Pembrokeshire

In Pembrokeshire we have 15 nature reserves including the significant reserve at Teifi Marshes. Nathan Walton the Wildlife Trust Officer manages these with the assistance of volunteers from the area. For more information on how you can help locally the Pembrokeshire Work Program – Autumn 2011 is available to download

Recent highlights 2011:

The suite of WTSWW’s nature reserves in Pembrokeshire includes some strikingly different kinds of woodland, and we’ve achieved some great successes in each.

Latest News in Pembrokeshire

Pengelli Forest is a spectacular ancient oak woodland, and here annual coppice rotation has benefitted dormice and woodland butterflies. 130 dormouse boxes within the reserve are surveyed monthly between April and November.

Pembrokeshire WTO Nathan Walton maintains the ride and glades within woodland to increase ground flora such as common dog violet and garlic mustard, further benefitting silver-washed fritillary, orange underwing, and foraging bats. Barbastelle numbers are increasing, and actively monitored.

Llanerch Alder Carr is a very old, wet woodland of a type that was once much more common in Wales. Here, rare lichens have been identified by a recent survey, and Nathan works closely with CCW, and where lichen interest has been identified, thinning and coppicing of surrounding vegetation will ensure longevity of species.

At West Williamston, Nathan has undertaken much management of blackthorn for the rare brown hairstreak butterfly. A blackthorn management plan has been implemented and rotational coppice of blackthorn is now in its 3^rd year. The last egg count was 1661 eggs, the greatest ever recorded.

Future work. Nathan has already been successful at securing funding for Pengelli and West Williamston through Better Woodlands for Wales, but these do not pay full costs, and further funds are sought to help us realise our aspirations for these sites.

In Pengelli, areas of trees have been identified for groupfell, to promote both structural diversity and create naturally regenerating glades. This is the start of a wider dream to fulfil a lengthy rotation within the woods, identifying areas to manage and areas to leave alone, providing assisted and natural management of the woodland. Tracks and pathways are to be resurfaced where needed and new tracks constructed to aid extraction of felled timber.

In West Williamston, thinning of the ash and sycamore will provide greater habitat variety and allow more light to penetrate through to the woodland floor encouraging species such as common twayblade.

• Westfield Pill Nature Reserve– A gateway to the countryside

  The final improvements to access at Westfield Pill nature reserve have taken place with great success. Locals to the area are now able to cycle and walk easily through the reserve without stumbling upon potholes and rough, uneven stretches of cycle tra...

• Reed All About It

  Reedbeds across Pembrokeshire have been a key resource for Alan Jones, a master thatcher in Wales, and this year he celebrates his 30th year of taking cuts from these areas of wetland. It was 30 years ago almost to the day when Alan took on his firs...

• School benefits from Wildlife Trust involvement

  The Wildlife Trust’s Voluntary Warden for Westfield Pill nature reserve, Barry Potter, has only been in position for a year and has already proven to be a great asset to the Wildlife Trust. Barry is a keen and enthusiastic conservationist and has a s...

• Pembrokeshire - Butterflies, Buffalo and Boardwalks

  Pembrokeshire has one of the best reserves for brown hairstreak butterflies, this nationally scarce butterfly does particularly well our on West Williamston reserve. Nathan (local Wildlife Trust Officer) and his team of volunteers have been very active...

• Pembrokeshire Bird Group Conference

  Many thanks to the Valero refinery for hosting our annual Pembrokeshire Bird Conference at their site in Pembroke.  It was again a great day with both entertainment from our Birding World alongside fascinating current research and future projections.Â...

• Pembrokeshire Bird Group - Annual Conference

  Pembrokeshire Bird Group's Annual Conference  is on Saturday 26th November 2011.  This is an all day event including lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments, speakers, quiz, raffle, etc.  At £15 it is excellent value and all ticket receipts go di...

• Guided Walk Leaders Needed - Teifi Marsh

  We are looking for local people, around the Cardigan area, to help recreate a team of guided walk volunteers on the Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve for the 2012 season. Local volunteer John Lethbridge sums up the guided walks and his personal experiences ...

• Buffalo Boy

     A surprise was in store for the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales on their Teifi Marsh Nature Reserve. Local assistant, John Thomas, was monitoring the water buffalo used by the Wildlife Trust to manage their Teifi Marshes nature reser...

• Ray Mears' Wild Britain on Skomer - October 21st ITV

  Back in May of this year the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales had the pleasure of a visit from Ray Mears and his film crew. Ray was filming for his ITV series which comes out this October, called Wild Britain. The programme they filmed for was sp...

• Anyone for Willow?

  Now that the bird nesting season is over, it is time for habitat management works to take on a more prominent role in weekly reserve tasks. The practices that occur range from general scrub control and burning to coppicing and clear felling coups in w...