Pills, Pools and Marshes - Gower - page 233

typically swallowed alive. It is both Britain's biggest snake, growing well over a metre in length, and our
only egg-laying snake. Females lay eggs in June or July, normally in rotting vegetation, which acts as an
incubator. The eggs hatch into miniature versions of the adults in September.
Wildfowl are not particularly numerous at Oxwich, compared to the inlet and estuary. In the 1980s
there were rarely more than 200birds present, even in the depths ofwinter,and numbers are nowreduced
further as the area of open water has diminished. The presence of freshwater species, such as shoveler
Anas clypeata , pochard Aythya ferina and tufted duck Aythya fuligula , on the other hand, is important as
their numbers are limited in South Wales due to the scarcity of the habitat. Mallard, teal and coot Fulica
atra can also be seen on the open water, and breed in the marsh.
The reedswamp is not a particularly rich area botanically as it is dominated by common reed to such
an extent that in most places little else has a chance to grow. The bird life, however, is outstanding, and
in some years there are up to 400 pairs of reed warblers, 80 pairs of sedge warblers and 40 pairs of reed
buntings. The reed warblers form one of the largest colonies in Wales and they breed at a high density
with a correspondingly high number of fledglings. Water rails Rallus aquaticus are present all year round
and are known to breed. Their numbers are difficult to measure, due to their secretive habits, but their
strange grunts and squeals are heard throughout the year. The song of the grasshopper warbler Locustella
naevia , a continuous call said to be like the rewinding of a fishing reel, can be heard in the summer from
the margins of the reedswamp where these birds nest. After occurring as a winter visitor for several years
bearded reedling Panurus biarmicus nested for the first time at Oxwich in 1974 and up to six pairs bred
each year until 1989.
Bitterns Botaurus stellaris have probably been associated with Oxwich Marsh for several centuries.
Thebittern'scallisadeepresonant'boom'thatcanbeheardseveralkilometresawayanditsgenericname
Botaurus is said to be derived from the Latin boatum tauri , 'the bellowing of a bull'. In spring the call is
said to resemble the lowing of a calf. In the past the bird's eerie cry in the night doubtless terrified people
who were unaware of its origin and the sound may have been attributed to supernatural agencies. In the
Gowerdialectthebitternwasknownasthe bumbagus .HoratioTuckernotedthat'WhethertheearlyWes-
sex colonists brought the word with them … or whether they coined it after their introduction to the bird
at Oxwich, is not known, for no trace of this word can be found in the South Country dialects. Possibly
the word was originally boom bogey .' Up until 1998 the marsh was a key wintering site and birds were
present each year, but no individuals have been recorded since that date. While people have sometimes
stated that the species has bred at Oxwich these claims, based on evidence such as sightings of two birds
atthesametime,orajuvenilebirdinlatesummer,haveneverbeensubstantiated.In1999therewereonly
19 breeding males in Britain (the majority in the south and east of England) and the present trend for the
British population is one of falling numbers - but the long-term prospects for the species are thought to
be good, unless there are cold winters, if habitats like the marsh remain in their present condition.
Herons are often seen in the marsh, although the numbers of birds in the area are not what they once
were. The once thriving heronry nearby, on the island in the middle of Penrice Lake, peaked at 34 nests
in 1978, but steadily decreased through the 1980s, as a result of trees dying of old age and nest branches
breakingoffafterheavysnowfall.In1993itwasdowntoasinglenestandtherehavebeennonestssince.
InsteadbirdsdispersedtoanothersiteatOxwich,bytheMiddlePond,buttherewerestillonlythreenests
there in 2004. Most of the Penrice colony seems to have moved to north Gower, with heronries develop-
ing at Landimore, Llanrhidian and Weobley.
The reedswamp also once contained a starling Sturnus vulgaris roost, which in late summer consisted
of anything up to 30,000 birds. Sadly this magnificent spectacle of massed birds in flight is now rarely
seen. In most years one or two rare vagrant birds occur in the reedswamp, and in the past these have in-
cluded marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus , purple heron Ardea purpurea , little bittern Ixobrychus minutus ,