Recent Sightings (8th-10th August)
British Steel Hide
The autumn build up of waders is upon us and counts of Redshank and Greenshank are steadily creeping up. The high tides over the weekend and into next week should see good numbers of birds using the saline lagoons. Counts from the hide have included 2 Spotted Redshanks (9th, with 1 there on the 10th), 328 Redshank, 56 Greenshank, 4 Dunlin, c.50 Black-tailed Godwits, a Common Sandpiper and a Whimbrel. Some superb juvenile Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits are beginning to show up in amongst the returning adults. A colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit was found to be originally ringed in Iceland back in 2008. An adult Spoonbill has been fairly regular on the saline lagoons also (still present on the 10th). Small numbers of Little Egrets and Grey Herons can often be found hunting in the lagoons. Other species have included a Green Woodpecker, House Martins, Sand Martins, Pied Wagtails, Linnets and a Whitethroat.
Millennium Wetlands
48 Lapwing, 5 Shoveler, 2 Little Grebes, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Grey Heron have been noted on Deep Water Lake. A nice selection of warblers on the reserve and grounds have included Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow, Reed, Sedge, Garden and Cetti's Warblers. It's worth looking through roving tit flocks at this time of year, as Treecreepers and some of the previously mentioned Warbler species will tag along with the flock. A pair of Shoveler are right on the cusp of successfully fledging two young from Deep Water Lake. The young are now fully grown but aren't quite at the flight stage. Shoveler haven't successfully bred in Carmarthenshire in at least 5 years, and only a handful of pairs of Shoveler successfully fledge young in Wales each year.
Other Wildlife
Butterflies have included Common Blues, Red Admirals, a Small Copper, Meadow Browns and Painted Lady's. 7 Common Lizards were counted during a survey.
