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

The weather has not be too useful for bird ringing of late, far to windy to use nets, so today I resorted to and old and tested technique, "walk in"  or "potter" traps. Before mist nets were popular, birds were caught by many other methods, often adapted from the methods used by hunters. The walk in trap does what it says in it's name, the bird walks into a baited trap, trips a very simple closing mechanism, and gets harmlessly trapped inside. I set five such traps today in the feeding area baited with seed and Peanuts, which the Jays adore collecting and storing, today they were their downfall and in quick order  three Jays and a Blackbird, were caught, processed and sent on their way. I did have to chase away a Grey Squirrel several times, most people know my feelings on those busy tailed tree rats! The feeding area has been very busy, mostly with tits but also at least three different G S Woodpeckers, up to seven Jays, (so still more to catch) and a

At last a morning with no rain and very little breeze, in fact a grass frost greeted me at the Park this morning for a much delayed second ringing session. The birds have been using the feeders in good numbers having had to refill them several times in last few days. A modest catch of 40 birds dominated by Great and Blue tits. Great Tit, just look at those colours! Numbers were:, Great tit 12, Blue Tit 9, Dunnock 6, Chaffinch 5, Coal Tit 2, Robin 2, Blackbird 2, Redwing 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1. Wing measurements provide useful biometric information Robin, several around the ringing table today We released two Chaffinches without ringing them as they had signs of the Papilloma virus, as discussed in previous blogs. Todays Great Spotted Woodpecker was a male, identified by the scarlet nape, look quick though! Thanks to Louise for the photos and Oliver for the video.

After a successful ringing session last week, I've been keeping the feeders topped up, the food is certainly disappearing fast, and spending about an hour, when I can spare it, just watching which birds are coming to the feeders. Today was particularly busy with lots of Blue, Great and Coal Tits visiting plus a nice flock of about 45 Chaffinches, the flock was feeding on the ground around the split grain being joined by a Jay, Magpie and Carrion Crow. A couple of Mistle Thrushes, Song Thrushes and a small flock of Redwings were on the grassy areas. Redwings are winter visitors from Scandinavia, with occasional individuals arriving from Iceland, (these tend to be larger and more strongly coloured compared to the Scandinavian birds), and can be present in good numbers from November through to Spring. Redwing Whilst watching the Chaffinches feeding I picked out another finch, very similar to the Chaffinch but this one is another winter visitor to the UK it was a Brambling,

Phew! well after watching the weather forecast all week this morning the weather was spot on for my first session at Pembrey Country Park. It's always interesting and challenging the first time a new site is ringed, how many nets? how will the wind direction affect the nets and therefore the catch? what will we catch? are there enough rings? all these questions were answered today. I was joined by "A" grade permit holders, Heather and Cedwyn from the Gower Ringing Group and by Veronica who provides the "scribing" service (Veronica does the writing!) I was on site for 06:15 and set the first couple of nets in the dark ready to catch any redwings leaving their night time roost, when the rest of the team arrived we put up another net near the feeders. It proved a decent first session with 44 birds of 12 species caught and ringed. Mistle Thrush, there is a good population of these stunning thrushes in the park Blue Tits dominated the catch as is usual wh

I've thought about a bird feeding/ringing station in Pembrey Country Park for a while, with permission given a few weeks ago, I went along today and set up four feeders. I have already had the ringing rides cleared by Steve in the Outdoor Recreation Team, the feeders have been positioned in order to try and trap a selection of the birds using the feeders, which allow me to assess the species using the area during the winter and help determine the population survival rates over a period of years. Ringing rides through the Pines It is likely that most of the birds will be from the Tit family but I'm hopeful that other species such as Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch will use the free food supply. Nuthatch The feeders contain, Niger- good for Goldfinches which are present in the park in good numbers, Sunflower Hearts- good for a wide range of birds but hopefully Siskin and Redpoll will find them; and a couple with a general mix of seeds and fruit. Three of th

An overcast, milder day with the threat of strong winds and heavy rain so why not get out for an hour or two. I started by checking the sheep, yes sheep, which are grazing in one of the four foredune fields on the seaward side of the country park  at Pembrey. We have a mixed flock of 47 ewes and rams of the Glamorgan or Nelson breed, perhaps better known as the South Wales Mountain Sheep. They are conservation grazers in the same way as the cattle on the nature reserve are, we are hopeful that they will graze the wide mix of plants in these foredunes, whilst their trampling will open up the ground creating bare areas of sand so loved by invertebrates. A last look at home before a holiday by the sea! More detail about the breed can be found here https://southwalesmountainsheep.co.uk/ The field is fenced with sheep netting and barbed wire and the gate is padlocked, there is no public access to the fields, with plenty of signage explaining why the sheep are there. With

I've often commented that you don't have to see a creature to know that it's been around, all animals will leave a clue to their presence, this is no better illustrated than in birds which produce a "pellet" of the indigestible parts of their food. People are often surprised and often misunderstand what is going on when a bird regurgitates one of these pellets, many think that the bird is vomiting, I guess in a way they are, except of course it's essential to their wellbeing that they remove the indigestible parts of the food via their mouths rather than letting the materials pass right through their gut, think of an owl trying to pass a mouse skull, ouch! Barn Owl All sorts of birds produce pellets, here are just a few; Owls, Crows, Gulls, Herons, Kingfishers, Hawks, Falcons and even Penguins (not that we get many of these in Carmarthenshire). Carrion Crow pellets This week I watched a bird produce the bright purple pellets in the photograph,