Phew, busy few days, Friday 14th April 2017

What a busy few days, we have been joined by Simon Jones a Countryside Management student on a work placement module.

With another pair of willing hands quite a few jobs have been tackled, nothing onerous just jobs that needed doing.

With the school break in full swing, Monday found me dousing down a fire where guests had been making marshmallow smorfs? luckily the fire didn't spread into nearby Gorse, but the buggers had taken a wooden batten off the shelter, and off a nearby reptile refugia as fuel!!!.

Tuesday started with a briefing for Simon then a guided walk with Carmarthenshire Wildlife Walks, a total of twelve adults and two children in perfect weather.
The route enabled me to show off some early signs of spring in the shape of Green winged Orchid, Cowslip, Morels ( we found a few more and I continue to find them scattered widely), the beach held its usual array of shells and crab carapaces with examples of Velvet Swimming Crab and of course the curious looking Masked Crab.  The best find of the morning though was the nationally scarce Dune Tiger Beetle.
I particularly like this group as they usually finish with a cup of tea and a cake.

Dune Tiger Beetle, a nationally scarce beetle.

Simon and I then went and "painted" the inside of the shelter, it hadn't been painted before and its made a real difference. This was followed by some Education, Engagement and sadly some Enforcement, dogs, dog mess and another fire.

Wednesday saw the usual gang of VCR's out and at last those Dormouse boxes are in position at another reserve ready for occupation, the Pwll Lagoon and Ashpits LNR is another gem in Carmarthenshires crown of "wild" places.

At last, Dormouse box in situ, just need some residents to move in..

The afternoon gave us time to repair, yet again, a short stretch of grazing field fence at Pembrey.

Thursday, more work on the shelter, including some refreshed interpretation posters.

A full check of the now 10/11 reptile refugia revealed 11 Slow Worms and three Common Lizards. A female Garganey on one of the ponds was a good find, ( same pond as last autumns bird?). We rounded off the day with the creation of a couple of new ringing rides in the reed bed, but not before Simon witnessed the harder side of visitor engagement, when every breath is seemingly wasted on visitors who have "...been coming here for sixty years.. " (and I'll do what I want).

Garganey, ♀

(I don't have any female pictures

of my own so I've borrowed this one,

key identification features  are the head markings)

Morals and Morels, Sunday 9th April 2017

I sometimes get the expected reaction from visitors wrong, (to be fair though not often), so today when I went to speak to a visitor with two dogs, which on a previous occasion had run all over the space I was working in, I didn't expect  a good outcome.. how wrong I was the chap was really engaged with the work we are doing and how our interaction with visitors is having a positive effect. There's a moral there somewhere.

Now for those Morels, to be precise one Morel, Morchella esculenta , I hadn't seen a Morel for over 25years so when local fungi legend Dr Philip Jones directed me to a specimen he had located on the reserve I was off to find it.

The Morel is actually a "cap" fungi, just like a toadstool however the spores are carried in the brain like structures on the upper surface, as the latin name suggests they can make good eating, if you can get there before the snails and slug and all manner of other invertebrate, plus of course they tend to be full of sand.

On the beach I found a beetle which I need confirmation of, however I think it may be one of the three species of Platydracus , which don't seem to have a "common name", when I find out what it is actually I'll post an update.

Platydracus spp?

Whilst on the beach I also found a whole "Sea Potato" still covered in spines.