Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - March 2003 - No 69
Kath Cottingham

A parrot was frequently heard and occasionally seen from 3rd September 2002 until just before Christmas in the vicinity of 57 Station Road Llangennech.  It tended to stay in the tree tops and we never saw it on or near the ground. We were informed that it was an escapee from a nearby outdoor aviary and Barry Stewart identified it from our rather poor photos as a Senegal Parrot (see photo).

Siskins appeared  on the peanut feeder this winter from 22nd December 2002 and have been seen regularly since. They appear at similar times each day but only two birds have been seen at any one time: sometimes they are two females, at others times, a male and a female!

A Song Thrush woke us up at dawn on Boxing Day and has been singing early on most days until the present time (17th Feb 2003). One cold afternoon in February it was feeding on cat food from the bird-table, intermittently for a couple of hours. It was the sort of tinned food that is in processed cubes with the consistency of plasticine – our cat had more sense than to eat it, but the thrush approved.

I had made a couple of seed, raisin and fat-cakes for the birds during cold weather in  shallow plant-pots  which I hung inverted from a tree in the garden but I was disappointed that they were not touched. However on moving them from Llangennech to Trevethin, Pwll, the birds immediately started to eat from them, including a Robin which does a vertical hover just to get one peck. Could this be because the Pwll garden is more open? (both gardens also have a supply of peanuts & sunflower seed).

One plant of Erigeron acer (Blue Fleabane) was recorded on the limestone-chippings surfaced car-park in front of Llangennech library in Maes Road on 4th September 2002, which Richard tells me was a new record for the 10km square! Other plants of interest recorded here or nearby in recent months have been Anthyllis vulneraria (Kidney-vetch), Viola arvensis (Field Pansy), Origanum vulgare (Marjoram), Crepis vesicaria (Beaked Hawk’s-beard), Vulpia bromoides (Squirel-tail Fescue), Catapodium rigidum (Fern Grass) and Lagurus ovatus (Hare’s-tail Grass).  However, the site is not without its less-welcome invaders which include Fallopia japonica (Japanese Knotweed), Rubus armenaicus ‘Himalayan Giant’ (a very vigorous cultivated blackberry) and extensive Hoary Mustard (Hirschfeldia incana).