A walk down the canal

Date:  2 June 2020 (Day 2 of #30DaysWild 2020)

Location:  Jersey Canal, Briton Ferry
Weather:  Sunny, warm...beautiful :)

Today was the first time I ventured out for a walk since lock-down. I feel ashamed as I have a beautiful canal less than 5 minutes from my home and only today I went down there.

Today was also the first time Dan could come around and sit in the garden since lock-down. It was such a great feeling being outdoors among nature. The canal as changed a lot since I was last there. The paths have been resurfaced and even the dirt path towards Neath is now paved. 

We took the path towards the old Wern works and it wasn't long before we spotted our first bird: The moorhen, she was with two chicks walking among the lily pads (that were flowering and look splendid).

Moorhen

Moorhen chick

We walked a bit further and spotted the swans with their 2 week old cygnets. they were really close to the bank and we were unable to see or get good pictures of them, so we decided to keep walking and hoped we would get better views on the way back. We did spot some domestic ducks, mallard and more juvenile moorhens. Plus some horses grooming each other!

Domestic ducks

Female Mallard with juvenile Moorhen

Horses grooming each other

After we walked past the horses I looked back and took a shot of the canal..it truly is a beautiful place. Our next stop was the big rock (nb: trying to find out some history regarding this rock, is it there for a reason? let me know), I always look in here to see if there is any fish or tadpoles.

The beautiful canal

The large rock...why is it here? Is it some sort of sundial or just decorative?

It was nice to see none of the foliage had been cut back so time to explore for bugs...I didn't see many butterflies just a Small Blue and a Meadow Brown. I did see a few dragonflies and damselflies, but couldn't get a pic of either. I also spotted a ladybird larvae on some brambles. 

Small Blue Butterfly

Meadow Brown Butterfly

Seven spotted ladybird larvae

Interesting rock face

Just before the end of the canal is the old Wern Works. There were a few deliberate entrances so I managed to get a pic of the colourful graffiti inside. In March there had been an illegal rave in there where more than 200 people joined together for an all-night rave. You can read the article here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/briton-ferry-rave-wern-works-17845656

The old Wern factory

The canal pretty much ends here so we turned around and walked back. We was so happy to see the swans were now on the bank and you could see the parents and 7 cygnets clearly. We never brought any food, but it wasn't long before someone arrived and they all made a beeline to her for their supper :)

Check out this video too: https://www.facebook.com/SandraEvansArt/videos/256752082243500/

So this was pretty much the end of our first walk in three months. It was lovely to be out, exploring and taking photos of what we find. I am hoping to pop down once a week to see how the swans are getting on :)

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2017 - Day 2

On Saturday I took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch in Dan's garden. Seeing the RSPB added an extra day this year I decided to do another bird count today at my mum's house.

The weather wasn't great - cloudy, cold and showery. This didn't stop the birds coming though. This is what I saw...

Plenty of Starlings

How can you not like this bird with it's stunning colours?

Crymlyn Burrows SSSi, Neath Port Talbot - 12/3/2016

Saturday 3rd March was a bit of a dull, cloudy and chilly day, but we decided to get up early and go out exploring anyway. We visited one of our favourite nature spots Crymlyn Burrows to see what we could see.

Crymlyn Burrows is a SSSI area and lies between Neath Port Talbot and Swansea - There is a salt marsh, sand dunes, woodland and access to Swansea Bay - it is an awesome place to spot wildlife and this is what we discovered on that day...

The tide was in, which pretty much covers most of the reserve. In the distance is Baglan Energy Park  and the hills behind are Margam.

The first bird we saw was a little egret stalking the water's edge for food. I have never seen one in Crymlyn Burrows before, a very beautiful bird. (Photo credit: @Danturner23)

Seeing the tide was in we were unable to walk through the reserve. Instead, we followed the path than runs around the outside of the burrows where we started spotting plenty of birds:

Jay (you can just about make it out, sorry about the bad photo)

Blue Tit

Carrion Crow preening each other on nearby lampost

A pair of greylag geese in the distance.

There were lots of buzzards around and we found this pellet on the ground, full of small bones and fur.

One of the beautiful buzzards circling above.

There was plenty of fungi and plants around too, including this old turkey tail fungi...

...and this earth star fungi that was hidden in rotting wood.

Lots of gorse was flowering, brightening a rather grey day.

Continuing on the path we realised they were felling quite a few trees near the cycle track. I have tried to find out what is happening, so if you know I would be interested if you got in touch. There are lots of birds around this area...

Goldfinch

Dunnock

Good to see these new additions to the reserve, bins for litter and dog mess.

We made our way pass the new university and headed towards the dunes.

Another new addition were the signs to show the area is a SSSI with a few rules about protecting the habitat and vegetation...

...and warning sign to say 'Do not disturb the birds' - lets hope people read and respect these signs. We also noticed a new boardwalk had been laid to give people better access to the beach.

On the beach I couldn't see any birds to start, then I saw a small movement in the pebbles. There were infact lots of ringed plovers and sandlings(?)

Near the shoreline were oystercatchers.

Ringed plovers and sandlings(?)

Also lots of black headed gulls.

Lots of flotsam and jetsam washed up the beach, including this life ring...

...and creepy dolls head!

There were lots of mermaid purses on the beach. They are egg sacks, but not sure if it's from a ray, shark or skate?

We also found this huge bone, any ideas what it is? 

After walking awhile along the beach we made our way back over the dunes and into the burrows.

Here we start seeing more birds including a male stonechat...

...and here's the female stonechat looking rather plump!

A skylark in the long grass

A rook stalks the dunes.

Skylarks forage in the seaweed left from the water from high tide.

Some pretty, colourful turkey tail fungi on a nearby log.

The male stonechat is joined by a male reed bunting.

Crossing a very muddy river (there are car wheels in the water, acting like stepping stones...but it still gets very muddy)

A black headed gull on the mud. It's loosing its winter black head and will be left with a small black splash on it's head in the summer.

Close up of the male reed bunting - a very striking looking bird.

The burrows looked a lot different from when we came in the morning, the tide was now low and this revealed more plants and wildlife on the reserve.

A redshank wades in the water.

A flock of rock pipits were in the tree.

Back at the car we realised there was a lot of litter thrown in the trees, luckily we had our litter picking stuff in the car...

...so three bags later, it looked alot better :)

Crymlyn Burrows is one of my favourite places to visit, you are guaranteed to see lots of wildlife any time of year and whatever the weather is. It's important we protect such a valuable habitat and hopefully the new Swansea University will too.

Click here to check out my other blog from 

Crymlyn Burrows last year.