Sunday 4th December 2016

Stunning...........

The afternoon has been bright and quite brisk but it was worth getting chilled to the bone to see what may turn into quite a spectacle in the coming days or weeks, maybe mind no guarantees!

The Male Hen Harrier put on a bit of a show, it was nice to see some new faces out looking for the bird, including a lady photographer who had driven from Pembrokeshire.

Don't for the sake of your eyes make the video image larger!!!!
There were some great cloud formations this evening, my photo doesn't do them justice you needed to be there....

Looking south towards the Gower peninsula

The Starlings seemed a little tardy in arriving this evening with just a few small groups of 10's of individuals to begin with, but gradually the size of the groups built up to very large flocks of 100's of birds, the roost tonight was much bigger than Friday evening I estimate between 7000 to 9000, but only a half hearted attempt at a murmuration.

I've thawed out enough to look up the manual for the camera, the next video will have sound you have been warned...........

Saturday 3rd December 2016

Hungry Gannets...

I arrived at Pembrey LNR around 08:30hrs, a different day indeed with overcast skies and a steady easterly breeze blowing, after checking the cattle, all 37 present and correct, I wandered over to the beach.

With a choppy sea it looked fairly quiet in the estuary, then I turned to look out towards the west, WOW all I could see were a mass of Gannets.

I couldn't get a decent count from where I was standing so I jogged, well walked very fast, along the edge of the dunes to a better vantage point.

I could see good numbers of Gannets sat on the sea, with many still diving to feed, a accurate count of the first 180, still left many uncounted, there were in excess of 250 birds in the flock including a good percentage of 1st year birds. I attempted a couple of videos but they were a bit too far away, I was going to delete the video but decided that with some imagination you get a few seconds of Gannets:-)

Walking back to the van The ♂ Hen Harrier showed well, with a very swift flight into the headwind and lots of twists and turns as it looked for prey.

Another attempt at a video was a Grey Heron, the sound is switched off on my camera, no idea how to switch it back on!!

A good mammal record this morning came in the form of a Pygmy Shrew, with its smaller size, (90mm max), darker fur, and lack of chestnut tones distinguishing it from the Common Shrew.

Pygmy Shrew

Even on a grey morning plenty to see, just get out there no matter where you live.

Friday 2nd December 2016

December already............

Its hard to believe that it's already December and 2016 is drawing to a close.

The weather has generally, been, quite benign and the recent run of cold frosty days has made for pleasant times in the countryside.

I thought I would try a ringing session just before sunset as today looks like being the last of the "windless" days for a while. My aim was to capture Pied Wagtails, there has been a decent sized roost in the reed-beds.. but not tonight... just two were caught along with a Blue Tit, still three birds for 20 minutes work not bad.

Wagtail, Pied or White?

I noticed a small "murmuration" of Starlings in the distance and thought they may be on their way to the roost at Ashpits LNR, they were not so I scrambled to get the net down before the now growing flock descended into the reeds.

There's a Hen Harrier somewhere?

In the end there was a sizeable flock of c3500 birds in the reeds when suddenly they all flew towards the water treatment plant, followed closely by the male Hen Harrier.

It was getting very dark when the birds returned to the reeds, the sound of their wings,

then their chattering must be one of natures spectacles

The harrier decided better of his chances and carried on across the reserve finally going down to roost.

A flock of c400 Jackdaws built up over the reserve before heading off towards Pembrey Forest.

This is the first evening I have seen the Starling roost, they may just be "mobile" birds with no fixed abode, or they may use the reserve for a while, worth getting out about an hour before sunset to see.

Monday 28th November 2016

What a load of old rubbish.............


This morning a group of dedicated litter pickers came along to clear a small stretch of beach at Pembrey Burrows LNR.

It is bit of a hike to this part of the reserve, but a pleasant one, and with the crisp conditions it wasn't long before we were getting stuck in to the pile of plastic containers, fishing nets and glass bottles washed up above the high water mark.

Here we go...

Much of the plastic is sent for recycling, provided it is "clean" the glass is recycled but everything else is destined for landfill.

No messages in these bottles

Some of the group getting stuck in..

One of the important aspects of litter picking on the reserve and adjoining SSSI is to leave all wood and large sheets of plastic in situ, this debris provides shelter during spring, summer and autumn for the endangered Strandline Beetle, at this time of year the beetle will have made its way up off the HWM and into the dunes to spend the winter months.

In only two hours around 15 bags of rubbish and recyclables had been collected, and deposited ready for pick up with a vehicle later this week.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Sunday 27th November 2016

Getting colder....

This morning saw the first real ice on the reserve this morning, not enough to skate on of course but enough to freeze the puddles on the tracks and the marsh.

There were few signs of wildlife this morning but with a bit of effort some choice birds were seen.

Jack Snipe (1), Common Snipe (17), Water Rail (3), the three Water Rails were all within a few metres of each other which is so unusual for such a territorial bird.

I was hoping that the male Hen Harrier would still be around and sure enough it was hunting the dunes and marsh, eventually making a kill in the inlet, (which I think is actually called - Swan Pool Drain - on old maps).

A map from 1831

This afternoon I bumped into Veronica and Chris, they had good views of the Hen Harrier again as well as a Sparrowhawk, I saw the bird very well after I left Veronica and Chris, it's a big female, it could well be the same bird that has been seen off and on for almost a year.

A distant shot but gives an idea of the size of the bird

Thursday 24th November 2016

Almost winter, and a bird to savour.....

With the start of winter a few days away, life at Pembrey Burrows LNR is slowing down, the rush of the autumn seems to be over and there are fewer birds to be seen, a few hardier flowers are still in bloom, such as Ragwort and of course Western Furze.

But going back a day, the best bird seen yesterday was a male Hen Harrier, seen only for barely a minute but a stunner, so this today when I decided to have a stroll for the late afternoon high water I was delighted to see the same bird again.... or was it?

Yesterday I was happy to say that the bird was an adult male, today with better views the bird showed distinct barring to the innermost primaries and outermost secondaries, and a diffuse wing band on the upper wing due to the darker tips of inner greater and median coverts,making it a 2nd calendar year male, not a full adult, I guess its more likely I overaged the bird yesterday rather than there being two HH around. Comments welcome, as this  is the first adult(ish) male I have seen in the UK, although I've seen them in France.

I've not tried to upload a video before, I'm disappointed with the image on here, on my camera and laptop it is a lot nicer, but eh its only a bridge camera, and I dropped it again today!!!

Sunday 20th November 2016

Wildlife crime comes to Pembrey Burrows LNR...

Whilst on duty this afternoon two members of the public approached me and proceeded to show me an illegally set mist net which they had found set in Sea Buckthorn bushes on the reserve.

They had removed the two birds, a Great Tit and a Bullfinch, that were trapped and released them, although it sounded like only one was going to survive.

Needless to say I'm pretty pissed off by this discovery, luckily or unluckily I'm also very observant and clocked a suspicious vehicle and occupant in one of the car parks, I can't go into anymore detail at the moment, I may not get paid but I've been at this ranger game a very long time!!!... over to the local Police to deal with.

Not much else to report.........................