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

In lovely summer sunshine a small group met with Dr Simeon Jones for a guided walk looking at the flora of the Morfa Berwig LNR, a site with a chequered past, from coastal marsh to refuse tip to overflow car park... Immediately we set off we can across some of the typical plants of the site in the from of Rushes, with Hard, Soft and Compact and Round Fruited Rush all growing in close proximity to one of the seasonal pools. Hard Rush Teasel A little more showy were the Southern Marsh Orchids, now past their best but still identifiable, Marsh Bedstraw, Water Forget-me-Not, Teasel, Meadow Vetchling Nipplewort, Oxeye Daisy, Creeping Jenny and Greater Birds Foot Trefoil were amongst a good range of plants Simeon showed us. Nipplewort We also saw Southern Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer dragonflies, Small Skipper and Meadow Brown butterflies were widespread, feeding on Hogweed we found the aptly named Black and yellow Long Horned Beetle. Southern Hawker Black

So its that time of year, the Summer solstice, all down hill from here then... well actually not now we have the "seasonal lag" where temperatures will probably continue to rise to make our summer, well summer. Sat taking payment at the entrance to the Pembrey Country Park has it's upside, there's just so  much birdlife in and around the entrance area, a family of Blackcaps kept me amused for most of yesterday as did the antics of the Song Thrushes. Today I took my camera and managed a short piece of video of the snail eating specialists, who needs snail and slug pellets if you've got these in the garden. Thrush versus snail  poised and ready

This afternoon I found out the ringing details of the Cormorant recovered on Cefn Sidan on Sunday. The bird was originally ringed on 10th June 2015 on St Margaret's Island Pembrokeshire, by the Pembrokeshire Ringing Group, (some are followers of this blog so if you can tell us more about St Margaret's island please leave a comment). A REMINDER of a flower walk at MORFA BERWIG LNR with Dr Simeon Jones on Saturday 23rd June at 10am, the reserve is looking good at the moment come and find out more... Ragged Robin

I'm really enjoying my paid job with the Outdoor Recreation Service (ORS) not quite as nature focussed as my volunteer role but still---- a job is what you make of it... This afternoon I was eating my lunch at the beach entrance in the country park when a visitor approached and let me know that there was a "Heron" on the beach that couldn't fly. A rescue to brighten an otherwise very quiet day... I called on Oliver the duty ranger while I set off on foot westwards along the beach, ignoring the black rucksac on the beach (I'll come back to that) Oliver duly arrived along with Mandy from the campsite in search of the "Heron" nothing to be found so we headed back, as w e approached the black rucksac it moved or rather lifted its head... our Heron was in fact a Cormorant. a quick chase, (yes I chased it along the beach) and it was caught. Cleary not in the best condition we took it into care, the first thing I noticed was that it was ringed with a Britis

I spent a few hours on the Pembrey LNR this morning before getting on with preparing for the BioBlitz in the Pembrey Country Park which takes place tomorrow (Sunday 10th). The weather improved quickly this morning from overcast to hazy warm sunshine which caught me out whilst on the beach looking for the STRANDLINE BEETLE, sadly there is very little debris on the beach suitable for the beetle so I didn't find one in the mile or so of beach I checked. On a brighter note I did find some "new" BEE ORCHIDS, growing in a different location to last year, the PYRAMIDAL ORCHIDS are also beginning to put on a show across the reserve. Bee Orchid flower The pond in field 2 continues to improve with 7 times more SOUTHERN MARSH ORCHIDS compared to last year as well as EMPORER, BROAD BODIED CHASERS and BLACK-TAILED SKIMMERS, all putting on a show Black-tailed Skimmer Good numbers of SMALL BLUE as well as SMALL HEATH butterflies were pleasing to see as this year seems a

A routine visit to the Pembrey LNR was rewarding in so much that the site is looking amazing. The cattle were taken out of GF2 a couple of months ago, this has allowed the vegetation in the pond to grow without being grazed off, as a result the pond and "slack" area will be at their best in a week or so, Southern Marsh Orchids are already coming into bloom, with the shoots of Lesser Spearwort providing resting places for the Broad bodied Chasers. Southern Marsh orchid With many of the summer flowers on show the accompanying butterflies are out in force with 10's of Small and Common Blues on the wing. mating Common Blues Now that the kids are back in school and there is a quieter feel to the reserve get out and explore.. It has certainly been a busy half term I'll let the photo below speak for itself, (the used bbq's  had aleady been moved off their original position, hence the burn marks however they were still hot when I got to them so we en

Having spent the last two days welcoming visitors to the country park it seemed a good idea to start a "wildlife seen" list at the entrance. The catalyst for the idea was a WEASEL running across the road, with great views. The birds are quite "tame" with great views of MISTLE THRUSH, SONG THRUSH, BLACKBIRD, ROBIN, DUNNOCK, BLUE and GREAT TITS, JAY, and MAGPIE; ok not the most exciting birds but the thrushes were in good numbers with the Mistle Thrushes feeding fledged young. The woodland in the park is well worth an explore at any time of year so don't forget the  BioBlitz event on Saturday 9th June with an event evening for BATS and more, and the a packed day of guided events on Sunday 10th starting at 6:30am with a ringing demonstration. BOOKING ESSENTIAL for all events Move the page around to read the poster