Blue Tit brood

 Some of you might have seen on my facebook page that our Blue Tits, George and Mildred, have been successful this year, with a family of five young successfully fledge.

This was taken (very quickly) on 18th May.

During the time of bringing in food, George and Mildred endured both the 30C heatwave and some torrential rain and thunderstorms. 

At their peak, the parents were between them bringing in food  every 2 to 3 minutes from around 5am until around 9.40pm. Even if you said it was every 3 minutes over 16 hours, that would be 320 meals!!

They worked their little socks off, and managed a few times to defy a Magpie that was trying to get into the box.

Since they fledged, I haven`t seen the family around, so I just hope they are doing well.

I`ll leave the nest box for a few more weeks just in case they are interested in using it again, but that is doubtful. It will then be carefully cleaned out, just in case there are mites and ticks to get rid of.

Skomer 2026

 Just over a couple of weeks ago it was time for my annual visit to Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire, a place I always love to visit at least once a year if I can. Late May is normally my preferred time, when the Puffins are back on the island in force, and (hopefully) there are Short Eared Owl back on the island too. The month of June gets booked up very quickly, being the peak time for Puffins bringing in sand eels for any Pufflings, and this year there was no second date available.

The day before, Pembrokeshire experienced some horrendous weather, with torrential thundery showers, including hail "the size of pebbles". However, on our arrival the sun was out, the sea calm, and all looked good. The forecast was for a cloudy but dry day, with the wind in the right direction. The day was on.

Our booking was for a 10am sailing, and our boat, the Dale Queen, gave us a smooth ride over, with onboard "entertainment" from Jim and his Herring gull sidekick Tonto. Just that challenge of negotiating the 84 steps winding up the cliff doesn`t get any easier, in fact the opposite these days. It was then the mandatory welcome talk with the wardens, and then we  headed off to the farm and North valley to see if there were any Short Eared Owls around.

Having stayed there for a while, there was no show, and with the island to explore and some time wanted at The Wick, it was time to move on. It didn`t take long before a sweeping, damp and pretty chilly sea mist came in, and stayed around for a couple of hours.

Eventually, we had some time at The Wick, where the main concentration of Puffins are. Considering they have had the highest count of Puffins in this year, some 52-53,000 birds, the Wick seemed a little subdued, and it was possible some of the birds might have been affected by the weather the day before.

Timing can be everything on Skomer, and although yet again I didn`t see any Short Eared owls around (there were meant to be 8 pairs/16 birds), there was still plenty of other wildlife around, including Chough, Guillemots and Razorbills.

It`s always sad to leave the island, particularly if that`s your only visit for the year, but - health permitting - i`ll be back next year.

Recent events

 

Thank you to all those who came along to the Walk with the Warden last Saturday at WWT Llanelli, just a day too early to hear the first Cuckoo arrive on Sunday! 

The weather was fine for us, with plenty going on when you stop and listen. Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler singing along the centre path; Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Wren, Cetti`s etc throughout the Reserve, and our operatic Reed Warbler down in the main reed beds.

A male Marsh Harrier was seen from the Heron`s Wing hide over the far side of the Deep Water lake, having personally seen a female MH earlier in the morning. 

Lots going on on the Reserve, with the adult Kingfishers bringing in fish for their new chicks, and Lesser Whitethroat singing/calling in a few places (having arrived a couple of weeks earlier than the norm).

Anyway, a good amble around, and thank you to those who continue to support the monthly walk.

On Sunday morning there was a bit of a bonus, an early "tide watch" for a small group from the Facebook photo club, who haven`t had the chance to attend before. A good high tide, calm conditions and excellent light, I think everyone enjoyed coming along. One or two managed to glimpse a couple of Cuckoo that had arrived, later photographed by another visitor. 

In less than two weeks i`ll be with those that book onto the Dawn Chorus walks on May Bank holiday. 3rd and 4th of May. There are limited spaces on these, so book early.

See you soon.

Saturday 11th April 2026

It`s been three months since my last public-facing blog entry  (I don`t get any better at it), but there`s been plenty going on behind the scenes.

A few snippets relating to my volunteering at WWT Llanelli first:

Next Saturday, 18th April, I will be taking the monthly "Walk with the Warden" again. This takes place on the third Saturday of every month, where we meet at the indoor Information desk at 11.30am, and then go out on to the Reserve for about an hour and a half or so. 

We normally go out rain or shine, but may be subject to cancellation if there are high or potentially damaging winds.

Apologies that I couldn`t make it last month due to illness (I lost 9lb in four days!!), so it was lead by Brian, with Jim and Diana.

On Sunday, 19th April, I will be hosting a morning tide watch at 8am for some members of the WWT Llanelli Facebook Photo Club. This is an opportunity for some of those contributors who haven`t been on one before, and attendees have been notified. 

High tide is round 8.12am, so just hope for some favourable weather! The attendance list is now "closed off", but I hope to do some further ones for Photo Club members during the year.

Going into May, and I will be involved with the two Dawn Chorus walks that are now bookable online. 

These will take place at 6am on Sunday 2nd May, and Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May, and must be booked in advance (places are limited). Good footwear and suitable weatherproof clothing advised:

https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/llanelli/whats-on/events/dawn-chorus-walks

A final bit of WWT-related news is that a few weeks ago a video team from Slimbridge visited WWT Llanelli, and by chance I was asked if I would do a piece for them! (I happened to be walking through the cafe at the time when I was called over!!). 

A few weeks later, the video has ended up in our Volunteers` newsletter `Marsh Mail` as a "Spotlight on colleague Russ Myners " . Oh dear. I`m afraid I was tongue-tied, looking totally unnatural,  (i`m never one to do anything where you`ll see me online!) - but as I was asked to help, well ........... 😶

https://vimeo.com/1178413397/c3780e9400?share=copy

Don`t think it will win an Oscar somehow!

Thanks for looking in.

Otter family

 

So good to see a family of three Otters yesterday (mother and two kits) at WWT Llanelli, something that has eluded me for some time.

A great tonic on such a gloomy morning, 

9th January 2026

Belated Happy New Year everyone!

Hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year break.

Although this last month I haven`t been too well, it was good to be able to get out and about just on a few occasions, taking advantage of a very rare "dry week" from what had become to be a near constant dose of wet weather here in South Wales. The winds were often bitterly cold, but such a change from rain for the last few months.

On one of the days out I managed to finally photograph one of my favourite birds, a male Hen Harrier. Not often seen, as it is still a rare bird in the UK, but there are some areas where your chances are slightly better if you are out watching the right habitat. You still need to be fortunate, a lot of patience and on your game all the time, as these male birds often seem to dash through a lot more quickly than the female. It might be me, but I often noticed that over the years.

Looking forward now getting back to more of my volunteering at WWT Llanelli as and when time permits, particularly back on the Reserve. 

All things being well, I should be on the next Walk with the Warden on Saturday 17th January 2026. 

Apologies that I couldn`t make the last walk, but I was pretty unwell and also had a foot injury (that hasn`t gone away, but has calmed down).  Thanks to Jim and Diana for "flying the flag" and carrying on with the walk, and for Bob for assisting.

As always if you are planning on coming out for the walk please wear suitable clothing and footwear, after all it is winter and nearly always wet. We meet at the Visitor Information desk inside the Centre at 11.30am, and we normally go out for around `1.5 hours +. The walk is subject to any restrictions that might be due to poor weather or site safety.
See you soon.