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Storm Ellen 20-22 August 2020 autumnal feel

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  A taste of Autumn indeed, with gusts over 50mph recorded at the Met office weather station - Pembrey Sands, it was no surprise to discover that there has been more erosion of the dunes along Cefn Sidan, no doubt the missing sand will reappear somewhere else along the coast. A couple of decomposing Common striped Dolphins were not, I feel, connected with the storm, the Ravens were not shy in tucking into them. On the bird front a quick visit to Old Pembrey Harbour yesterday afternoon was good with four Knot, in excess of 50 Ringed Plover, a few Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls with 800 Oystercatchers. Today a check of the beach at high tide revealed plenty of common Scoter riding out the rough seas off shore and a STORM PETREL, very close to the beach. Not regularly recorded in Carmarthenshire Storm Petrels are summer visitors and breed on the Pembrokeshire Islands so this could have been one blown of course in the storm, a very characteristic bird with an almost dainty flight a

Autumn marches on Monday 17th August 2020

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The natural world doesn't follow the calendar as we do, it moves to it's own rhythm and can be evidenced by the birds we consider to be passage migrants, that's to say some arrive for the summer and some arrive for the winter. I see from the Carmarthenshire Bird Club sightings page that Ospreys have been seen today, origin will be unknown but their destination is likely to be West Africa, probably in the Senegal/Gambia regions were large numbers of them spend the winter and for this years youngsters they will probably spend a few summers there also. Osprey Migration   Northern Wheatears are another passage migrant that has appeared along the Carmarthenshire coast this week, this bird has one of the longest migrations for a passerine (perching bird), with individuals travelling as far as the Arctic to breed. Northern Wheatear migration Sanderling are another bird which travels long distances between its breeding and wintering grounds, of course not all of the birds travel al

On mans Weeds anothers' Wildflowers; Saturday 1st August 2020

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There are a profusion of yellow coloured flowers on show along the coast at the moment, this particular bank of "weeds" was particularly interesting. Hoary Mustard With Ragwort, Hoary Mustard, Wild Parsnip, Evening Primrose, Great Mullein, and Autumn Hawksbit in  the mix. Great Mullein flower close up Ragwort and Cinnabar Moth caterpillars The Ragwort had a few Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars, just one of the 87 or so invertebrates which rely on the plant for survival; whilst the Great Mullein showed some signs of being attacked by the Mullein moth caterpillar. Plenty of other wildlife about with Holly Blue, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Large White Butterflies all on the wing, and recently born Viviparous (common) Lizards on the wooden wall near the main access to the beach at Pembrey Country Park, a few adults were also on show, this lizard has a highly variable pattern of markings making for quite a show. Also on the wall was a very nice Rob

Autumn is here:- 27th July 2020

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Not so fast some may think, however in the natural world the signs of the changing seasons are all around, not least along the coastline. An hour on Cefn Sidan showed just what is happening with waders breeding in the sub-Arctic regions already back on the beach, with 170 Sanderling and c30 Dunlin, many moulting from summer plumage into the drab winter plumage. Sanderling Juvenile Black-headed, Herring, Lesser Black-back and Greater Black-backed gulls forming large mixed flocks with a few Mediterranean Gulls in the mix. The recent unsettled weather with well timed high water has, as usual brought Gannets and Manx Shearwaters in close. While all this is going on second brood Holly Blue butterflies are around Pembrey Country Park along with Dark Green Fritillaries. Most flowers are "going over" however look closely and there are plenty still to be found, Yarrow in both white and pink forms is plentiful, with Common Mallow, Restharrow, Wild Carrot being some of the m

Lockdown easing, Observations 7th July

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Five years ago this week I moved from the Cotswolds to the Llanelli area, somewhere I had sworn I would never come to live, how wrong I was, whilst I very much miss the great friends I had in the Cotswolds with so much to do within easy reach, I feel quite settled here. Having "retired" I went back to work and what a job I have, well it's what you make of it I suppose. Anyway observations, this blog is more about the dead than the living but sometimes the dead can tell us so much. In the past few weeks there have been two Short-beaked Common Dolphins washed up along with very young Harbour Porpoise. Short-beaked Common Dolphin, the gulls had been feeding Young Harbour Porpoise Sea Gooseberry and Moon Jellyfish have also come ashore in bigger than usual numbers. Sea Gooseberries Sea Gooseberry, a "Comb Jelly" with tentacles, these are almost always lost when beached Moon Jellyfish, these have a mild venom An update on the Long

Lockdown Observations, catch up Wednesday 17th June 2020

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So much has happened so quickly. Firstly a reliable sightings report of a PINE MARTEN in the Pembrey Forest was long overdue, spotted by one of our rangers, Oliver, a brownish, heavy mammal much larger than a Grey Squirrel weighing down the branch in a Sycamore tree, so what were the options, Stoats are known to climb trees but are no bigger than a Grey Squirrel, unlikely to weigh down a branch as described, and there we run out of options.  Pine Marten , (Wikipedia free to use) Historically it would seem likely that Pine Marten's have kept a toe-hold in the county for many years and now bolstered by the programme of planned releases in Mid and North Wales, perhaps there is some consolidation of their status, Work by local naturalist Ian Morgan highlights the history of this enigmatic mammal in Wales. https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.llanellinaturalists.org.uk%2Findex.php%2FWinter-1992%2F1993%2Finterim-notes-on-the-status-of-the-pine-ma

Lockdown observations Saturday 13th June 2020

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It's not over yet, yes restrictions have been eased very slightly but the overall message remains, Stay At Home. For those venturing out to exercise keep safe, to those venturing out to be stupid, well you need to think about what you are doing and how it affects other peoples enjoyment of the freedom to be outdoors. You will remember the recent blog about the fire in Pembrey Forest over the days of 29th, 30th and 31st May, and the lack of significant rain, (well until the last few days).  The fire was declared out! well in reality the fire had not gone out properly, yes there were no flames but it had moved underground burning slowly in the humus under the trees, so it was little surprise to be called to investigate smoke discovered  by some walkers on 8th June, they had managed to pour their drinking water on the smouldering ground. We also went and checked again on the 9th June and found another smouldering patch, now luckily these patches were !in the black" that