No matter what the weather get outside Saturday 18th March 2017

With overnight wind and rain, the morning was still a bit damp and blowing with a westerly wind, the rain had petered out by the time I arrived at the Pembrey reserve.

I did a couple of quick jobs, including counting the new contingent of cattle now in residence in grazing field 1, 16 present and correct.

With high tide around 0920 I wandered over to the end of grazing field 2 and did a bit of sea watching.

In amongst the 2000+ Oystercatchers I found the leucistic bird that Bernie Beck had seen on 9th March, an odd but attractive looking bird in shades of brown and white, hopefully it will hang  around for tomorrows guided event.

Also on the beach were 100+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 35 Sanderling, whilst offshore,  four

Great-crested Grebes, a handful of Cormorants and Common Gulls.

As I looked eastwards into the estuary I saw a long,pointed winged greyish bird in the gloom flying towards me, as it got closer the dark cap and pointed bill could only be one, likely, bird a SANDWICH TERN. it coped with the stiff headwind as it trundled off westwards. It's the first Sandwich Tern of the year for Carmarthenshire.

Sandwich Tern, not from today as indicated by the blue sky!!

It's been a decent week across the reserve for migrant birds, either lingering winter visitors, or arriving summer ones, with Merlin still present, Northern Wheatear a few days ago,  Two White-fronted Geese yesterday (new bird for the reserve), and todays Sandwich Tern.

White-fronted Geese, (not my photograph, just for reference:

the birds yesterday both had dark patches

but not as much as the left hand bird here)

It just shows if you make the effort you never know what will turn up, the bird list for 2017 now stands at 82 species recorded.

The job list is not getting any shorter........ Monday 13th March 2017

I was on site at Pembrey LNR at 05:30hrs for a ringing session, it was a cold slightly frosty morning with sunrise at 06:40hrs, I was concerned that with, limited opportunity to ring in 2017 due to bird flu restrictions and poor weather, that my numbers would be significantly adrift to 2016. How the memory fades it was as tough at the beginning of 2016 as it has been in 2017 and I'm only 10 birds down.

Reed Bunting ♂

Quite a lot going on today, sign boards to be weatherproofed, "wildlife breeding season" advisory signs going up, continued improvements to the information shelter, the cattle being taken off by the grazier for TB testing and new  Herp' refugia to put out around the edge of the marsh.

Ready for the off

An impromptu meeting with "the boss" and the job list grew.......great to share ideas and be on a similar wavelength.

What was a decent enough afternoon, weather wise, gradually turned cold and very foggy; however while the sun was out a found the first Common Lizard adult of the year on top of one of the refugia

Common Lizard