Pembrey Burrows - a huge thank you - luckily the sand gods were with me and I managed to drive almost to "the Nose" and collect the bags not something that is possible very often.

Friday was a nice day to check on contractors at the Morfa Berwig LNR, and after cleaning a most bizarre array of litter, (I won't go into the details in case I have any sensitive followers) I met up with Agnieszka and Jim from Wild-Horizons to consider a Willow Tit Survey at Morfa Berwig LNR, the habitat is perfect for them, and already having ringed an individual a few years ago we know they are about.. I'll let you know what happens.

Wild Horizons

Whilst showing the people around I came across a Barn Owl pellet on the top of a fence post, I am delighted to have found this, evidence that Barn Owls are around, worryingly though the fence post and the field I presume they would be hunting are adjacent to the A484. Something to keep an eye on.

Do you know how to tell the difference between ♂ and ♀ Barn Owls? you do need decent lighting conditions but the ♀ has a darker back than the ♂ and if you see them, the ♀ sometimes has spots on the chest but as I said you need good light to be certain.

Exciting plans 2025

 Croeso pawb,

I mentioned that I had some exciting plans for 2025, as ever funding will always be the major influencer, but I have to be confident that funding will be available, after all Wales is in a Nature and Climate emergency and we can't fight it without support.

Bat survey report

A fundamental part of managing any site for conservation is knowing what is there, during 2024 ecologists carried out a total of eight ecological surveys across five of our sites, looking at flora,  invertebrates, birds, dormice, and bats. So 2024 became the year we knew a lot more about biodiversity in Carmarthenshire than we have for a long time. Coupled with this our volunteers continued their usual surveys of butterflies, bees and reptiles all adding to the knowledge base.

One area we know little about, or rather I know little about, is Ffynnon Helyg, just what is this body of water, local experts tell me its a brackish lagoon a rare habitat in Wales , well there's only one way to find out; a survey of the aquatic and marginal environment should give me an answer, consultants will be commissioned to carry out the necessary surveys during spring and summer 2025 so watch this space !

Sand Martin nesting box

 I am hopeful that we will also be able to   mitigate for the loss of Sand Martin nesting   sites on the ash cliffs, due to erosion, at Burry  Port East beach; by providing artificial   nesting sites. I have my fingers crossed that   funds will come through... but where to put   them? any ideas welcome

I've got a few more projects "on the shelf" lets see if the funds appear!

 

Winter visitors

 Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, pawb.

I hope you have had  an enjoyable and restful Christmas and New Year.

Just a short blog this week to highlight some of the best sightings of the year so far, just two days!

A properly crisp winters day was a good excuse to get out and do some survey work, a few highlights.

Hen Harrier ♂ (library free to use image)

The clear winner in any highlight competition will be the stunning adult male Hen Harrier that graced the Pembrey Saltmarsh.

Closely followed by a real surprise in the form of a  Water Pipit.

Water Pipit, (BTO)

A single Marsh Harrier, four Jack Snipe, 26 Snipe, and at least 50 Skylarks added to the species list.

Anyone visiting Pembrey country Park should slow down as they approach the entry barriers as most of the day a mixed flock of, Chaffinches, Siskin and Goldfinch feeds on the crushed tree seeds 

Looking forward into 2025, I'm hopeful of a few exciting projects taking place, however as always it will be down to the availability of funds, more details as ideas unfold.