The last few weeks have seen us welcome the ponies back on to the reserve, and we're now back up to the full complement of six. Instead of our customary Carneddau ponies, this time we have some Welsh cobs in the mix, and they look huge compared to our usual short stocky ponies. But they're definitely doing the job - for the first time in many years we took the ponies off the reserve for the summer (so that we could treat the abundant ragwort), and the grass and other vegetation has grown lush and long. In order to provide good conditions for breeding lapwings next year we need to graze this down quite hard now, so that we go into spring with a nice short sward, and we can already see the difference in the areas the ponies have been using. Once winter sets in, they also do a great job of keeping the reeds, rushes and bramble in check by grazing them, stopping them from spreading and providing a very green alternative to getting the strimmer out. Like the Carneddau ponies, these animals are wild and unused to people, and we're keen to keep them that way, so please don't feel tempted to approach them, and particularly don't try to feed them, however cute they look! As soon as they become habituated to people, unfortunately we have to move them off the reserve, so the longer we can keep them wild, the better. The record so far goes to Toby, one of our last batch of ponies, who managed over 2 years without becoming tame, but he was definitely a bit of a character who possibly wasn't entirely convinced that humans were a good thing!
It definitely finally feels like autumn out on the reserve now (despite the fact that most of the trees are still clinging on to their leaves), with water levels creeping up and hundreds of teal back on the lagoon. Water rails have been showing brilliantly (the LookOut and Coffee Shop are the best spots to sit and wait), a single twite was on the saltmarsh on 8 November, and a jack snipe was seen on 9 November. Starling numbers are slowly starting to build, and with them come the birds of prey, looking for an easy meal - at the moment we've regular sightings of peregrine, sparrowhawk and kestrel, and a marsh harrier was spotted on 29 October too. Two red kites drifted over in the sunshine on 10 November. A kingfisher is being seen occasionally on the lagoons, we've a long-staying pintail, meadow pipits and skylarks are moving through, and snipe numbers have reached over 50. However, despite the dusting of snow on the Carneddau hills, summer is not entirely over yet; a common darter dragonfly was spotted on 31 October, a reminder of what a glorious summer we've just experienced.