Paul's Blog - All comments and views are my own,

Taste of Spring..... With a high tide of 9.4m at 07:48hrs, this morning was perfect for a Sea watch. I joined Adam Dare at CE53 around 06:50 hrs, as it turned out there was little happening as far as I could see, up to 5 Great Crested Grebes flying in all directions offshore, a few Common Scoter and the odd very distant diver. The high tide flooded the area of land to the seaward side of the main track, the area is in field 2 and we are hoping that Lapwing may find it suitable to raise a family, they certainly tried in 2015. not usually flooded except by the very highest tides, perfect for waders to nest? With effect from today dog walkers are asked to keep dogs on a lead in field 2 and also all of the reserve East of the information shelter, this is to give ground nesting birds a chance at breeding; it will prove a challenge I think..... There were quite a lots of birds on the flooded marsh, best counts were; Common Shelduck 29, Redshank 80+, Teal 50+ plus the usu

In like a Lion? hope it goes out like a Lamb The forecast was spot on and the morning arrived with strong winds and a little rain, the gusts were very strong and made walking difficult. As its Wednesday the volunteer group duly reported for duty and we set off to remove some of the larger debris from the beach in front of the reserve. Quite frankly it was too windy to stand and take photographs but the effect of the wind on the sand and the pools of sea water was something to see. After filling the back of the pickup and depositing the discarded fishing nets in the yard we had a spot of lunch fortifying ourselves for the emergency fencing that needed to be done. This is the way the contractors put in fence posts. This is the way we carry out emergency repairs, I know which looks easier but half the fun.

Big Skies and busy busy ...... The picture does not capture these dense old clouds inland from the estuary I've been a bit busy over the last few days, well too busy to write the blog plus its been a bit quiet. Carmarthen Bay is really one of the Big Sky parts of the UK the formations are, at times, awe inspiring the scene above, although inland was fitting for the time of day, late evening, and the temperature at around 4'c. In my last blog I mentioned  that the small red Kite was feeding on something on a post, well a bit of a walk and I found out it was a rabbit, not much left now just a few bones and the skin. After watching the same bird today ( a few primary feathers are damaged in the left wing) actively hunting the marsh just like a harrier would I'm wondering if it had caught the rabbit as I rarely find dead rabbits lying around. The bird was being mobbed by a Little Egret, a pair of Carrion Crows and then 7 Shelduck joined in the fray. This is w