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

Another year draws to a close, it's worrying how quickly the years seem to pass when you reach a certain point in life, that's why you need to make the most of every day. After a wild night (weather wise of course) it was Morfa Berwig this morning, to be greeted with a late Christmas present in the form of an old fridge! THANKS !! Still a walk around the reserve soon cheered me up with good numbers of birds present in the mild conditions: WATER RAIL, MOORHEN, MALLARD, WILLOW TIT, BLUE & GREAT TITS, LONG-TAILED TITS, SONG THRUSH, JAY, BLACKBIRD, LITTLE EGRET, and fly over HERRING GULLS Along the tarmac track there's an Ivy plant growing over some trees with the most incredible colours, very festive.... Ivy, spp Well until 2018 take care everyone and God bless.

My plan was to "go for the owls" again this afternoon, so at I rocked up to the info' hut to find a small crowd of five people looking for the Short-eared Owls great, NO SIGN of them so far apparently. Well one duly appeared and soon there were three hunting the dunes and marsh, the photographers , Ray and a mate of his, clicked away and I'm sure they had some decent shots, myself well nothing I would put on the blog! Ray and his mate left and I sat in the van drinking coffee from my new flask (which I've already dropped!) As I sat catching up on my "tweets" out of the corner of my eye no more than 50feet away a SHORT EARED OWL perched on a fence post. what a bit of luck, shame it was behind a branch which the camera kept focussing on... still here is a video or two and a photo of my own. In the second video you can make out the "ears" which are modified feathers., it was watching an approaching dog.

Quite a decent frost this morning, saw me at the Morfa Berwig reserve to retrieve the trail camera which I set yesterday evening...... Two very regular visitors to the reserve reported seeing an OTTER in the Afon Goch, we know Otters visit the reserve but to have a sighting is great. I have been talking about putting the camera out as there have been signs of Otters for a few weeks with the information received it seemed like a good idea. Disappointedly there were no otters caught on camera, in fact nothing stirred during the night to set the camera off, this morning I had to break the ice from the post the camera was on to get it out of the river which was frozen with a decent layer of ice. So all I've got are the sounds of the birds flying over! Ignore the time, it was actually 15:35 Frosty Camera! As I was leaving the reserve I stopped to make a phone call and noticed the lightening blue of a KINGFISHER perched over one of the ditches, I took a record

A damp mizzly sort of morning, but with the right clothing nothing to stop a decent walk around the Pembrey Reserve. Nothing of note just good numbers of the common birds, with BULLFINCH, ROBIN, SONG THRUSH, FIELDFARE, BALCKBIRD SKYLARK AND STONECHAT all present. A GREAT CRESTED GREBE off shore and 21 CORMORANTS, 29 RINGED PLOVER, 8 SANDERLING and c2000 OYSTERCATCHERS around CE51. Clearly the excitement was yesterday when Jean Dovey was on site, armed with her camera she managed to capture some lovely shots of two SHORT-EARED OWLS, in what were clearly poor light conditions. Its great to see that the owls have stayed around the area, although catching up with them is a bit of trial and error . SEASONS GREETING TO ALL BLOG READERS.....

It's Wednesday, regular readers know that means it's volunteer day. Today we journeyed to the NE corner of the county to the Ynys Dawela Nature Park. In typical December weather of light rain and mist we tackled a few jobs, including removing some fencing - seems we always remove fences- the usual litter pick and a   Knotweed survey ready for dealing with in 2018, there was very little Knotweed found. Just how deep is this pond? It is a wonderful location and the recent management work on the dipping pond, the "meadows" and areas of woodland will enhance the respective habitats for the Marsh Fritillary and allow light to the woodland floor to enrich the flora. Mown meadow There were good sized mixed flocks of birds moving through the woods with TREECREEPER, NUTHATCH, BLUE, GREAT AND LONG-TAILED TITS, a few JAYS moving through and the ubiquitous GREY SQUIRREL. The photo doesn't do the actual scene justice, ..all was calm and still.....

I was expecting help in the form of a volunteer group this morning, unfortunately they cancelled at the last minute, these things happen..... Being the OCD organised person I am I had already prepped a lot of work which needed to be finished, (I'd made such a mess I couldn't leave it) The Berwig roundabout entrance is getting there, it was a bit muddy after the alterations, but now there is space for at least eight carefully parked cars enough for any events we hold there. Interesting birds today, using the winter feeding station I've been given permission to set up, and already I can confirm the presence of WILLOW TIT, and a gang of COAL TITS. Willow Tits are RED listed which means they are of the highest conservation concern in the UK, Carmarthenshire has a reasonable population of these very fussy birds.     Willow Tit

I helped out with the WEBS counts this morning on Cefn Sidan, between CE59 and Tywyn Point. Although the tide was against us we managed to get decent coverage, best were       c3000 KNOT, c300 Sanderling, c350 WIGEON, and then a GREAT WHITE EGRET on the sands off Kidwelly Quay. There were small skiens of BRENT GEESE moving in the estuary and COMMON SCOTER obvious offshore but not really countable from the beach probably c1000 Back at Pembrey a ringtail, HEN HARRIER put in the briefest of views as it scattered CURLEW, TEAL, SNIPE and LITTLE EGRETS out of the Swan drain. The recent cold weather has resulted in an arrival of birds hopefully they will find the area to their liking and hang around for the rest of the winter. The contractor work at Morfa Berwig LNR is finished just some tidying up to do, it's very muddy "offroad" which is to be expected, the tarmac paths will be swept in the next week or so. Wigeon, Pembrey Burrows LNR - photo Colin D

I went back to Morfa Berwig, in drier conditions than yesterday, to take photographs of the management work being carried out. Now its a wetland site so any work at any time of year will be muddy, and current conditions are no exception. With the entrance on the Berwig roundabout having received a makeover it looks a lot more inviting, when signage is in place it will look even better. Berwig roundabout entrance, south west corner of reserve on A484 Management of the Willow and Gorse is essential as in short order they can both dominate the other vegetation, only about a third of each patch of scrub that needs controlling has been done and the result is open areas which will catch the sun allowing a richer diversity of plants and inverts' to colonise the areas until the scrub needs controlling again. Brownfield area Field 1 Yes it looks a mess and it's certainly muddy, but in  my opinion its a job well done, and in a few months you will not recognise t

I couldn't resist, Colin Dalton has once again sent me a suite of SEO photographs, and the light is so good I know you would want to see them, however before that... Contractors are on site at Morfa Berwig, carrying out fencing and path maintenance as well as habitat management in the brownfield area near the roundabout and in all of the grazing fields, and making the parking area at the roundabout entrance a bit more spacious, (if you see fly tipping here or anywhere else, please report it on 01267-234567). A new "temporary" sign has gone in at the Berwig Road entrance. The habitat management may look harsh but the vegetation will soon recover and the bare areas will provide consistently great habitat for invertebrates, allowing the vegetation to take over diminishes the value of the site for invertebrates, Morfa Berwig has a number of nationally and locally rare species. Photos to follow... Pembrey Saltmarsh, please do not wander out onto the marsh it just

SNOW...., well a few flakes for a few minutes, still SNOW... mind you trying to hammer staples and handle barbed wire in this mornings cold was fun! Still to brighten up a winters day here are a few more of Colin Daltons, Short-eared Owl photographs from Saturday evening. Photographs are copyright of Colin Dalton Listening and looking, Chase on?, Skylark flushed The two Sparrowhawks muscling in on the Shorties hunting

A late afternoon visit to Pembrey Burrows was rewarded with great views of TWO Short-eared Owls,  They had been seen earlier by Colin Dalton, who joined me in the hut to enjoy the birds hunting, displaying and chasing off a Sparrowhawk , one of two seen right outside the hut, one even landed on my water height post! Photographs and videos were nigh on impossible for me this afternoon, I just couldn't get the birds in focus long enough to press the shutter, I'm sure Colin will share some of his photos in the next few days. Colin casually mentioned two things, A MERLIN seen earlier and that he had seen the fence in F3 broken!, I had made a mental note that I hadn't seen the five bullocks on my way in. I tore myself away from the owls to first bump into Ray Woods another photographer, then to discover the fence was in fact damaged with tell tale hoof prints and cow pats on the wrong side of the fence ! WHY WHY! A climb to the top of a sand dune and I spied two of th

Well it's certainly feeling a lot colder, what "cold weather" movements will we see, I hope wildfowl put in an appearance as currently numbers are low to non-existent. A few more Common Snipe would be nice, as would a harrier or two, not fussy about species but they are overdue compared to 2016. Still we have the SHORT-EARED OWLS, now at least three possibly four but they are elusive which makes me think they are commuters between Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire. A few birders and photographers have been out looking for them with varying success, Colin Dalton kindly me sent the following photos with permission to use them in the blog, Thanks Colin. Anyone willing to share their photographs please email them over, can't promise to use every one but it would be nice to use local photographs if I haven't got decent ones myself. (or you could club together to buy me a decent camera!) All photographs are copyright of Colin Dalton Magica

What motivates you to get out and experience the coast and countryside? Do you like the solitude, easy to find on the wide expanse of Cefn Sidan? Do you prefer company and enjoy joining a group or partaking in a guided walk? Why is he asking these questions you may be thinking, well it's planning time for the events for 2018, and whilst 132 people took part in last years events attendance at individual events was a bit sporadic. Maybe it was too focussed on Pembrey LNR? In 2018 we intend to spread the events across as many of the local nature reserves/natural spaces in the county as possible. With a choice of six sites it makes sense to use them if we can. Carmarthenshire Local Nature Reserves West - East   Pembrey, Ashpits, Pwll Lagoon, North Dock, Morfa Berwig and in the NE of the county Ynys Dawela Nature Park There are currently 14 planned events spread over April to September (dates to be confirmed), with two programmes, April, May and June; and th

Not as frosty as recent days, and much less wind than forecast - could have gone ringing! Anyway I visited Morfa Berwig LNR this morning with a view to finding additional ringing rides, I know its a wetland site, but give me a break, too deep too boggy, but I did find a nice area albeit wet, as an additional net ride. In the process I disturbed a new bird for the site in the wonderfully camouflaged form of a WOODCOCK, it clattered through the willows before landing again, a good record. Woodcock Water Rails are well spread through the reserve with at least three calling this morning, a flock of c15 Long tailed Tits, with a mix of Blue, and Great Tits, Goldcrest and Robins, there were at least six Robins along the Afon Goch path. A Raven and a single Lapwing overhead completed my visit.

I have been reading reports on the Carmarthenshire Bird Club sightings pages of a Short-eared Owl being seen on the reserve at Pembrey. This evening I took myself off to see if I could get to grips with this magical owl, sure enough around 15:30 an Owl appeared, my attention being drawn to it by a couple of birders who were out on the marsh! When I wandered over to have a chat I could see that there were TWO Short-eared Owls hunting over the lower marsh I love "shorties". Short-eared Owl, (I wish it was my photograph) There was some interaction between one of the owls and the local male Kestrel, but I don't think they need to fight over food as my feelings are that there is a good supply of Voles. Last year the owls only paid fleeting visits to the reserve, presumably wandering over from "Glamorgan", lets hope they stay longer this year. Probably the best place to see them from is the information hut in the middle of the reserve, or

Many "things" hang in trees, some scarce and unusual, some just disgusting, here are examples of both from our Morfa Berwig LNR, The Lichen, Usnea articulate , the Sausage Beard-lichen declined sharply as a result of airbourne pollution, but is now making a bit of a comeback generally. There is a very small example of it to be found in just one location (so far) at Morfa Berwig. So called because of because of its straggly appearance and the "pinch points" along its "stem" which look like a string of sausages. Sausage Beard-lichen It can occur in three main habitats, Hawthorns in windy location, the leeward side of windy Larch plantations or in the tops of Willows at wetland sites (Morfa Berwig), the degree of windiness is a key factor in its choice of habitat. Other things hang or are put to hang in trees, I can never understand why though, there must be some sort of evolutionary process in place where plastic bags full of

With the perfect weather to stay indoors today it gave an opportunity to "sort and tidy" our workshop. So with Veronica and Neil we set about making some basic racks and sharpening the "edged" tools So satisfying to sort everything out, hopefully ............... "a place for everything and everything on it's place" It looks a bit sparse but lots of the tools are out on the pickup. Some shelves will need to be added, and perhaps a different solution for the bush/bow saws but for now its a safe and tidy work space, and despite the photo's the racks are perfectly level!!! Another one of those jobs that has needed doing for a while, but who wants to be inside unless the weather is really bad, like today.

I've said the following so often, "in what looked like perfect conditions..." well this morning was no exception, but no one told the birds! Which is typical when you have a visitor, sorry Julie. Still Morfa Berwig looked great at 06:00 this morning as I sloshed my way through flooded ringing rides carrying all the kit laden like a donkey... no comments or thoughts please. A very modest session but always worth it especially when one of the two Redwings was a monster of a bird, well it was certainly different, I knew that because my helper originally identified it as a Blackbird - sorry couldn't resist. Based on the comments from Mr Svensson the Redwing with its much buffier face, and breast/ sides and darker mantle and wing of 124mm placed it as a likely candidate for the Icelandic race corbuni , it only weighed in at 61.6gms and no fat. The second Redwing was much more the "norm"  iliacus , a paler bird with whiter, face, breast and sides wit