Connecting the Carmarthenshire Coast

 Croeso pawb,

An early and brief post this week, before the Christmas break, we'll see how that goes!

Bumblebee Conservation Trust are leading on a Welsh Government funded project called connecting the Carmarthenshire Coast, I've covered it in previous Blogs.

This past week has seen real boots on the ground at the "Morolwg Mounds", near the Morolwg lake, (just a quick tangent to say the lakes in the Millennium Coast Park will be getting new signs with their names on!)

The turf has been stripped from two south facing and one north facing slopes with one slope having been tiered to hold back the "boss slag" discussed in a previous post.

One of the slopes has already been planted with a range of appropriate natives, once I have the final list I will post in a blog, I know its hard to see the plants but they are there.

All that remains for me to write is 

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd dda

Red Warning - Storm Darragh

 Hi Pawb

Just a quick update this week

And what a week, whilst all our sites are open to the public there are some route closures, as you would expect.

We lost some really impressive Sitka Spruce at Llyn Llech Owain Country Park which is sad to see, but does demonstrate how shallow rooted they are. At Ynysdawela thankfully there was only minor damage with no significant tress being lost.

Nature will heal itself in time.

Better news, an ecological consultancy was engaged to conduct a survey of the bat population at Ynysdawela nature reserve during the summer and autumn of this year.

Nine species of bats were recorded using acoustic sensors deployed for set amounts of time across the reserve.

Unsurprisingly the most frequently recorded bats were Common and Soprano Pipistrelles, with Noctule and Brown Long-eared making appearances.

Most surprisingly were single records of Nathusius Pipistrelle, Greater Horseshoe, Leislers, Serotine and an unidentified Myotis species; these species were thought to have been commuting through the reserve, nonetheless great records.

Find out more here, Leisler's bat - UK Bats - Bat Conservation Trust

Winter projects 2024

 Croeso pawb,

Well today is the first day of metrological winter, so timely to mention, briefly, a couple of exciting projects which will be under way shortly.

Bumblebee Conservation Trust are leading on the Connecting the Carmarthenshire Coast project which will see three areas of poor quality amenity grassland transformed into rich native flower pollinator areas.

The innovative approach revolves around to methods, one using stone and sand mixed to create a nutrient poor bed into which a range of locally sourced native coastal flowers will be planted or seeded. The second involves recycling waste products from the steel making industry to create a, more or less, inert planting medium which will deliver two main benefits, firstly becoming an effective Carbon store, and secondly bringing a splash of coastal colour to an otherwise bland area of species poor grassland.

Another larger scale project will look at using the same steel industry waste product to create around 800sqm of new habitat to improve Carbon capture as well as, again, bringing native wildflowers into an area species poor grassland.

As these projects develop I'll provide more details.

It is likely that I will not be posting the blog weekly during the next few months but do keep checking by opening up the link you use to find the blog.

An increasing threat - Wildfire

 Bore da pawb,

Sounds dramatic and maybe an odd thing to think about given the amount of rain storm Bert dumped on South Wales in the past few days, but something I am currently working on is mitigating the risk and our response to Wildfire across our estate.

With much of the estate either forested with conifers, dominated by Molinia or prone to drying out and two very lucky escapes in recent years this will be an important exercise to conduct.

South Wales 2022

Well just what is a Wildfire, often heard in relation to the USA and Australia but now much more frequently mentioned in the news during long dry spells of weather.

The definition in the UK  is this 

*The Forestry Commission and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service define wildfire as ‘any uncontrolled vegetation fire which requires a decision or action regarding suppression’. Fire and Rescue Services in England use the same basic definition, but additionally require fires to meet one or more of the below National Operating Guidance criteria: • Involves a geographical area of at least one hectare • Has a sustained flame length of more than 1.5 metres • Requires a committed resource of at least 4 fire appliances • Requires resources to be committed for at least 6 hours • Presents a serious threat to life, environment, property and infrastructure. 

Whilst properly managed "controlled burns" can provide beneficial biodiversity benefit the impact from an uncontrolled and monitored fire can be devastating for  

*Biodiversity Wildfire kills organisms that move too slowly to escape and alters post-fire habitat composition.

Changing fire regimes can alter ecosystems by promoting species that better tolerate fire, at the expense of fire-sensitive species.

Carbon emissions and climate change Global wildfires emitted 2.2 Pg C yr-1 between 1997 and 2016,c compared with an average of 30 Pg C yr-1 over the same period for fossil fuels and industry.

Wildfires have complex effects on soils, vegetation and the atmosphere which may increase or partially offset the climate impacts of wildfire greenhouse gas emissions.

Soil and water Wildfire removes surface vegetation and alters soil properties. This means rainfall reaches watercourses faster in subsequent storms, exacerbating flooding.

Eroded sediment enters watercourses, reducing water quality.

Human health Wildfires present hazards which may injure or kill emergency responders and members of the public. Exposure to wildfire smoke can cause respiratory and cardiovascular health impacts over great distances. Wildfires can increase the prevalence of mental health conditions in impacted communities.

Economic Wildfires affect economies through capital losses, disruption to economic activity and health effects.  

*UK Parliament newsletter By Samuel Tasker, Jonathan Wentworth 15 April 2024

Given the poor weather we have endured since we were spoiled by the weather in 2022, it would be easy to lose sight of this potential threat which is why a plan is important.

Some food for thought!

Deep Peat

 Croeso pawb.

Nice to see the weather has finally broken from the gloomy, but thankfully dry phase it has been in for a while.

Natural Resources Wales have just completed the remedial and enhancement works to the peat bog at Llyn Llech Owain, I'll give an outline of the why's and what's.

In around 2019 work as carried out by contractors to mitigate the loss of water from the northern section of peat bog, with bunds and pools created to reduce the water runoff. The work seemed to have done the trick, however in 2023 with NRW having conducted a Lidar survey, (Lidar - Wikipedia) it was discovered that the 2019 works hadn't had the overall effect that it could have with the use of modern technology and changes, through learning, of peatbog management.

The work carried out through October and into November has been guided by the latest technology and best practices for peatbog restoration with a  major component being to follow the natural contour lines of the land

An experienced and specialist contractor was appointed by NRW, using specialist equipment to access the bog the machinery each had less than 1psi, less than a human footprint.

The first stage was to remove or kill off any scrub in the planned work area, with this complete they set about following within centimetres the creation of bunds and ponds. I think the photos will say a lot more than words can.

The machine clears the ground vegetation then digs in to collect peat, created a bund then turfs over the exposed peat to exclude drying out and erosion

The completed bund then begins to hold water.

We are fortunate that there is a good population of the very important Sphagnum Moss on site which can be "seeded" into any bare ponds in the future.

Even during the work, Common and Jack Snipe were recorded using the reworked areas which was really good to see.

Common Snipe

Dartmoor and a conference

 Croeso pawb,

What  a week, I spent three days down in Devon on Dartmoor National Park, at a Countryside Management Association Conference. Countryside Management Association - CMA membership is open to paid and volunteer countryside professionals

Held at the YHA Bracken Tor with nice accommodation, good food and meeting facilities.

Around 80 countryside professionals gathered for the annual conference, with day one made up of interesting talks about Dartmoor National Park and the issues they face through to the ethics and practicalities of species reintroduction or reinforcement.

The second day was a field trip with five choices, I chose to look at the work of the National Trust and the Southwest Peatland Partnership, a 10km round trip over moorland and peatbog tested my very dodgy knees and my lungs but I did it.

This link will take you to the project we visited at Great Gnatts Head,                     Where we work — South West Peatland Partnership   very different peatbog to our own in Carmarthenshire where they have maybe 40cm of peat and we have up to 15m of depth!

One of the other options was to look at some Celtic rainforest, photo below.

The final day was another round of talks aimed at visitor management - we all have the same issues lots of different solutions!

Back in work, our contractors at Llyn Llech Owain have started work bunding the peatbog to raise water levels, photos next time.

I may have mentioned my concern with the lack of Willow Tit sightings at the wildlife feeding station at Llyn Llech Owain, pleased to report at least two birds are visiting!

A Snow Bunting has been around on the coast between Burry Port and Pembrey Country Park, always a joy to see.

Snow Bunting -Wildlife Trusts

Visitors from near and far

 Croeso pawb,

What a benign spell of weather, just a shame the sun hasn't shone on Carmarthenshire.

This hasn't stopped good work being done and inquisitive minds satisfied, especially with Halloween activities taking place.

My ranger colleagues led a walk looking for bats at Pembrey Country Park and whilst there weren't big numbers they did manage to "detect" a couple of Greater Horseshoe Bats, (GHB) which is always a great result, GHB's have a really unique echo location sound descried as warbling in nature.

The wildlife feeding station at Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is, as usual, a hotspot for birders and watchers alike, this week myself and new volunteer Alice ran a ringing session from 6am until 10am, with 45 birds of nine species captured under licence; both Alice and myself hold bird ringing licences, with biometric data recorded in return for a nice shiny ring.

We had two particularly good captures, two Redwing,  winter visitors from Scandinavia and a Female Chaffinch which had originally been ringed at a site in Boncath Pembrokeshire on 10th July 2022.

The data we collect is entered into a national database, these are the data sets from one of the Redwing and the Chaffinch.

REDWI   Age  3, hatched in 2024, Wing length 114mm Weight  56.7g Fat score 1 (very little stored fat)

CHAFF   Age 4, at least one year old, Wing length 83mm Weight 19.3g Fat score 0 ( no need to store fat with so much free food at the station?)

Sadly we noted that a number of the Chaffinches we caught were suffering with the Fringilla papillomavirus on their legs meaning we couldn't ring them, after releasing the birds from the nets we disinfected our hands carefully.

The State of Nature in Carmarthenshire

Hi Pawb,

Now there's a headline to get into.

State of Nature reports are produced by Natural Resources Wales, NRW, and Welsh Government, WG. on  a regular basis; so a report focussed solely on our county is to be welcomed.

My friend and colleague Isabel Macho is the author of this recently published report and it is worth an in-depth read, The State of Nature in Carmarthenshire 

Here are some headlines to whet the appetite

(if you click on the image it should enlarge) 

In other news another busy week has been slogged through with the highlight being able to see and hear the appreciation from birders and photographers  that the wildlife feeding station at Llyn Llech Owain Country Park is up and running again for this winter season.

I am so grateful for the donations towards, and of, food to keep the feeders full many thanks.

The feeding station, we call it a wildlife feeding station as its not only birds that visit, under darkness we have Foxes, Badgers and the occasional Fallow Deer calling by; is recognised as one of the easy sites to observe Willow Tits, oddly they have been noticeable by their absence so if you do visit and see these birds please report it on the Carmarthenshire Bird Club website 

Submit sightings - Carmarthenshire Bird Club

The very similar Marsh Tit, illustrated here, has not been, positively, recorded at Llyn Llech Owain Country Park

Feeding station Reopens

 Croeso pawb,

Its nice to be back after a well deserved break, well I thought I deserved it anyway. It was certainly a lot cooler and wetter in Llanelli.

With autumn well underway now its noticeable how many trees still have leaves yet to think about changing to their autumn colours, whilst the Poplars are almost stripped bare the Norway Maple at Ynysdawela is looking superb.

I've had a few enquiries about the feeding station at Llyn Llech Owain County Park, asking if its going to be running this year, well after a man with a strimmer and a gang of eager participants from Carmarthenshire Youth Services I'm pleased to say that the feeding station is up and running.

It didn't take long to attract the birds, and today the photographers and birders are enjoying their antics.

When using the hide please respect other users and don't hog the front row if there's a queue, and certainly don't put up any sort of netting across the viewing slots!

The Wetlands and Estuaries Bird Survey, WeBS, count was very quiet this morning with disappointing numbers at the lakes that I check in the Millennium Coast Park, and at Old Pembrey Harbour, however a Kingfisher at Ffynnon Helyg and another this one hovering, at Old Pembrey Harbour were nice to see as were the 15 Curlew.

End of Season Round up

 Bore da pawb

Just a very quick reflection on the work that has happened during the summer season. It may turn into a bit of a list though.

Lets look at the volunteers first, so since May until the end of September there have been 1472 hours volunteered across the sites managed by the Outdoor Recreation Service. WOW, and amazing number and from a wide range of individuals and organisations including the banking and retail sector, local schools, local litter groups and of course our own ViP's conservation team.

At our Ynysdawela Nature Reserve we have delivered either ourselves or through amazing third party  companies Junior Ranger club, forest school, campfire, dance and writing sessions, river life surveys, beetle and bat surveys with around 120 school  pupil engagements alone.

Our ViP conservation team, have hacked, knocked, dug, counted, painted and made countless other important contributions to the management of our nature reserves.

Personally I managed to dent my new truck ! all fixed now.

We lost and found a river ..... long story but its fixed!

Grass Snakes have done really well at Pembrey Country Park, even taking advantage of the shower facilities!

Swallows and Sand Martins have been caught under licence and ringed what more will be learn of theses long distance travellers?

It's been a tough season for many invertebrates especially the insects, there seemed to be a last minute resurgence towards mid September, will it be enough?

So much going on and so many people to thank.

No Blog for a week or so I'm having a rest.

Equinox tides and Bats

 Croeso pawb,

Another week has drawn to a close although this particular week sees us enter into astronomical autumn, which happened at 1:45pm today Sunday 22nd September 24, of course as I've said previously the natural cycle of life has seen autumn underway since at least mid-July.

As expected with the time of year, there were some big tides this past week and I spent an hour or so early on Friday morning with the rising tide at Old Pembrey Harbour which is part of the WeBS monitoring project, where there was a great mix of birds on show.  

The best of the birds were Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns, Kittiwake, the first Pintail and Wigeon on the marsh and close to 4000 Oystercatchers squeezing onto the tiny areas of remaining sand.

A busy week of meetings and surveys drew to a close when I led a Bat walk at our Ynysdawela Nature Reserve on Saturday evening, we avoided the thunder storms , we were treated with head height Soprano and Common Pipistrelles, a high Noctule and elusive but recognisable Brown Long-eared Bats; a distant calling Tawny Owl pleased those attending.

Autumn is a favourite time of year for many people, including myself, a change of species as wintering birds arrive and a transition from times of abundance to tougher times for our wildlife, I'm sure there will be surprises to be discovered if you get out and about.

New pond

 Bore da Pawb,

Its certainly had a feel of proper autumn with chilly mornings and warm afternoons.

Its been such a full on week I couldn't think what to write about, but weighing up the days its the new pond at Pembrey Burrows LNR that is probably the highlight, well there was a river that disappeared but maybe I'll save that for another post

After far too long a wait, we have finally managed to dig a new pond in the most recent area to be fenced off, now that in itself is all relative as the fence was put in at least two winters ago!

Contractors including a UXO specialist arrived on site at 9:30am, we hit water at around 11:00am after excavating to around 1.7m. We didn't hit anything else either.

If I'm honest I think this will be a seasonal pond but as its primary purpose is to provide drinking water for cattle that's not an issue, the sides of the pond will certainly provide nice sandy habitat for invertebrates, as will the now landscaped area where the arisings from the pond were placed

Since the perimeter fence has been vandalised the contractors will return in the coming weeks to install extra gates and secure the field ready for cattle, at the same time they will replace around 100 fence posts on other fields

As the winter water levels rise the pond will fill and hold water to allow winter grazing.

The arisings have been landscaped and will provide additional pen sand habitat for invertebrates

What's happening and busy times

 Croeso pawb,

Last week was full of meetings, though thankfully  most were outdoors, generally avoiding the rain except on Thursday when I spent the day with a mix of senior managers from both Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Government when we all ended up getting very wet indeed. It was worth it to showcase the work achieved by the Sands of Life Project at Pembrey Burrows and the Nature Network fund used in Pembrey Forest.

With the days marching towards winter, now is the time when most of the heavy practical work will be carried out across  our sites, especially the Local Nature Reserves.

The planning has happened so now contractors will be starting work with Invasive Non Native Species eradication underway at North Dock LNR and at Pwll Lagoon LNR with Sea Buckthorn, Japanese Rose and rhododendron  being the targets.

At Ynysdawela more meadow management including removing swathes of brambles and coppicing are the order of the day

Look out for work being carried out by Bumblebee Conservation's "Connecting the Carmarthenshire Coast" project soon to start in the Millennium Coast Park.

While I was out on Thursday I was explaining why unregulated litter picking is driving the Strandline Beetle hurtling towards extinction from the UK, as luck would have it we came across litter that had, with the best intentions, been picked and left in pile to be collected at some point. Out of curiosity I picked up one of the bags and there were two Strandline Beetles just sitting there - I searched the litter but could not find any more, it does go to show that there is a huge need to be be cautious when litter picking so that the Strandline Beetle isn't accidently carried away.

Pesky invaders - 2nd September 2024

 Croeso pawb - welcome

One of the very well established "invaders" or invasive species is the Eastern Grey Squirrel from North America, another Victorian mistake, when in 1876 they were released into Henbury park in Cheshire. There is no clear consensus why they were introduced, maybe just to add a touch of exotic to Henbury Park?

Grey Squirrels are ubiquitous across the UK, and are accused of many environmental crimes including out-competing our native Red Squirrel and spreading the killer Squirrel pox.

My concerns lie with their habitat of stripping bark from deciduous trees especially the young of the year, usually before there are other foods such as acorns or hazel nuts about.

Where they strip one side of a branch is bad enough  but at least the vascular system of  the tree can still keep working, however stripping both sides or "ring barking a limb or sometimes the whole trunk is a death sentence.

This year at our Ynysdawela reserve young Oaks have come under attack as well as the Norway Maple at the reserve hub, so annoying to consider the eventual outcome for the Norway Maple as well as the Oaks.

There is research into a contraceptive for the pesky critters which is under going trials

UKSA-APHA_grey_squirrel_fertility_control_research_update_2023.06.pdf (britishredsquirrel.org)

Whilst the Grey is very much part of the landscape, until natural predation through predators such as the Pine Marten and Goshawk is at an equilibrium, they will continue to have an impact on our natural environment.

Migration in full Swing 24th August 2024

 Prynhawn da Pawb - good afternoon.

I have missed a lot of field work this year, bizarrely I have less time to be out and about now that its my job; than I had when I was a volunteer which now seems like years ago.

This morning I managed to catch the 8.5m tide at Old Pembrey Harbour, in quite nice conditions the heavy rain passing over Gower, did you know its wrong to call it "The" Gower.

A good number of birds species were present with, the usual Oystercatchers, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, a few Turnstones, Black-headed, Herring and Greater Black -backed Gull, Sandwich and Common Terns. it was nice that a couple of local birders were able to show some non-birders the range of birds on show and explain about the transient nature of the tern species.

The birds became quite restless and after a few minutes they all took flight, looking up the reason was very apparent an Osprey was circling overhead, what a sight.

The tides are dropping now but it will still be worth calling down to this easy vantage point to see what's hanging around.

Last week I led a beach safari at Pendine beach, at first looks it was pretty poor, but the 37 people that turned up! soon started to find the common stuff. As the session was winding down one of the youngsters said "what's this?" well that turned into a new species for me, she had found an empty Tusk Shell, Antalis vulgaris. 

Wikipedia says....

Antalis vulgaris, commonly known as the common tusk shell, is a species of scaphopods mainly encountered on sandy bottoms from 5 to 1000 meters depth

Antalis vulgaris is a small mollusc of 3 to 6 cm length with a characteristic elephant tusk shape. Its shell is opaque white and displays closely spaced longitudinal striations on the posterior portion. The anterior aperture (thinnest end) is circular and is occluded by a septum with a central pipe bearing a circular orifice.

That's all folks.

Ffynnon Helyg near Pwll

 Bore da pawb,

I thought I would provide a focus on one of our sites, well a site within a site, Ffynnon Helyg, also known as Pwll fishing lake; following a failed attempt at creating a coarse fishery many years ago.

The site, a lake surrounded by Phragmite reedbed, some fen and wet woodland, lies within the Millennium Coast Park just east of the Pwll Pavillion cafe.

The lake is subject to large fluctuations in depth following heavy rain and high tides, when the raft was put in, see later, the 5m long anchor ropes were not long enough due not only to the depth of the water but also the softness of the lake bottom we added another 5m of rope to each anchor point which did the trick, it does mean though that the raft wanders around a bit!

The 9.2ha site shaded pink

Until recently the only work carried out here has been the occasional cutting back of the footpath edges.

Following funding from Welsh Governments Local places for Nature scheme we have been able to invest in improving the habitats and provide some interpretation and  opportunities to view the lake.

In late winter of 23/24 a floating tern raft was installed and a small gravel island created at the end of the peninsula of land jutting out into the mid point of the lake.

Both the raft and island immediately attracted the attention of the local bird life, and although the raft wasn't used this year for nesting the gravel island  as previously mentioned had pairs of Lesser Black backed Gull and Black Headed Gull both raising young.

As reported recently, casual observations by one of the team have discovered some nice quality plants, including Strawberry Clover, Parsley Water Dropwort, not Tubular as first thought and Marsh Mallow.

A search for Water Voles drew a blank for now we'll try again next year,  signs of Otters were found in the usual places.

The brackish nature of the lake, a result of tidal incursions under the railway line means that the aquatic life is varied and includes juvenile Sea Bass, Dicentrarchus labrax,  I'm sure a decent time pond dipping here will reveal a wide range of  species.

A selection of the summer bird species alone makes this a site to visit, Cetti's,* Reed* and  Sedge* Warblers, Stonechat*, Whitethroat* Lesser Whitethroat, Sand Martin, Swallow, Mute Swan*, Tufted Duck*, Gadwall*, Mallard*, Little Grebe* to name a few

* - denotes breeding in 2024.

Parking at the Pwll Pavillion Cafe, and a chance for great refreshments is convenient or walk from either Sandy Water Park or Burry Port Woodlands car parks.

Tigers and more

 Croeso Pawb,

Another week has flown by, at least the weather has been more summer like, even a noticeable increase in the number of insects to be seen 

I've had a few days out and about doing  site visits with Buglife and looking at a potential project with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Moss Carder

On Tuesday a few of the team met up with Liam Olds from Buglife to search for the Dune Tiger Beetle, Cicindella maritima at Pembrey Burrows.

Square Jawed Sharp Tailed Bee

Despite perfect habitat and weather, we didn't find any tigers but we did find, Moss Carder and Brown Banded Carder bees, as well as, the roll off the tongue, the Squared Jawed Sharp-tailed  bee and a Lesser Stag Beetle.

Second generation Small Blue butterflies were on the wing as well as a good number of Graylings

Wednesday I spent in the company of Bumblebee Conservation and Barry Stewart looking at opportunities to improve or create habitats within the Millennium Coast Park. Lots of ideas to be explored further, as plans progress I'll update the blog.

Lliedi Pollinator project

Where are the insects!

 Bore da pawb,

It seems shockingly obvious to me that there is a lack of insects this summer, I have seen very few bumblebees and butterflies especially.

Llyn Llech Owain weather station

Was it the prolonged wet winter? which seems to have have started in August 23 and is only just ending. Since 1st January 24 our weather stations at Pembrey and Llyn Llech Owain country parks have, respectively, recorded 463.2mm and 1198.4mm of rain so far; that's a lot of rain...

My own theory is that with the ground saturated for so long and over wintering adult or larval invertebrates succumbed, the recent sunny days have seen an increase in butterfly numbers and species but I think we will need a couple of decent winters and springs to get numbers back on track

Continuing the theme of disappointment, the image here shows the pile of dog poo, I stopped counting at 75 bags, and beer bottles that I removed from one of our Local nature Reserves, all piled up waiting for the litter fairies to collect, I'll  not say anymore...

Sea Lavender

In other news, our salt marshes are looking stunning with the annual show of Sea and Rock Sea Lavender, no need to wander onto the heart of the marsh just follow the main path passed the bird hide and you will soon see what I mean

Conservation grazing

 Pawb, hello.

The use of livestock, particularly native livestock, is recognised as probably one of the best methods to manage a wide range of habitats not only in the UK but across the world.

As we longer have any "mega-fauna" species in the UK, the use of domesticated livestock has grown in popularity to manage land. At Llyn Llech Owain we have, over the years used Exmoor Ponies, Welsh Mountain Ponies, and Dexter cattle to graze the section of the park which is part of the Cernydd Carmel Special Area of Conservation.

 This past week the summer cohort of Welsh Mountain Ponies has arrived, later than planned but finding reliable graziers is a bit of a challenge such is the demand for conservation grazing livestock. There is certainly plenty of forage for them to eat, bracken to trample and young saplings to browse. They will stay on the site for a few months before being taken off and resting the site before perhaps bringing in some Dexter cattle for late Autumn grazing- all weather dependent.

This past week also saw the announcement of the Green Flag awards, in recognition of green spaces which are audited by an independent panel and judged on the quality and purpose of the management of the competing green spaces.

Three of our Country Parks have been awarded Green Flags again this year, Pembrey Country Park, Llyn Llech Owain Country Park and Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park, a deserved well done to the teams and volunteers who have helped win this international mark of quality.

It's the truth M'lord!

 Croeso pawb,

I hope everyone has had a good week, summer seems to be avoiding us at the moment, can it only get better?

People I bump into when out and about often say things like, "oh I'd love to do your job", or   "you're so lucky" well yes I am; we have some wonderful countryside sites across Carmarthenshire as well as a stunning coastline, however it doesn't take care of itself. Sometimes its appropriate to leave "nature do its thing" but so much of our countryside is influenced by the activities of humans over centuries, as a result we need to intervene to maintain the status quo or, restore habitats back to functioning ecosystems.

These interventions may be as simple as changing the mowing regime of meadows, clearing scrub, dredging a pond or canal; they may be more drastic such as clear felling blocks of conifers planted on peatbogs before we knew better!

We are lucky to have legislation passed by the Welsh Government such as the Environment (Wales) 2016 act and The Wellbeing of Future Generation 2015 act, which have an eye to ensuring all public bodies in Wales consider the environment in all of its work, specifically section 6 of the 2016 act states that local Authorities "......must maintain and enhance biodiversity....."

The image shows some of the key legislation I refer to on if not a daily basis then certainly several times a week; the need and desire to ensure we do our best does mean referring to these and a raft of other legislation as a guiding principle.

Whilst we are thinking its summer, in the natural world we are getting into autumn with many species of birds thinking of migrating, high tide at Old Pembrey Harbour is a good place to see a few species with Mediterranean Gulls now gathering in flocks of 100+  Sandwich and Common Tern and Whimbrel