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

Before I get to the core of todays blog, let me say thanks to the Monday mencap volunteers who turned turn out regardless of the weather to carry out tasks at Pembrey Burrows LNR. Today was wet, not by usual Welsh standards, just drizzle and mizzle but the kind that gets you wet, today we fixed a step on a stile into one of the fields, there was a photo but there was a bit of "builders bum" going on so I've deleted it!, still thanks lads. I carried on checking around, getting to the information hut for a cup of tea, (from a flask before anyone thinks I've taken up the suggestions of a tea/coffee machine) I got out of the van to be faced with badger trouble, I'd noticed a lot of activity on the track such as old bedding and scuffling; but the have clearly been busy in the bank outside the hut, it quite a job they've done and the photos don't do it justice.. So what may they be up to.... Lets have a bit of background information about

An early morning to see the contractors at Morfa Berwig, refurbishing the bridges on the main path. The first Primrose flowers, Cettis Warblers, Robins and Blackbirds singing in the morning sunshine,- the first dry day for what seems like ages. A phone call from one of our regulars at Pembrey Burrows to alert me to the fact that there had been a breakout from F2, with three of the boys munching on the salt marsh!!. Having found the breach in the fence and repaired it, I wandered over to see what could be done to get the boys back in the field. They showed no interest in moving, and why would they, with all those lovely tasty salt marsh plants to graze. They soon moved with some mechanical encouragement when the grazier turned up,  with a little effort we got the three across the marsh and into the field. A flip side of rounding cattle was a count of 55 Snipe, oh then 54 as a male Peregrine took advantage of the situation.... Common Snipe

Today saw us with Simeon Jones, Conservation Officer, in Burry Port Woodlands, at the Western end of the Millennium Coast Park. The woodlands are part of a four year Glastir scheme, (the Welsh Government scheme for sustainable land management) and are about 15 years old. Today was about selecting one in three trees, from an area not yet thinned, and marking them for felling as part of the cycle of thinning the woodland to ensure the habitat is in the best condition it can be. See the  Welsh Government website for more details http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/farmingandcountryside/farming/schemes The woodland is mostly comprised of Grey Alder, Silver Birch, Willow sp, Corsican Pine, Whitebeam Sp, Blackthorn, Ash, Oak and a few Maple spp and Holly; we didn't see a great deal of Ash dieback but it is present, some of the Holly in the woodlands have a very symmetrical shape, which is probably indicative of the total lack of grazing. Considering the proxi

Today was the WEBS count, so in appalling weather I met Edward the WWT Intern at high tide and we drove the five miles of the beach from Pembrey Country Park to Tywyn Point. We got the timing perfect this morning and the poor weather mean't there were very few people on the beach Section A was a bit quiet but we soon got into some decent birds and good numbers in section B; highlights included: OYSTERCATCHER 7363, HERRING GULL 1021, SANDERLING 465, DUNLIN 353,                GREY PLOVER 40, GBB GULL 66, KNOT 189, & BAR TAILED GODWIT 25 Sanderling The oddest discovery was a TAMWORTH PIG, although it would have taken a very good Vet to bring it back to life..... Where the hell did this Tamworth come from?

A couple of regular visitors to Morfa Berwig kindly let me know about an Earthstar fungus they had found growing on the edge of the main hard surfaced route through the reserve. With great directions I found it without really looking to hard, I took a photo to help id it at home, yes it was obviously an Earthstar. despite some decay, it was in a remarkably good condition considering it would have been fruiting in the autumn. It's species identification was determined by the ever helpful Dr Philip Jones, or local fungus guru, as being the Collared Earthstar, Geastrum triplex , one of the commoner species of Earthstar to be found. Collared Earthstar at Morfa Berwig A Wikipedia, free to use and share, photo of "fresh" Collared Earthstar On the bird front the Willow Tit has reappeared after being absent for a few days, I apologise that the public cannot see the feeders, its a matter of keeping them safe, they are part of a ringing project and they need to

We are so fortunate, along the Llanelli coast, to have so many great habitats to explore, and many of the best are protected one way or another, either through legislation and ownership or just the sheer logistics of getting to the site. There are many plants which are generally scarce through the UK, and one with a tenuous grasp on Carmarthenshire is the Small Flowered Catchfly, Silene gallica, which occurs naturally in one location in the county and that is around the walls of Burry Port Harbour. F ollow the link for a more detailed appraisal of the plant https://www.plantlife.org.uk/application/files/4114/7913/4089/Silene_gallica__dossier.pdf Silene gallica, Small flowered Catchfly, look for the plant from May onwards The habitat at Burry Port has not been as closely managed as it could have been, with invasion by Couch Grass, Gorse and Radish. before, no substrate visible for any seed to set, Hopefully the small amount of work we have done today will go

LITTER, ESPECIALLY MARINE LITTER AND INPARTICULAR, PLASTIC, IS A HUGE PROBLEM AND HAS HIT THE HEADLINES ACROSS THE WORLD, DO YOU WANT TO DO YOUR BIT TO HELP LOCALLY... There are a few opportunities coming up if anyone is keen to do some litter picking to impact on marine bourn litter. The staff of  the councils Outdoor Recreation Team are giving their own time on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st, meet at the Pembrey country Park main beach entrance at 10:30, stay for as long or as short a  time as you can, max 2 hours, equipment provided. Then on Monday 19th February a beach clean on the western part of Cefn Sidan, contact me for more details.