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

Guided Walk, salt marsh and dunes... Three hardy souls joined me this morning for a look at the plants and animals of the salt marsh and the dunes. The morning was briefly overcast and gloomy, but soon the skies cleared and a gentle breeze developed, by the end of the walk it was quite warm. The salt marsh at Pembrey burrows is a key element of its designations as an SSSI, along with the other joint designations the reserve has of Special Area of Conservation, (SAC), and Special Protected Area, (SPA). For interest here is a taste of why the whole of the Carmarthen Bay is so important. The Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries SAC is a multiple interest site which has been selected for the presence of ten interest features that qualify under Annex I and Annex II of the Habitats Directive. For the qualifying habitats and species the SAC is considered to be one of the best areas in the UK for:  • Estuaries   • Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide   • Atla

Autumn must be on the way..... Cool misty morning at Pembrey Burrows & Saltings Local Nature Reserve Yesterday (Saturday) evening I decided it was time to go and try and catch some of the 1000+ Swallows and sand Martins which are roosting in the reed bed at the Pembrey Burrows reserve. It was a lovely evening and I did manage to ring 65 Barn Swallows and Two Sand martins along with a few Reed and Sedge Warblers. Barn Swallow, this is a bird hatched this year, look at the pale forehead! measuring the wing of Barn Swallow, wing length is one of several "biometrics" taken during the ringing process This morning I was on the reserve at 04:45hrs with a three net set in the reed and scrub areas, again a successful morning. The ringing totals for the two sessions is as follows. Barn Swallow 65, Sand Martin 2, Sedge Warbler 9 Reed Warbler 7 Willow Warbler 1 Blackcap 1 Common Whitethroat 3 Robin 2 Goldfinch 1 Blue T