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

It's exactly four years since we moved to Llanelli, so much has happened in that time; not least is the number of new friends I have made, a great bunch of people many of them experts in their field, and many like-minded people. I've retired, volunteered and now have a dream job working in the Outdoor Recreation Service with more conservation thrown in than many realise, I just wish getting older didn't come with so many ailments! Recovering from my first encounter with Gout I have spent a few days looking at the wildlife in our small garden, with a bird list of just 38 species it's not the best garden for birds.  A quick mention about work, check out the Facebook pages of Pembrey Country Park for July walks, the August and September walks and workshops will be advertised soon, (book online) The pond had been more successful with Palmate Newt, Smooth Newt, Common Toad, Common Frog (both now disappeared) and a range of damselflies with Common Bluetail, Common Blu

Its been a while since my last blog, time flies. Just returned from a trip to the island of Madeira, where the sun shone and the heat built, very different to the weather left behind in the UK. Although not a birding/wildlife holiday there were a few highlights worthy of mention, all except one of the sightings are from the hotel room balcony! Plain Swift, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, (all subspecies) Blackcap, Blackbird, Y L Gull, Manx, Cory's and Bulwer's Shearwater, Common tern, Goldfinch and Feral Pigeon! Bulwers Shearwater ( photo Madeiriabirds) I found the Blackbirds interesting as they appear larger and more robust than the birds I'm used to in the UK with a noticeably larger bill, I also watched a female actively hunting the abundant supply of Madeiran Wall Lizards. The bird highlight came in the originally misidentified House Martin, (seen from a gondola car on the way down a mountain) which just looked wrong, and it was as it turned out to be a LIT

Outdoor Recreation Service held the first of three events for Wales Nature Week on Friday a little early but designed to link with school half term. Three moth traps were set in the park and forest, which meant a very early start to recover the traps before daylight. A good range of moths were caught and shown to a group of 12 children and three adults. As usual the "hawk moths" stole the show with Privet and Poplar caught. Some of the more interesting moths though included Obscure Wainscot, noted in Carmarthenshire as rare/local, in J S Bakers, MOTHS 2004, the food plant is Common Reed. Others included, Spruce Carpet, Sandy Carpet,  several of the "Minors" aggregate, Puss Moth, Sharp-angled Peacock, Scallop Shell, and both pale and dark morphs of Peppered Moth. Thanks to Dr Stuart Blackmore for his assistance. Obscure Wainscot, (Leucania obsolete) The afternoon session was pond dipping, with the event sold out, with 10 children and five adults getting

Today I joined in with the visit by the BSBI, Wales AGM gang for their visit to the Pembrey Burrows LNR. A great bunch of people with an amazing wealth of knowledge, passion and generosity of spirit. Some of these people are "published" experts but to chat with them was so refreshing and a great learning experience. When I have the full report in some months time I will share the highlights. However to start, a new plant for me Long-stalked Crane's-bill Geranium columbinum, a beautiful and delicate flower which I would have just walked passed. A flower that is hard to miss due to its vibrant yellow colour and its starry bracts and a favourite of mine is Goats-beard Tragopogon pratensis ,  just a stunner. The reserve looked and felt very dry, with the Green-winged Orchids all gone over and ground underfoot feeling "crunchy" so it was no surprise to see masses of snails, in aestivation, on Wild Radish, a state of summer dormancy to avoid the heat and dr

I have had the pleasure of volunteering with Dr Simeon Jones and Carmarthenshire Local Nature Reserves part of Carmarthenshire County Councils, Outdoor Recreation Service; since October 2015. My time spent at the reserves especially Pembrey Burrows has been very rewarding personally and I hope I have added to the data base of species found on the site. Many of you will be aware that I started a paid position with the Outdoor Recreation Service about a year ago, working primarily at Pembrey Country Park, my time there has been immensely enjoyable and again I hope I have contributed something to the park. Now its time for a change, well almost, today I was confirmed into a new and exciting role with the Outdoor Recreation Service as the Volunteer & Education Coordinator. The role is to develop a strong volunteer team within the service, coordinate the roles of the many other volunteers we have and to review the education offer we make to schools across all ages and abilities. (al

When recording the presence of wildlife at a location there are times when the first evidence comes from finding the corpse of an individual. So it was this weekend when Our Campsite Warden asked me to identify a dead mammal that a visitor had reported to her. When I was presented with what was clearly a full poo bag I did check my qualifications, forensic science is not amongst them... in fact what was inside was a rather splendid, but sadly deceased male POLECAT. Now here we need to consider the possibility that it was a domesticated ferret-polecat but immediately it was obvious by its size, condition and pelage that we had the real thing. The presence of Polecats has long been suspected with odd reports from the nature reserve and from the forest. I took the relevent measurements, tail, hindfoot, nose to body etc and all fitted in the range for a male Polecat in the welsh population. Formidable claws A sad sight but useful information gained,  the wind was blowing th

Pembrey Burrows Local Nature Reserve is one of the best places to see Green-Winged Orchids, I was out and about this morning and they are starting to appear in drifts across the grazing fields; for me they are a real sign that Spring has arrived. It will be a week or so before they are at thier best so don't rush to see them yet, if you want directions to the showiest areas then contact me.