Paul's Blog - All comments and views are my own,

The first migrants ahead of storm "Kate"....... Yesterday (Friday 25th) I had my first sighting of Northern Wheatear on the reserve at Pembrey, the were a bit too active to get a photo, there will be opportunity later in the spring I hope. A stroll around my local "patch" at Sandy Water Park in the evening found the male Goldeneye still on the lake, plus the first Sand Martins (10) that I have seen this spring  distant male Goldeneye A mix of winter and summer, as the day had been perfect clear blue skies and warm sunshine, not so good for migrant watching but a lovely day to enjoy the area. Great Crested Grebe I don't often spend any time taking photos of the local wildfowl but the light was so interesting yesterday evening it was hard to walk on by. male Mallard female (L) & male (R) Gadwall female Tufted Duck, looks like its swimming in molten metal this should be an easy "mystery bird" On Thurs

New reserve..... A new local nature reserve (LNR) has been designated in the Llanelli area called Morfa Berwig, this is an area of reclaimed industrial land on what was a marsh/beach hence the Welsh term Morfa meaning beach. A great deal of work has been undertaken including the creation of ponds and pools as well as scrub clearance, inconjuntion with ARC trust, (Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) , Keep Wales Tidy and the county council. We met there today to open up a public footpath and clear moss from the footbridges. Lunchtime Whilst we were there I carried out a basic water quality test as part of a project with the Freshwater Habitats Trust, the test is for Phosphate and Nitrate levels, it was pleasing to see that the ditch running through the reserve had almost negligible levels of either. a simple sample test  before recording the answers (the phone is to count down the three or five minutes) I sent Veronica in to get the water sample!!

First day of spring... properly.... Today marks the Spring Equinox, the days will really start to get longer than the nights  now.  third hand report of an Otter nr the reserve car park had me out and about early this morning, in the hope of a glimpse of this elusive creature that I have tracked around the reserve for the past 5 months... NO I didn't see the animal but if anyone wants to lend/donate a camera trap then I've got the perfect place for one to be put. I fared better on the bird front with the still lingering female Merlin, I managed to creep up on the bird to within 50m, after she had failed to catch a meadow Pipit. Merlin Merlin A couple of shots one has been slightly cropped, I am quite pleased with the result given I only use a "bridge" camera. The bird list for 2016 has now reached 81 species recorded which I am pretty pleased with there are lots more species to be added during the coming months and I reckon the list b

Oxwich NNR ringing A grey overcast morning with a light but keen breeze, the "Snipe" nets were set and yielded one Common Snipe, a good start. The rest of the morning seemed busy but was in fact a slow one but with a good mix of birds, including Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Siskin, Goldcrest Robin, Dunnock and Chiffchaff. One of the Robins looked interesting as it had a grey wash to its back and wings, we initially though that it may be a continental bird, you would expect a slighter longer wing than the 72mm we measured as birds which tend to migrate also tend to have slightly longer wings, so who knows? A definite grey wash to the wings and mantle The Chiffchaff was a nice find, it had been buzzing around the bushes behind the net for a while before being caught. Initially I thought it may be the first returning migrant but it had a fat score of 3 so possible an over winterer and not a traveller from the south, usually birds arriving from the Mediterrane

Migration of a sort........ Another sunny and crisp morning, although a little more haze about, should have yielded a Northern Wheatear....but alas not this morning, it will probably be tomorrow when I'm away ringing at Oxwich NNR. However a Woodcock flushed from the edge of the reed bed/rough grass on the side of the road was a pleasant surprise, it was in almost the same spot as one seen on 2nd February. I met up with Adam Dare and his wife and after a long chat putting the birding world to right I left to return home, after a few yards a faint but clear call got my attention and Adam was waving at me after wondering over expecting to see a Wheatear he pointed out that his wife had just flushed a SHORT EARED OWL, I managed a distant but positive view!!! My guess is that the Owl is a migrant moving north, and the Woodcock well that could be a local breeder. no photos sorry..................

Where are the Wheater's...... Still no sign of any real migration getting under way, its that "false Spring" feeling with the sun shining but the wind in the wrong direction to really push birds up from the south. The best I could muster today in strong sunshine and a bitter Easterly was a small group of Teal, two Mallard, two Oystercatchers, one Redshank and one Greenshank. Greenshank (L) and Redshank (R) The Rock Pipits at  old Pembrey Harbour are getting in the mood with territorial display and lots of chasing and calling. The weather looks set for a few days yet, hopefully the wind will die down and a bit more cloud cover. My plans to spend an extended period on the island of Lesbos have been changed due to family commitments, however I have been granted leave of two weeks to visit in April/May which is a bonus. If you have never visited this the third largest of the Greek Islands then do so either now in Spring or in September you will  not

Harbingers of real Spring?..... A really lovely morning to be out, and although the day started overcast it just felt it could only get better, and it did. On the bird front Skylarks were in full song, a quick survey of just one grazing field showed a minimum of 11 singing males. The Stonechats are on territory with at least five territories identified, this female just was quite confiding. Female Stonechat What was noticeable was the arrival of what seemed like dozens of Meadow Pipits, there were quite a few in the fore dunes, along with surprisingly, Common Snipe. Meadow Pipit Some of the Meadow Pipits will be local birds and there was a fair bit of flight song happening. A local birder texted? me with the news that two SAND MARTINS had flown in a NE direction over the dunes. Other wildlife news is of a Hare, the second sighting in two days ssshhhh!!!