Phew, busy few days, Friday 14th April 2017

What a busy few days, we have been joined by Simon Jones a Countryside Management student on a work placement module.

With another pair of willing hands quite a few jobs have been tackled, nothing onerous just jobs that needed doing.

With the school break in full swing, Monday found me dousing down a fire where guests had been making marshmallow smorfs? luckily the fire didn't spread into nearby Gorse, but the buggers had taken a wooden batten off the shelter, and off a nearby reptile refugia as fuel!!!.

Tuesday started with a briefing for Simon then a guided walk with Carmarthenshire Wildlife Walks, a total of twelve adults and two children in perfect weather.
The route enabled me to show off some early signs of spring in the shape of Green winged Orchid, Cowslip, Morels ( we found a few more and I continue to find them scattered widely), the beach held its usual array of shells and crab carapaces with examples of Velvet Swimming Crab and of course the curious looking Masked Crab.  The best find of the morning though was the nationally scarce Dune Tiger Beetle.
I particularly like this group as they usually finish with a cup of tea and a cake.

Dune Tiger Beetle, a nationally scarce beetle.

Simon and I then went and "painted" the inside of the shelter, it hadn't been painted before and its made a real difference. This was followed by some Education, Engagement and sadly some Enforcement, dogs, dog mess and another fire.

Wednesday saw the usual gang of VCR's out and at last those Dormouse boxes are in position at another reserve ready for occupation, the Pwll Lagoon and Ashpits LNR is another gem in Carmarthenshires crown of "wild" places.

At last, Dormouse box in situ, just need some residents to move in..

The afternoon gave us time to repair, yet again, a short stretch of grazing field fence at Pembrey.

Thursday, more work on the shelter, including some refreshed interpretation posters.

A full check of the now 10/11 reptile refugia revealed 11 Slow Worms and three Common Lizards. A female Garganey on one of the ponds was a good find, ( same pond as last autumns bird?). We rounded off the day with the creation of a couple of new ringing rides in the reed bed, but not before Simon witnessed the harder side of visitor engagement, when every breath is seemingly wasted on visitors who have "...been coming here for sixty years.. " (and I'll do what I want).

Garganey, ♀

(I don't have any female pictures

of my own so I've borrowed this one,

key identification features  are the head markings)

Morals and Morels, Sunday 9th April 2017

I sometimes get the expected reaction from visitors wrong, (to be fair though not often), so today when I went to speak to a visitor with two dogs, which on a previous occasion had run all over the space I was working in, I didn't expect  a good outcome.. how wrong I was the chap was really engaged with the work we are doing and how our interaction with visitors is having a positive effect. There's a moral there somewhere.

Now for those Morels, to be precise one Morel, Morchella esculenta , I hadn't seen a Morel for over 25years so when local fungi legend Dr Philip Jones directed me to a specimen he had located on the reserve I was off to find it.

The Morel is actually a "cap" fungi, just like a toadstool however the spores are carried in the brain like structures on the upper surface, as the latin name suggests they can make good eating, if you can get there before the snails and slug and all manner of other invertebrate, plus of course they tend to be full of sand.

On the beach I found a beetle which I need confirmation of, however I think it may be one of the three species of Platydracus , which don't seem to have a "common name", when I find out what it is actually I'll post an update.

Platydracus spp?

Whilst on the beach I also found a whole "Sea Potato" still covered in spines.

Sunshine brings allsorts out, Saturday 8th April 2017

What a stunningly beautiful day, the Pembrey reserve looked at it's best for early spring.

Of course not every day is straight forward, and today started off with a complaint from a horse rider that a dog had chased her and her daughters ponies down the beach.....

Then, although nothing to do with the reserve, the local RNLI Lifeboat was called out to assist a yacht in the estuary, a few hours later and the Coastguard helicopter did a round of the bay, the sunshine brings them out.....

Back to the reserve Wildlife was very evident with a pair if Pied Wagtails investigating the information shelter, a wandering Slow Worm, a couple of Field Voles and perhaps best of all a territorial male Lapwing, I wonder what he was up too?

Slow Worm

♂ Lapwing

A telephone call from local birder Adam informed me that he had found a female

BLACK REDSTART,  a first for the site, disappointedly I couldn't relocate it. Bird species 90 of 2017.

♀ Black Redstart (Photo Adam Dare)

♀ Black Redstart (Photo Adam Dare)

A different route to the main parking area, it's not actually meant to be a car park, and what a pile of rubbish, three quarters of a black bag from less than a sq metre; why can't people just take their litter home.

Site fidelity Friday 7th April 2017

With a perfect forecast I was up before the larks this morning and on site at Pembrey Burrows  by 05:45, with a few nets set by 06:15.

The clear skies clouded over to total cover by 06:30 and the slight breeze dropped away, disappointedly the clear skies overnight did not drop any obvious migrants into the reed bed area.

However I did catch a couple of Willow Warblers (Wilwa), the first was very bright and crisp looking and was an unringed bird.

The second bird was already carrying a ring, and upon closer inspection it was one of mine, the bird in question HLH257 was ringed originally in July of 2016 in the same net set as it was retrapped.

When originally ringed it had a wing length of 69mm,, with no recorded weight (the batteries  in the scales had run flat) today it had the same wing length and weighed 8.8g, I think what is remarkable is that this tiny bird left Pembrey last autumn to spend its winter south of the Sahel in tropical Africa, and then journey back again to Pembrey.... truly amazing.

Willow Warbler, HLH257

Its song is something to listen for as a herald of spring and warmer days

Two Swallows don't make a summer or do they, Saturday 1st April 2017

A really spring like feel to this morning, and as if to make the point a good sprinkling of summer migrants passing through the reserve.

A flock of c90 Sand Martins,(Sanma) settled on the beach before moving on west, with a Swallow, (Swall) and a few Pied Wagtails in the mix.

Sand Martin

A flock of 64 Sanderling and 10 Ringed Plover chasing the tide may have been passing through.

Another three Swallows in off the estuary and across the marsh with c20 Common Shelduck making the most of the high water, with lots of courtship going on amongst the pairs, I just wish they would stay and breed on the reserve, maybe this year!

Swallow  (not todays photo)

Common Shelduck + a Mallard

A few birds along the track to the information shelter included a fresh in Willow Warbler (Wilwa).

Willow Warbler

With season dog restrictions in place across the reserve, there may be hope for ground nesting birds to be successful this season.

A place to stop and rest Wednesday 29th March 2017

With an uncertain forecast, would it rain and if so when and how heavy, the Wednesday team met to carry out a few jobs at Pembrey Burrows LNR.

Todays tasks were to install two rustic benches, some habitat management for Marsh Helleborine  and finish off those Dormouse boxes.

Digging in sand is so satisfying, easy going and light to handle so in quick order the first bench was taking shape.

 A simple bench made from locally grown and harvested Corsican Pine

The three wise monkeys, quality control testing

After the first bench we set off across the marsh to an area of fore-dunes with a great views over the Burry Inlet, or if you sit the other way around, the Saltmarsh with a morning high tide there was a lot more water lying on the marsh than I anticipated so with some wet feet the second bench went in easily.

Seat with a view

Marsh Helleborine, Epipactis Palustris flowered in only two areas last season these looked a little overgrown with grasses and Willow, so we cleared the areas in anticipation of the appearance of more flower spikes this season.

Marsh Helleborine, Epipactis palustris

in full flower in 2016

The Dormouse boxes are now ready to be installed in suitable habitat AT LAST!!!!

Cast ashore part 2 Sunday 26th March 2017

After yesterdays adventure on Cefn Sidan I returned again this morning for another look at the strandline, the weather was not as pleasant as yesterday with a stiff easterly blowing into my face but still a great walk.

There were far fewer By-the-wind Sailors on the beach, but today I managed to collect a couple of samples, always useful to show visitors on our guided events.

I may need to revise my identification of the Cuttlefish bone from yesterday as today I found several more which are clearly the Pink Cuttlefish Sepia ordignyana  the "spine" is much larger, and the whole "bone" has a pink flush.

The Common Razor Shell Ensis ensis had a species of Hydroid growing from it.

After much deliberation I'm also now happy with a positive identification of Prickly Cockle Acanthocardia echinata, (not as labelled in the photo)

On the bird front a ♂ Merlin was still terrorising the local pipit population, and a new bird for the site for 2017 was found in the form of a pair of Gadwall on one of the ponds.

Gadwall, ♀ on left ♂ on right