Ringing demo' Thursday 12th April 2018

An early start to set up the ringing nets at Morfa Berwig, disappointedly only one person had booked in but as I was going to be at the reserve anyway there was no point in cancelling it. - the four talks/events so far this year have connected with 52 people.

Anyway one more person educated about the mystery that is bird ringing is always beneficial.
In the short time only eight birds were caught however with five being newly arrived Blackcaps it was very worthwhile. They were carrying various amounts of fat with scores around 5 or 6 showing they had refuelled at some point on their northward journey and probably only arrived on the reserve overnight.

Female Blackcap

A phone call around 9:30am from a regular at Pembrey did not bring good news, t would seem that about 30m of barbed wire fence had been pushed or pulled over and the cattle were missing!!

Another call from the admin office told me that the 16 cattle had wandered off the reserve, over the saltmarsh and had been found by one of the ranger team in a car park!

Although not primarily my responsibility there is a sense of presenting a positive public image so after rallying the grazier team I set off to the said car park arriving at the same time as the grazier and seeing one of the regular litter picker volunteers corralling the beasts!!!!!!!!!!!!

Suffice to say after an hour or so and a long walk for the cattle they were safely returned to a different field.

Surveying the scene of the crime it is difficult to decide if this was deliberate vandalism or a planned escape.

Signs of the day Tuesday 10th April 2018

Another change in the weather, with Monday being shirt sleeve order and today back to the fleece.

I met up with Simeon and the guys from mencap Cymru at North Dock LNR this morning to install the new boundary sign.

Easy digging, avoiding the copious amounts of dog mess soon had the sign in place.

It was then off to Sandy Water Park to put some interpretation in place for the Bee/Pollinator project we started last week.

A quick trip to Pembrey and some public engagement - I always enjoy talking to people who want to know more about the work we do - and my morning was complete.

Don't forget the bird ringing demonstration at MORFA BERWIG on Thursday 8am - 10am

please call to book a place 07984788218

Talk and Walk, Saturday 7th April 2017

I gave an illustrated talk on Friday evening to the Wales Wildlife Watch group which seemed to go well to an attentive and inquisitive audience.

Today in overcast and showery conditions saw the first guided event of the season, a beach walk on Cefn Sidan between CE51 and CE52, a group of 19 including 6 little ones was a good size. With so  much emphasis on the benefits to be gained from "getting outside" and enjoying the countryside and coast, some may be interested to know that todays walk of just over 2 miles (measured on a map), all the ups and downs of the dunes, contributed around 5000 steps to the daily target of 10000!

The walk thorough the reserve revealed a few things but with the season seemingly a few weeks behind we didn't have more than a few flowering plants in bloom, a torpid SLOW WORM raised some interest.

Once on the beach it was clear that the easterly wind of the last few days had covered the older tide lines with sand so we worked the lower beach with a decent array of creatures and shells.

working through the key for Shark egg-cases,

we decided we had a Blonde Ray case

With buckets filled with shells, crab casts, Sea Potatoes and seaweeds the little ones set about creating a "fish"

Some great feedback from the participants makes it all worthwhile.

BUZZY Tuesday 3rd April 2018

Met up with Simeon along with Sinead (Bumble Bee Conservation BBCT) at Sandy Water Park this morning as a follow up to a meeting a few months ago, looking at creating habitat for Bees and other inverts' along with some wild flowers in the swathe of grass that is Sandy Water Park.

Looking West across the lake

Before

With limited funds BBCT have engaged a contractor to strip an area of turf and put down a limestone gravel substrate.

Removing the turf and some topsoil will reduce the nutriments from the area making it better for naturally occurring flora to take hold, the gravel will help to replicate the lime conditions on the dunes and suppress the stronger ruderal flora from pushing through, possibly.

A man and a machine duly appeared and got stuck in making the job look so easy!!!, while another man and a brand new £80000 JCB loader stood by ready to move the gravel.

Doesn't take long

Another example of partnership working for the benefit of the local wildlife and hopefully the local people. (interpretation on the way)

£80000, first day out

Gravel laid

Easter Monday 2nd April 2018

A "day off", a chance to do some admin!

Well a busy week ahead including a talk on the Carmarthenshire Local Nature Reserves on Friday: 7pm.

Felinfoel Community Resource Centre SA14 8BE,

This is a WWW event see www.facebook.com/waleswildlifewatch for details, a small charge applies.

Then the first guided event of the season with a Beach Walk/Safari on Saturday the 7th starting from the Pembrey Burrows Reserve entrance at 10am booking is essential for this (and all our events this year) No charge.

Call me on 07984788218

A report this morning of a SHORT EARED OWL at the burrows around 08:30 - thanks Bernie, there has been a Merlin around in the last few days, and a Great Northern Diver off Old Pembrey Harbour.

A Sea Potato, a burrowing Sea Urchin complete (unusually) with spines

Pembrey Litter- Wednesday 28th March 2018

LITTER, the bane of most sensible, responsible people.
Today our little band picked litter and fly tip from the roadside boundary of the reserve and the "car park" at CE53, Two car tyres, five bags of litter and with not a little irony a pedal bin!

We then picked the grass verge on either side of the main track through the reserve, amongst assorted cans and footballs, we collected 36 bags of dog shit! yes there you have it I've used the S word, because I'm seriously fed up with the lack of respect that the minority of the public, most of whom are "locals", have for our great open spaces.

To me it's simple

YOUR DOG - YOUR RESPONSIBILITY - CLEAN UP AND BIN THE DOG POO.

I'm sure that the council have no responsibility to provide facilities for dog walkers to dispose of Fido's waste, but they do with bins in as many practical places as possible, and frankly I'd rather see my council tax being spent on schools and social care than on a bin for someone's dog poo.

A few days ago at Morfa Berwig I came across this, a Hazardous Waste container, dumped near the roundabout entrance. WHY!

Anyway a spot of stile repairing and fence inspection soon had us in better spirits, it was then off to check a Barn Owl box, well the Grey Squirrels had moved back in after being evicted some months ago, a female,  was duly removed having been dead for some while, a victim of the cold?, along with a mountain of leaves and moss.

Morfa Berwig Wednesday 21st March 2018

At last, today, after an icy start, felt like Spring!

The Wednesday team returned to Morfa Berwig to finish off the task we started last week, (usually the Wednesday team only visit once a month), and did a MAMMOTH JOB which left us, well at least me knackered! THANKS.

It was back to tidying up after the work carried out by contractors, on behalf of NRW, raking the banks of the ditch and clearing debris from the ditch, which is flowing nicely thanks to Brian's engineering works, there's a kid in all of us! Oh we had a little bonfire...

We made neat piles of the brash which will rot away fairly quickly I hope.

With increasing daylight, don't forget the clocks spring forward this weekend, the vegetation will soon take hold, a LITTLE EGRET couldn't wait to investigate our work but decided there was nothing to eat, the obvious birdlife today came in the form of a few pairs of MALLARD and a pair of GADWALL bombing about, a GREY HERON and best off all a GREEN WOODPECKER, possibly a new bird for the site although I'll need to check my records.

Green Woodpecker (Google free to share)

You will have seen that I often use photos kindly permitted by Colin Dalton, if anyone has photos that they feel I could use at some time I'm always happy to share, of course I can't pay but will always acknowledge the source.

Our next Local Nature Reserves event is a BEACH WALK, on the 7th April at PEMBREY BURROWS, booking essential 07984788218

I can reach it ..honest!