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

After the little drop of rain yesterday evening the air felt damp when we met at Morfa Berwig for a stroll around the reserve. The morning soon warmed up.... As is usual at this time of year it was quiet on the bird front save for a fly through Peregrine which proved to be the highlight. Butterflies on the wing today included Ringlet, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Blue. Dragonflies were thin in the air with only Azure Blue and Southern Hawker making an appearance, the Southern Hawker performed amazingly well resting on a Dock plant in full view. Southern Hawker A wide range of plants including Fleabane, Greater Willowherb, Red Bartsia, Wild Parsnip, Scentless Mayweed, and Scarlet Pimpernel. Greater Willowherb I hope the small group of nine enjoyed the walk, July doesn't see the reserve at its best however there is always something to see.

Yesterday I received the weather data from the Met office for the weather station at Pembrey AWR. The first six months makes for interesting reading. The photo isn't particularly clear, however it shows that June 2018 (the blue line) recorded 8.8mm of rain v 88.2mm in June 2017 and 116.0 in June 2016, I wonder what July will look like.....

A few hours checking Morfa Berwig LNR, including clearing a nice bag full of litter from the roundabout entrance, this morning was well worth it. Plenty of butterflies on the wing including, Small Blue, Common Blue, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown and PAINTED LADY. Painted Lady Meadow Brown Bumblebees were well represented by Common Carder and Red-tailed, but dragonflies were scarce, given the lack of water with all the ponds empty of useable water I'm not sure where they have gone, an opportunity for a better look on tomorrows BIRD CLUB WALK. On the bird front plenty of juvenile Goldfinches feeding on the heads of Creeping Thistle, a few warblers skulking around to, a juvenile Grey Heron in a ditch with two well grown juvenile Mallard. The Teasel plants are coming into flower and will provide another source of seed for the birds in the autumn Teasel Come along on tomorrows walk and explore this interesting reserve, see the Carmarthenshire Bird Club website fo

At four o'clock this morning it was raining and blowing so the ground had a little soak, but nowhere near enough to mitigate the effects of the on-going dry spell. After attending a meeting in the country park I ambled over to the burrows for a mooch about. As ever though there always seem to be something that rattles my cage and today was no exception with a pile of used dog poo bags left at the entrance of the reserve. WHY? Despite the dry spell and the dry and dusty conditions there was quite a variety of wildlife to be seen, with many butterflies on the wing, a nice selection of wildflowers and good numbers of birds. The Grayling stole the show on the butterfly front with many along the track to the hut, second or maybe third generation Small Blues along with Common Blue and Meadow Brown. A good showing of the Dark Bush-cricket, with several in the park office, was something I've not noticed before. Flowers included Purple Loosestrife growing in the "

There can be no doubt that working outdoors, no matter what the weather, is a most rewarding occupation. People often comment to me "what a great job you have", "you're so lucky" "what a great office", "driving around all day that's nice"; let me explain the reality When you see me, or any of the Outdoor Recreation Team, rangers, park staff, maintenance ,and the managers driving around you can bet that we are not on a "jolly". Granted when I'm on the reserves I can really enjoy the wildlife, spend an hour pottering around, making notes watching the wildlife yes its great; but it's not all roses so here is my (our) day today. After checking the reserve and pottering around I went into Pembrey Country Park and met up with the duty manager. We caught up with jobs that didn't get done on Saturday such as some bins (they fill up magically overnight!), patrolled the beach cleaning up more litter from last night,