Penclacwydd Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Llanelli Wetland centre

Penclacwydd in Llanelli is a wonderful place to go to see local wildlife in its own habitat; they have an outer area which plays a part in the migration and visitation of certain birds and inside conservation area which houses many species of breeding birds.   You can visit for the day; take your children to feed the many species of duck, geese, swans and even flamingos.

Llanelli Wetland Centre is one of nine Wetland Nature reserves in the UK managed by Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, a nature conservation charity.

It is a 500 acre nature reserve East of Llanelli on the Coastal path and part of the Burry Inlet Estuary which is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) an SPA (Special protection Area) and a Ramsar site. In winter over 60,000 birds return here to spend the winter months.

It is home to spectacular water birds, waders, shorebirds and dragonflies. It is a great place to see a wide range of water birds including pintail, shoveler, oystercatcher, shelduck, teal, black and bar-tailed godwits, curlew and snipe, as well as an increasing population of little egrets.  Breeding birds on site include redshank, lapwing, reed warbler and reed bunting. Water voles thrive and otters are occasionally seen.

Although a spectacular array of birds are seen at the centre and the outlying wetland pools, lagoons and streams, the centre is also home to many other animal and plant and pond  life, in particular dragon flies, there have been over 20 species recorded across the whole site.

There is a visitor centre, gift shop and fully licenced café which overlook the reserve.  They have special events on throughout the year and also take school parties for nature lessons.  You can take a canoe safari on the river to see the wildlife in their natural habitat, follow the bike trail, see the Swans nest maze and vole city or just sit in the viewing area watching nature.

There is a huge array of plants on show, namely the orchid, if you go in June you can see some of the many beautiful blooms.  The plant life within the reserve makes it a wonderful place for watching the diverse insect population. Butterflies and moths have been spotted, some of them rare within the UK.

The Wetland centre has many visiting birds as well as resident breeding varieties, the work done at the centre in monitoring the wildlife is essential in helping us to understand nature and all it has to offer.

I love to go there with my grandchildren who delight in the many things they can do at the centre.  All in all a wonderful family day out, again and again.  There is always something interesting to see, no matter how many times you go.

References:  Wikipedia and the Wetland’s own website.