Early Spring or....False hope Wednesday 13th February 2019

Before a health & safety training course, I fitted in a walk through the Pembrey Country Park to check on the bird feeders down at the main pond. The walk was pleasant enough and it seems that the birds are getting in the mood, with a chorus of song from the surrounding undergrowth and tree tops.

There were Blackbirds, Robins and a Song Thrush calling and singing, Great tits were investigating a few of the nesting boxes, the Mallard on the pond were mating.

Listen here to a few of the bird songs you can hear in the Country Park

https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/european-robin/

https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/common-blackbird/
https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/song-thrush/

With winter not yet done are they getting ahead of themselves? probably not, as there are a few species already thinking about nesting, the local Ravens and Tawny Owls to name just two.

A Red Admiral butterfly was reported yesterday, most likely one out of hibernation. The forecasted  mild spell will see a few species of insects on the wing so look out for bumblebees, Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies; don't forget to let us know at the visitor centre if you see anything interesting.

Brimstone

The feeders are quite quiet but are a good place to see Grey Squirrels up close as they decimate the Sunflower heart feeder.....!

It will all grow back-but nicer, Sunday 3rd February 2019

Brrrr, a few cold days with a real feel of winter, the wildlife seems to have gone to ground in the forest, still not an excuse to stop you getting out to follow one of the three marked trails through Pembrey Country Park.

Today I followed the Woodland (green) trail, at 3km long and on level ground it takes you through some nice areas of the forest in the park. A map and notes on all three trails can be found on the Country Park website

http://www.pembreycountrypark.wales/  or by following this link.

http://www.pembreycountrypark.wales/things-to-do/trails/

The numbers on selected marker posts refer to notes in the printable leaflets.

As you walk the route you will see that the rangers have been carrying out some overdue conservation work by opening up the rides and clearing swathes of Bramble from the edges of the paths and along the banks.

It may look a bit brutal at the moment, however in a few weeks the results of the work will be visible. With more daylight reaching the ground, less competition from the Bramble and a much more open feel, wild flowers and invertebrates will be taking advantage of the much improved conditions.

Several south facing areas have been cleared, again opening up the ground for a wide range of butterflies. With no species of Deer seemingly in the forest, the coppicing of a small coupe of Hazel will soon show regrowth again providing open ground for wild flowers and invertebrates.

Birds of prey such as Buzzard and Sparrowhawk are taking advantage of the open rides for hunting.
Please take the opportunity to follow this series of short trails and don't forget to let us know what you see.

The bird feeder saga, Tuesday 29th January 2019

I returned from a week in the sun in high spirits, well as high as my spirits get!, to find that all of the bird feeders at the winter feeding site in the country park had been ……. STOLEN!, No other word for it well there were but I can't put them in the blog.

I mentioned it on my FB page and had a lot of supportive voices and a kind gesture of some replacements, THANK YOU.

The park raised the issue on our social media feed and as expected there were many disgruntled voices offering vocal support, much appreciated, I'm not sure what drives some people, surely they were taken by people who where going to use them?

I continued to feed the birds but just by putting the food on the ground.

A few days ago I was in the office when a visitor came in carrying a large box, I was astounded to see a selection of almost new feeders as a donation; he had seen the message on our social media and brought them in. THANK YOU.

I am not putting them back where they were for fear of having them stolen again, so now there are two in front of bird hide (No2) at the lake on the edge of the park.

Checking them today a few tits and Chaffinches have found them also four Mallard were feeding on the spilt seed. This new location will allow more people to view the birds and still allow some ringing to be carried out.

Lets hope these stay there....

Gran Canaria- a roundup Tuesday 22nd January 2019

It was a big shock to the system getting off the plane at Bristol Airport, where we were reassuringly informed the temperature was 5'c, a stark contrast to the temperature when we left Gran Canaria where it was around 23'c. The rain as we crossed the Severn Bridge only reinforced the knowledge we were home.

As this was a last minute winter break I didn't make any special effort to seek out the local wildlife, but managed to see a new bird species as well as get a close encounter with some Risso's Dolphins and two Green Turtles.

The Canary Islands Chiffchaff is longer billed and has a short primary projection therefore a more rounded wing which works for this species as it is sedentary.

Risso's Dolphins are just one of 29 species of cetaceans recorded in the waters off Gran Canaria, they are a calm species none of the acrobatics that you expect from some species of dolphin, the scars and scratches are caused by the dolphin feeding amongst rocks as this is primarily a squid eater. We found two pods of 3 and 5? respectively the large group had a well grown calf in tow.

The Green Turtles made the three hour boat trip worth it for me despite brief views they were good enough to identify positively, there is a concerted effort to try and make some of the old nesting beaches good enough to encourage the turtles to nest on the island. (photo via library)

Winter sun, 14th - 21st January 2019

A last minute decision to have a short winter break finds me on the island of Gran Canaria.
Not a wildlife holiday but some nice birds seen in passing, with one being a new bird for me, Canary Island Chiffchaff, similar to our own summer visitor but at the same time different. A longer billed more buffy bird with a very energetic song.
When I get home I'll do a proper blog.

Sands of Time & New Trails: Sunday 6th January 2019

Another calm overcast and cool morning, perfect for getting out and about, even if the Country Park seems busy its easy to get away from people.

If you venture to the eastern end of Pembrey Burrows nature reserve you will see the forces of nature in action, the effects of tide and wind are demonstrating what a sand dune system should be like, DYNAMIC!

I've discussed in previous blogs how a functioning sand dune system should look and feel, lots of mobile sand, a good covering of Marram Grass and then the more stable dunes away from the immediate coast. The weather in late December has had an interesting effect on the dunes at the eastern end, with a fair bit of erosion to begin with but then a lot of sand moved up onto the existing low dunes and now extending up to 30m inland. The longer term impact may result in a new dune ridge forming right above the beach, and an expanse of more open sand ready to be colonised by all sorts of creatures and plants.

Three years ago the fence in the photographs was around 50m from the beach maybe a bit more, now as you can see the fence in buried along at least 100m of its length, making it useless for its job of keeping the cattle in the grazing area, in the long term a new fence will need to be move much further inland to ensure it has some longevity.

Back in the Country Park the nature trails I've mentioned previously have now been marked out, there are four to follow each walk has a different coloured marker, (the photo has not shown the proper colours of Green and Blue), each one giving an insight to the different habitats and wildlife in the park. We are just waiting for the descriptions of each walk to be finalised when this is done you will be able to print off a map from the Country Park website.

There is a rather too healthy population of Grey Squirrels in the forest, currently there are signs of their activities to be seen. They are feeding on the cones of the Corsican Pines which they strip and eat the tiny seeds inside then discard the core, they are also doing a fair bit of digging, either caching the seeds or taking advantage of the mild winter to look for bulbs and tubers.

New year new post Friday 4th January 2019

Happy New Year to all....

A calm, dry morning, if a tad nippy, was perfect for a short ringing session at Pembrey Country Park.

As I was on my own, although lucky to have Veronica "scribing" I only set one 40' net. The feeding station is swarming with tits and I didn't really feel the urge to put up more than was necessary, especially as I was hoping for a few more Jays.

First round produced a new Jay and a new GS Woodpecker along with the inevitable mix of Blue and Great Tits. 
There is a new project running looking at the moult strategy of Blue Tits, especially the way in which they moult their Alula feathers (numbered 3 in the diagram) so catching Bluti has even more scientific value.

The session finished on 25 birds with Great Tits dominating, plus another two Jays; we have ringed six Jays in four sessions since November, there are still  more to ring....