Chris Packham and crew filming. Image by Juliet Reagan.

This included a scarce deep red subspecies of Early Marsh orchid, large purple spikes of Southern Marsh orchid and the aptly named' Leopard spot' variety of the Southern Marsh.

We were also able to find a couple of the more elusive Bee orchid, a real floral gem that had the TV presenter waxing lyrical.

Chris Packham and orchids. Image by Juliet Reagan.

Mike Bailey said: It was great to see the programme giving the local flora some attention and Chris Packham's knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject was very impressive".

Thanks for the update Mike and nice to see some of the old crew I worked with for a few weeks back in 2009, still going strong! :)

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This shed will be magically transformed into the new Springwatch studio!

Keep an eye out on Skomer Island for Wales' very own Iolo Williams who will be based on the island for a week and sending back regular reports. Puffin season is well under way so we should see some nice shots of these colourful auks.

Keep a eye out for the Skomer vole and short eared owls too and I wouldn't be too surprised if Iolo donned his wetsuit and explored some of the marine reserve too. You can get a taster of what is down there in our Skomer marine nature reserve gallery.

Springwatch starts on Bank Holiday Monday, 30 May at 8pm on BBC Two.

Springwatch blog

Recent poor summers have also caused enormous damage to honey bees: a third of all colonies were lost in 2008.

Matthew Oates, the National Trust's Chief Conservation Advisor, says: "Bee consciousness is vital and we can all help; we can do simple things like planting bee friendly plants and flowers to encourage bees into our gardens. We want more people to understand the crucial role that bees play in our food chain."

The main focus of this campaign is the honey bee, and as part of this project, Radio Wales has adopted two new hives on National Trust property.The first will be at Dinefwr in West Wales. The second hive location has yet to be confirmed.

Each hive comes with a bee keeper who'll look after the hive for the summer and hopefully deliver up to fifty jars of honey at the end of the season. I've already bought a new toaster! ;)

We'll monitor the hives progress for the duration, and you'll be able to follow the story locally on the Jamie & Louise show as well as on the BBC Wales Local websites.

We're also giving away packs of bee friendly flower seeds in June (details to follow), and bees will feature at the Springwatch Wild Days Out.

In the meantime, find out which species of flowers are bee friendly from the RHS website and get planting.

Bee keeping isn't just a rural operation - bees can thrive in villages, towns, and cities, as long as the conditions are right.

Bee Facts:

• There are 250 species of bee in the UK consisting of bumblebees, honeybees and solitary bees.
  

• Pollination delivers €14.2bn to the European economy, most of this is through bumblebees and honeybees.

• Bumblebees have smelly feet. They produce oily secretions to inform other bees which flowers have already been visited

Source: The Bumblebee Conservation Trust

That's it for now. If you've got a story concerning bees in Wales then do get in touch. I can mention it here in the blog and pass on any useful information to colleagues involved in the campaign.

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Having trouble identifying bees? Try the BWARS image gallery.

The weather was a constant issue as we needed dark skies, preferably some cloud cover and ideally no rain to make filming easier - we weren't asking for much!

The birds won't come into land until it's completetly dark, incase they are picked off by gulls.

Manx shearwaters are perfectly adapted for life on the wing but on land become a clumsy winged beast with long legs built for digging rather than walking.

They tend to shuffle around on their bellies and become an easy target for larger, predatory, black backed gulls.

The blue skies and sunshine when we arrived were a lovely respite from the previous rainy days at Lake Vyrnwy but clear skies meant it was going to be a long, cold night so we knew we were in for a late one.

After a quick bite to eat we loaded up the gear onto a trike kindly driven by one of the local lads living on the island, Ben, who handled the vehicle like a veteran!

Steve, the warden, had picked out a lovely green valley for us to film in, called Nant Tysaf which provided a natural amphitheatre for sound, so Chris Watson our sound recordist was very happy.

The plan was to film the shearwaters using a high tech thermal imaging camera and incase you're thinking about buying one, don't, as they're not cheap!

Using the camera (which didn't require lights) was a nice way to capture the birds in their natural environment and we could also view the heat trails caused by the birds already sat in burrows underground, on their nests.

The birds began to appear around 12.30am, with their 'turkey like' gobbles, drifting in eerily from the dark horizon.

This in turn prompted a return gobbles from their mate, deep underground so if you
multiply this by a few thousand, you get an idea of the noise being generated.

The birds can be away for days at a time feeding, so it's an amazing spectacle to hear thousands of birds returning in total darkness to their burrows.

No-one is sure exactly how they manage this feat, as to my ears the calls all sounded very similar, so I've no idea how they can tell whose who, let alone find the correct burrow in the pitch black!?

I'd heard tales of birds flying into people at night and knocking them out cold so it was an odd sensation standing there, waiting to be struck at any moment by a hapless sea bird on his way home.

The night sky was truly breathtaking - the faint glow of Dublin to the west and Holyhead to the north could be seen but above us, the constellations were glowing and the milky way spread smoothly out across the night sky.

As the hours ticked by, the calls from out at sea came in thick and fast with more and more birds landing.

Simon had set up the thermal camera and was beginning to get some nice results.

The camera settings needed to be tweaked regularly to account for the ever changing drop in temperature and having pointed it at all of the crew, I was apparently losing alot of heat out of my trousers, so I tucked my socks in and hoped for the best!

The thermal camera display showed the land around us as a pinky, red, Martian-like world whilst sea birds appeared white as they flew past.

The only heat emitted by them was from their eyes and beaks which glowed orange in the night air.

Whilst the crew were busy filming sequences, I wandered up the slope, carefully dodging birds as they landed and watching out for ones already on the ground.

Steve and his assistant Richard from the BBFO were busy catching and tagging birds and uploading the data into a laptop that contained a database of every shearwater ever tagged here.

One bird in particular, famous amongst ornithologists, was first tagged in 1957.

She's not been seen this year yet so we'll have to wait and see but she did once go missing for 22 years, so there's still a chance!

It was now around 2am and we were all feeling the cold except for Simon who, enthused with the results he was getitng with the thermal camera, had wondered off into the darkness to find more birds...

Gull

Links:

Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory

Bardsey Island

The main island has a lighthouse built on it dating from 1717 plus a couple of out buildings but that's about it.

The only people living on the island are two RSPB wardens, Denise and Jenny who spend around three months of the year here monitoring the tern population.

The skerries are home to a vast number of arctic terns with a smattering of common terns thrown in for good measure.

The terns 'dread' regularly which involves them flying and swooping 'en masse' down one side of the island, out to sea for a few circles and then back again, bickering and pecking each other and us as they flew past.

If you were brave enough to show your face over the the relative safety of the lighthouse wall then all out attack ensued as well as rapid fire bird 'guano' being dispersed at will.

They seemed to find their targets with astonishing accuracy too!

Whilst on the island we also saw oyster catchers, great backed backed gulls, herring gulls, puffins, a few common seals basking, some rock pipits which were nesting in the lighthouse wall and a peregrine falcon which had recently reduced the local pigeon population by one.

Unlike cemlyn bay, there are no sandwich terns here and you can get within spitting distance of the birds who litter the floor here with eggs and nests laid out in a random fashion. I even saw eggs laid on a piece of tubular metal pipe...

It was tricky trying to avoid the eggs at times, especially when under prolonged air bombardment by hundreds of irate birds.

The RSPB accompanied us over and one of the wardens informed me that a visitor had once had his eye pecked as he glanced up, so I decided to don my sunglasses, keep my head down and go for a wander.

I'd only crept around ten feet from the sanctuary of the lighthouse wall before I was viciously attacked.

I was struck in the head and then pecked in the hand whilst I held the camcorder up to film so I made a hasty retreat!

Terns - 2, Gull - 0

I later found out that they go for whatever is highest up (nearest to them in the air) so I cunningly offered to carry the tripod back to the boat and extended the legs which worked beautifully.

Gull

Links

RSPB

The Skerries

The main species of tern found here are sandwich terns which thankfully, are easy to distinguish from the other species.

If you've ever seen an arctic and a common tern then you'll know what I'm talking about.

Common, arctic, sandwich and even roseate and sooty terns have all been spotted here although the common, arctic and sandwich are the most common species.

This year sandwich terns are definitely ruling the nest as far as numbers go.

The two islands in the lagoon at Cemlyn are home to thousands as well as a healthy population of black headed gulls.

The terns nest alongside these gulls for a reason. The black headed gulls are quite a feisty mob and although they will take a few tern eggs for food, they will also protect the area from larger predators such as greater black backed gulls.

It also struck me watching that there might be another reason: it can't be a coincidence that both the terns and gulls have black heads so I think they might also nest together for sheer safety in numbers?

When a predator flies over, the terns 'dread' which involves hundreds of them taking off at once and flying above the nest site which is very impressive to watch.

Sometimes they'll do this just for the hell of it but it's mainly done as a defensive tactic against birds of prey, gulls and grey herons etc

Roseate terns, little terns and even sooty terns have also passed through on occasion and the importance of this site can not be over stated as it is one of the last remaining locations in Wales where sandwich terns nest.

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Archaeologists were recently called in when some ancient graves were discovered coming up through the soil underneath one of the public footpaths!

The stretch of water separating it from the mainland off the Lleyn Peninsula is known in Welsh as Ynys Enlli or 'Isle of Eddies' due to an abundance of rip tides and whirl pools which can make for an interesting crossing, so it's not advisable to swim here.

The few buildings that exist here were established by Lord Newborough in the 1870's who was a descendant of John Wynn Ap, a standard bearer at the Battle of Norwich in 1549.

John Wynn Ap was given the island as a reward for services rendered by Edward VI.

Island living however, gave him a new lease of life and he subsequently became leader of an infamous band of pirates, so there was no telling what effect the island would have on the film crew.

The wildlife on Bardsey is extensive with many migrant species pulling over for a pit stop or to breed and nest, so the field observatory team never quite know what they're going to find from one day to the next.

The island is also a stronghold for choughs with numerous pairs breeding here, making this one of the most important sites in Britain.

Chough populations have traditionally been in decline but you do find small populations scattered along the western coasts, particularly in Wales.

I'd also read that the island is home to a few pairs of little owl - a species I'd always wanted to see for myself.

Suddenly, as if on on cue, Simon King spotted one on a perch, 400 yards above us on the hillside.

Sat motionless, in perfect camouflage, I could only just make it out with binoculars so there was no way I'd have spotted it, had I been on my own.

But I have to say - I was very 'choughed' about finally seeing one...

To give you an idea of just how tiny these owls are, this particular individual was being mobbed by two little meadow pipits.

One species guaranteed on the island however are the manx shearwaters, which arrive each year, in their thousands. Bardsey has a staggering 16,000 pairs.

But more about that in my next instalment...

Gull

Links:

Chough blog

Chough species guide on BBC Wales Nature

Bardsey Island video clip

BBFO

The pebble bank, known as Esgair Gemlyn, is formed by the process of longshore drift and alters shape as the tides and winds batter it each day.

Beyond the pebble bank lies a small, shallow lagoon filled with brackish water, containing two naturally occurring islands, perfect for nesting on.

Sea Kale:

Clustered on these islands, is a large and internationally important sea bird colony, including breeding common and arctic terns.

The site is home to one of the UK's largest nesting populations of sandwich terns, with thousands of birds descending here each summer.

I'll go into more detail on terns in a future blog so don't panic!

The reserve is home to many other species of birds.

An oystercatcher strolls along the lagoon shore line:

Shelducks, oystercatchers, merganser, ringed plover, herring gull, black backed gull, mallard and a variety of wading birds and ducks can also be found here as well as rare migratory species such as the sooty tern.

In addition to being a Wildlife Trust reserve, Cemlyn is a Special Protection Area, a candidate Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest

The crescent shaped bay at Cemlyn:

The shingle ridge and lagoon are owned by the National Trust but leased by the North Wales Naturalists' Trust, whose volunteers stand guard over the terns every hour of the day, scaring off any would-be predators and counting and monitoring the birds as they swoop in and out.

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Links:

Cemlyn Bay on BBC Wales Nature

North Wales Naturalists Trust

Cemlyn Bay SSSI

Personally I prefer reds and purples... and that's about as technical as I'm going to get,
as my knowledge of coastal wild flowers is abysmal.

The aptly-named birdsfoot trefoil can also be found here as well as sheepsbit scabious, ox eye daisies, bell heather, tormentil, rock sea spurrey and gorse.

You have to hand it to botanists for coming up with such fabulous names: sheepsbit scabious?

This conjures up all sorts of images in my mind, none of which I can repeat here, but the name doesn't do this pretty blue flower any justice.

I photographed a lovely plant last night, which to my untrained eye resembled a succulent and left myself and the RSPB wardens a bit baffled as to what it was.

The best way to describe it was like a small clump of red coral with white tips.

Had I discovered a new species which I could now name? 'Gullus mutatus maximus'...

Sadly no, it was actually an english stonecrop which hadn't yet flowered but was very pretty nonetheless.

I've included a few photographs from my walk so see if you can work out what some of them are. I've already given you a few clues.

I'll leave you with an old folk saying: "when gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season".

Gull

Links

Places to go: South Stack

South Stack videos

They must have very strong toes too and could probably win toe wrestling competitions if the whole sea bird thing doesn't work out...

Scattered among them are the stockier razorbills, with their thick black beaks and white stripe.

From grassy vantage points above sit the herring gulls, greater and lesser black backed gulls, all eagerly keepng watch - ready to ambush any eggs or chicks that remain unprotected for the briefest of moments.

If you look really hard and with a bit of luck you may also spy that famous clown of the sea - the puffin, with it's brightly coloured bill and bright orange feet.

Puffins unlike on many of the islands off the Welsh coast are very rare here.

The few that have made it here are forced to make do with small clumps of grass and boulders to nest in and around.

Unlike their cousins on Skomer Island, they don't have nice soft earth to burrow into. As a result there are only around 16-20 birds here in total. So far I've only seen two though!

Guillemots clinging on:

The 'chough cam' at South Stack is really worth a visit. I popped in to have a chat with the wardens there and they told me all about the nest site and seabird colonies.

The camera feed is displayed on a nice big plasma screen inside, so you can escape the weather and enoy the live action.

Initially there were five chicks and when you see the size of the nest, you begin to understand why, there's now only one left.

The remaining chick basically fills the entire nest, so who knows where the others would have sat!

It's thought that the rest may have fallen or been pushed (but I'm not accusing anyone) out of the nest as the other four chicks dissappeared over night a few weeks ago.

The nest itself, is situated deep within a sea cave, so the webcam provides a unique opportunity to see this shy, quirky bird at it's best.

While I was watching, both parent birds put in an appearance and fed the hungry fledgling.

The bird noise here is incredible as hundreds of hungry seabirds fight for their small patch of real estate, on uneven, vertical sea cliffs.

Beyond the cliffs lies a small island with the famous lighthouse neatly perched on top. Access is strictly controlled though so don't expect to get onto it anytime soon.

Porpoises are known to cruise past the lighthouse feeding, so we'll have our cameras trained, ready to record if we spot anything.

You may also see passing manx shearwaters on their way to Bardsey island as well as gannets out dive bombing helpless fish and the occasional peregrine falcon.

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Links

South Stack - RSPB

South Stack video clips

Puffins - species guide

Gulls - species guide