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

Frost....... A crisp morning with actual ice on the windscreen of the van, and frost on the ground on the reserve must mean its winter? Arriving at just before 07:30hrs, to the sun just peeking over the horizon the first bird I saw as I drove across the reserve was the ♂ Merlin, typically the light was all wrong and despite the bird being very obliging it didn't wait for me to position the van properly. This was the best of an in car photo I could muster. Merlin ♂ The bird then flew and landed on the far side of the field sat on what is becoming a favourite post. A quite uneventful walk out to the beach was followed by an equally uneventful walk east along the beach, although finding a James Bond style speed boat, albeit old battered and without an engine, was a surprise. I guess it can't be allowed to stay there, or to float away on the next high tides, (its safe for now) so it becomes another job!! For those of you with absolutely nothing b

Winter is here, meteorologically speaking anyway.. A cool dawn with an  overcast sky saw me setting up a few nets in the Willow and Reed areas, after a quiet start the pace picked up with 13 Reed Buntings in the Reed net, along with last weeks Cetti's Warbler. The Willow bush net produced a single Chaffinch and a lonely Blue Tit. There were several Water Rail calling in the reeds but none would react to the tape lure. Three Red-breasted Mergansers flew over heading West Its good to get a few reed Buntings ringed as there are a lot on site and they do move about the area. Reed Bunting ♂ With today being volunteer day we set off on a few tasks, pot hole filling and putting up a few signs, well nothing is straight forward but suffice to say pot holes filled and a sign up before lunch, but not before being pleased to see a HEN HARRIER , quartering the lower and middle marsh, it was a "ringtail" which means it was either a female or an immature. specie

Ups and downs, disappointments and surprises.... Every day that I turn up at Pembrey Burrows reserve, I wonder what I am going to find, something unusual, a surprise maybe a new bird or insect; in the back of my  mind is always the thought "what have the humans been up to...". Yesterday was no exception so when I got to the information shelter and noticed the tide tables had been moved and the leaflet dispensers were mixed up I knew something odd had happened. This thought was confirmed when I found some of the information signs had holes in them, made by air rifle pellets, then the bits of chipped wood lying on the floor confirmed that some git had been using the shelter for target practise...... Despite being disappointed I guess that I should be grateful that its the first incident in nearly twelve months, so I replaced the damaged signs and wait with anticipation . Today a new day and a new month, a cooler feel and a light Easterly breeze soon found the reserve