Welsh ospreys are also doing well. At the RSPB Glaslyn reserve all three chicks have hatched and the pair at the Dyfi Estuary should have chicks hatching this weekend.

Keep an eye on the Dyfi Osprey Facebook page for some incredible HD webcam images of the birds on the nest - probably the best you will ever see of a bird of prey!

Welsh beaches gained 43 Blue Flag awards this year but six lost their status including Aberavon, Llandudno North Shore, Aberystwyth South, Criccieth and Newport.

For snake lovers out there, The National Poisons Information Service - (yes it does exist) have revealed that Wales is an adder bite hotspot.

23 people in Wales were bitten by the UK's only venomous snake between 2009-11 but to keep things in perspective, no-one has died from an adder bite for more than 20 years.

If bitten, get to a hospital ASAP but providing you watch where you're walking and keep your distance, adders will invariably move away before you even see them.

Springwatch is back in Wales for another series, live from the RSPB Ynys-hir reserve. The series starts on Monday 28 May at 8pm on BBC Two.

Our Flickr group continues to capture some wonderful images from around Wales. Here are a few that have caught my eye lately:

female adder basking in the sun by Matthew Fox

Jo Edwards found this hedgehog dehydrated in her garden so gave it some food and water and got it back on its feet.

Here's something you don't see every day, a highly camouflaged, treecreeper chick on the nest in Roath Park - snapped by Anthony Cronin

A rare cuckoo, feeding on caterpillars - spotted by Mike Warburton

Who needs Springwatch when you've got your own webcam set up in the back garden. Laurence Clark was amazed to find badgers in his back yard!

It's a part of Carmarthenshire that I don't really know, so it was nice to finally see it in the flesh and the sunny weather definitely helped.

My three year old loved it and I was surprised at how tame and tolerant the ducks.

I've not see such docile creatures since I visited the Galapagos Islands, where you literally have to step over nesting boobies and marine iguanas to make any progress on each island.

Many of the ducks will feed from the hand too so keep one eye on your sandwiches.

Back to the wetlands and pretty much every duck was met with a 'hello duckie!' from my son, followed by a spot of close quarter eyeballing. Apart from the odd hiss (mainly from the South American geese) we passed through unscathed.

Geese at the WWT

He also got to grips with my binoculars although I'm still not 100% sure what he actually saw!

There were dozens of exotic ducks from all over the world - South America, Australia, Tundra, Europe etc as well as Caribbean flamingo which were a big hit.

We saw black swans, bewick's swans, eider ducks, countless moorhens and coots with their young, shelducks and plenty I'd never heard of.

In the woods surrounding the enclosures I also spotted a blackcap and chiffchaff.

Sadly I didn't get to explore the wilder wetland areas of the 66 hectare site as there is only so much a three year old can handle but I'd love to go back and spend a lot more time there.

The first chick hatches at Glaslyn. Image taken from the RSPB webcam.

After a rough and windy night which saw the osprey webcam lose power, the female finally revealed the chick at 10am.

The male osprey was close at hand, waiting patiently with a freshly caught fish for the new arrival.

Find out more on BBC News Online.

Some are internationally known such as the Skomer and Skokholm islands off Pembrokeshire. Others, like the Solutia Meadows in Gwent are less well known but provide equally enjoyable destinations for walkers along the path.

Ten of the best Wildlife Trust sites along the Wales Coast path are:

1. Skomer/Skokholm (as one reserve)
2. Cemlyn (Anglesey)
3. Solutia Meadows (Gwent)
4. Port Eynon Point (Gower)
5. Cema
6. Gwaith Powdwr (Gwynedd)
7. Lavernock Point (Glamorgan)
8. Penderi Cliffs (Ceredigion)
9. Spinnies (Gwynedd)
10. Goodwick Moor (Pembs)

Wildlife Broadcaster, Iolo Williams said: "These top ten sites will give tourists a unique chance to see the some of the hidden wildlife treasures we have here in Wales."

"While I love the world renowned sites like Skomer with its amazing birdlife and unknown marine life, I'm also pleased that less well known reserves like Cemlyn on Anglesey are so high up the list because it's the most important breeding site for terns in southern Britain."

"Wales' amazing coastline is home to some of our most spectacular wildlife;" explains Rachel Sharp, CEO of Wildlife Trusts Wales.

"These reserves are home to not only a huge variety of birds, (more than 185 species have been spotted at the Wildlife Trusts Abergowan Spinnies in Gwynedd for example), but also rare butterflies such as the purple hairstreak at Lavernock Point in Glamorgan and scarce plants like the southern marsh orchid on the Solutia Meadows in Gwent.

"There are also 'hot spots' for watching bottlenose dolphins and porpoises, such as at Cemaes Head, and the northern most reserve, Cemlyn, on Anglesey is internationally renowned for its bird life."

The Wildlife Trusts Dyfi Osprey Project is also only a short distance inland from the path and the Ospreys have already laid eggs this year.

May is the main breeding season for ladybirds so you can expect to see a lot more of our 51 resident species (only 29 of these are recognisably ladybirds) out and about over the next month.

Among our resident species you'll also spot the increasingly common, invasive harlequin ladybird which is being carefully monitored.

Confusingly it comes in many colours, many of which resemble our native ladybirds making it difficult to distinguish.

Introduced to north America and mainland Europe as a biological control for aphids, their ferocious appetite has led to the decline of our native species.

Not only do they eat aphids, they will also eat ladybird larvae and other insect larva such as butterfly eggs, caterpillars and lacewing larvae and at least 1000 British insects are now at risk.

First spotted in the south east of England in 2004 they have expanded rapidly, north and west.

Harlequin ladybird in Llangollen by Keith Evans

Here are a few simple ways to distinguish harlequin ladybirds from resident species from the Harlequin Ladybird Survey website:

• If it's less than 5 mm (1/5 inch) in length, it is definitely not a harlequin ladybird.

• If it's red with precisely 7 black spots, it is a 7-spot ladybird.

• If it has white or cream spots, it is a striped ladybird, an orange ladybird or a cream-spot adybird.

• If it is large, burgundy coloured and has 15 black spots, it is an eyed ladybird .

• If it has an orange pronotum, and fine hairs all over the elytra, it is a bryony ladybird..

• If it is black with four or six red spots, two of which are right at the front of the outside margin of the elytra, it is a melanic form of the 2-spot ladybird..

A recent study led by Dr Helen Roy from the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Tim Adriaens from the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) in Belgium has found that seven resident species are at risk.

The seven species in decline are the 2-spot, 10-spot, cream-spot, pine, orange, 14-spot and 22-spot ladybirds.

Find out more about Harlequin ladybirds on BBC Nature.

Barafundle Bay, on the Pembrokeshire coast by Arwyn Harris

1. Church Bay, Ynys Mon / Anglesey, Sunday 6 May at 10.30am

5 miles, 2.5hrs

A National Trust walk around the Church Bay Meet at the Swtan car park with Warden Bryn Jones

Contact Number: 01407711178

2. Porthdinllaen, Llyn, Sunday 5 May, 4pm - 6pm

Start and finish at Porthdinllaen car park at Morfa Nefyn
Circular walk with Ranger. Learn about the fascinating maritime history and wildlife of the village and beach.

Contact: 01758 760533.

3. Mynydd Rhiw, Llyn, Sunday 6 May, 2pm - 5pm

Start and finish at Mynydd Rhiw lay by at summit of road between Bryncroes and Rhiw. Circular walk visiting the cottages of the tyddynnwyr (smallholders) hear from the Ranger about our exciting restoration project.

Contact: 01758 760533.

4. Cwm Tydu, Ceredigion on Sunday 5 May, 10am - 1pm

Start and finish at the beach at Cwm Tydu - walk along the coast and through the woods at Ryslip to see early spring flowers, along with the possibility of chough and pearl bordered fritillary.

Contact: 01545 573030 / 07917266367

5. Solva, Pembrokeshire on Sunday 6 May, 2pm - 4pm

4 mile circular walk from Solva Harbour to Nine Wells and back with National Trust Area Warden Andrew Tuddenham.You'll see ship wrecks, coastal forts and plenty of birds along the way. Some moderate gradients.

Contact 01348 837860.

6. Stackpole, Pembrokeshire - Saturday 5th May 10am - 2.30pm

Starting and Finishing at Broadhaven car park. Walk with Head Ranger Chris Oliver along the lime stone cliffs of Stackpole, with a chance to see a variety of birds including Chough, Guillemots, Razor Bills and Gannets.

Pause at Boat House Stackpole Quay for a tea before winding your way back through dunes, woodland, farmland and the Bosherston Lakes back to Broadhaven.

Contact National Trust at Stackpole on 01646 661359 for further details.

7. Cwm Ivy, Gower on Sunday 6 May at 4:30am.

Dawn Chorus walk on Coast Path at Cwm Ivy. Listen to the countryside wake up, with experts on hand to identify the bird call. A magical experience.

Contact 01792 390636 or email: gower.admin@nationaltrust.org.uk

• You can also follow the National Trust's Coast Path blog.

The Mid Wales Red Squirrel Project, which has been running since 2002, has received £12,000 funding from Environment Wales to help support red squirrel conservation in the area around Llyn Brianne and the Tywi Forest.

The red squirrels here form one of only three key populations left in Wales, and the only one left in south Wales.

Isabel Macho, Biodiversity Officer with Carmarthenshire County Council, said: "We are really lucky still to have red squirrels in Carmarthenshire, and their protection is one of our conservation priorities."

"The unique nature of the Tywi forest has allowed them to survive here longer than in the rest of south Wales but they remain very vulnerable due to habitat loss and the impacts of grey squirrels."

A red squirrel by Steve Davis

Dr Lizzie Wilberforce of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales went on to explain, "Unfortunately, grey squirrels aren't native to Britain and have more or less replaced our native red squirrels throughout Wales."

Grey squirrels are much larger, out-compete reds for food and carry a disease called squirrel pox, which is fatal to red squirrels.

New funding has allowed the project to undertake a large survey of the Cothi and Gwenffrwd valleys to assess where squirrel activity can be observed and to engage landowners and other interested individuals in red squirrel conservation.

It has also supported a carefully designed programme of grey squirrel control that has been targeted to maximise the benefit for red squirrels in their core habitat.

Huw Denman, a private forester and member of the red squirrel project, said: "Small changes to the way woodlands are managed, like altering the proportions of tree species you plant, can make a huge difference to red squirrels survival."

Working with local landowners, the project hopes to create a better future for red squirrels in Wales.

Watch red squirrels on BBC Wildlife Finder

The female laid her first egg two days later than last year on 4 April, and has been sat on the nest throughout the night, getting up to feed briefly this morning.

Geraint Williams, Osprey Project Officer said: "The ospreys have been busy getting their nest ready and bringing moss and twigs to build it up. The nest diameter is currently two metres in size."

The team are hoping more eggs will follow over the next few days. Each egg will then be incubated for around 37 days, which means the first egg should hatch around the beginning of May.

Work will start this summer on a £400,000 project at the popular Llandudno Junction site, benefiting from £178,705 from Communities and Nature, a strategic project led and managed by the Countryside Council for Wales and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.

The initiative, known as Conwy Connections, includes several elements, the centrepiece being the landscaping of land between the existing Visitor Centre and Waterside Coffee Shop, known as Y Maes.

Artists impression of Y Maes by Alan Gray, RSPB volunteer.

Y Maes an outdoor meeting place will provide elevated views for visitors across the reserve and beyond to the Conwy Valley.

It will also include picnic areas, new seating and will be the hub of events such as the monthly Farmers' Markets and annual Gardeners' Markets.

Once planted with nectar-rich flowers and berry-bearing bushes, it will incorporate natural areas for youngsters to play, such as stepping logs, a den-building area, a roly-poly bank, secret cave and mud bath!

The first phase of the project includes major improvements to the car parking facilities at the site, the building of an observatory with a green roof to overlook the lagoon and the installation of solar panels on the roof of the coffee shop.

Work is expected to start later this summer, subject to planning consent.

During the late 1980s up to 6,000 salmon were being caught each year but by 2002, this number had nose-dived to just 357, but early signs in March indicate that the larger fish are slowly returning.

A local fisherman with a recent 30lb salmon caught in the River Wye.

Salmon stocks rapidly diminished due to a number of factors including pollution, habitat degradation and overgrazing of livestock.

The top of the river is at fairly high altitude and full of forestry and as acid rain fell, it made its way into the river, wiping out growing areas and salmon habitat in the tributaries.

Over the years a number of pollution incidents have occurred including the accidental discharge of 20 tons of sugar at Hereford in1994.

The following year the River Elan (an Upper Wye tributary) and the Upper Wye itself both received an inadvertent chemical release which killed tens of thousands of juvenile fish.

A healthy river would normally have a pH balance of around 6.5; the Wye during its worst period fell as low as 4, at which point fish reproduction can be affected. Vinegar has a pH balance of between 2.4 - 3.4.

Flood defence schemes on the Lugg - a major Wye tributary were also a contributing factor as fish passes were not initially included, preventing fish from migrating.

Habitat degradation caused by overgrazing of sheep was another contributing factor as the increased livestock (caused the river to become wider and shallow rather than narrow and deep which is preferable to the salmon and brown trout.

A 15lb salmon being returned at Upper Bigsweir on 3 March - The Wye and Usk Foundation

The historic practice of coppicing also ceased many decades ago which meant trees such as alder began shading large areas of the river banks, killing off the ranunculus weed which provided habitat for insects and their larvae - a vital food source for the fish.

In 1997 work began to improve the river and the results are now being seen. Despite the lack of rainfall, the River Wye is enjoying the best start to the salmon season for at least 20 years and after less than four weeks fishing, 95 fish have been caught and safely returned.

A decade ago the total salmon catch for March and April was just three.

Four fish have been over 30lbs and 27 more than 20lbs, evidence that the monster 'portmanteau' salmon, for which the Wye was famous last century, are returning.

Other positive evidence is that a much higher than average number of 'kelts' (salmon which have spawned) returning to the sea, have been caught, indicating good levels of spawning fish from last year.

Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith, Director of The Wye and Usk Foundation, explained: "The success has been very much the result of partnership working."

Adding a note of caution, Dr. Marsh-Smith says: "In spite of this excellent start, we are now seriously short of rain and salmon catches are increasingly confined to beats below Monmouth that benefit with fish coming in on the tides."

Watch salmon on BBC Wildlife Finder.

BBC Wales News: 'Timeless Wye' is voted public's favourite river.

BBC Wales News: Climate change danger to salmon in River Wye.

Environment Minister John Griffiths said he had instead opted to vaccinate the animals after carefully considering the scientific evidence.

A review of the science involved in controlling bovine TB was commissioned after last year's assembly elections.

Badgers feeding.

The Farmers' Union of Wales attacked a "cowardly betrayal", while the RSPCA said it was "delighted and relieved".

The previous government had planned a pilot cull of badgers in west Wales.

But Mr Griffiths revealed on Tuesday that he was scrapping the plan, saying a five-year vaccination programme will start in the intensive action area - the TB hotspot in north Pembrokeshire where the cull was due to take place.

Find out more on BBC News

Currently the Met Office are warning of the odd heavy shower along with sunny spells for Cardiff tomorrow afternoon, with light westerly winds and good visibility - so kicking shouldn't be a problem for the players.

Highs of around 9 or 10 degrees so wrap up warm as it's not summer just yet. One more week to go before the clocks spring forwards and lighter evenings.

Staying on the rugby theme, RSPB Cymru blogger Anthony Walton has chosen his Grand Slam winning team of birds. What birds would make the starting line up? What skills would they require to fill the positions?

Have a great weekend and if you've got a great nature feature you'd like me to cover, get in touch via the website at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk

Keep up to date with all the action on BBC Wales Sport and Radio Wales.

The reserve is 305 acres and managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and home to many species of butterfly, birds, amphibians and reptiles such as great-crested newts and adders.

It's very close to Bridgend and Maesteg and fairly easy to get to - I say fairly, as I took three wrong turns getting there and struggled to spot any sign posts saying 'Parc Slip' but my mobile phone and Google maps saved the day.

We arrived just as one of the wildlife wardens was marching off, closely followed by a line of parents and kids - complete with wellies and fishing nets, so I'm assuming there was a pond dipping exercise taking place somewhere.

The rain eased and the sun threatened to come out and once we were on the trails, the wind eased and the wildlife hunt began.

Our first stop was at the wildlife pond to show my young apprentices some frog spawn, which was so easy to find, it could have been placed there - but perfect for little eyes to spot.

Moving along the trail, grabbing kids from jumping into the deepest puddles, we passed teal and mallard and entered the first bird hide - overlooking a decent sized pond with a small island in the middle.

There was plenty of birdlife on show including black-headed gulls, swans, a heron, plenty of teal and mallards and a lone lapwing sat on the island.

There weren't many people about but I chatted with one gentleman who looked like he knew a thing or two about the reserve and he informed me that there was an adder hotspot nearby.

I was surprised to hear that adder were out and about this early but he assured me there was a section of trail where he regularly saw them when the sun was out, basking in amongst the old bracken and undergrowth.

We by-passed the butterfly and dragonfly walk as my little boy already had soaking wet trousers, socks and wellies and I couldn't face pulling him face-first out of any more mud.

Following a narrow road, I noticed something moving in the verge and was delighted to find a medium sized toad, attempting to burrow its way inside a grassy tussock.

I gently eased him out onto the palm of my hand to show the boys what a toad looked like and after some initial cries of 'monster' and 'dragon' they were genuinely intrigued by this lumpy little brown creature with its long back toes and golden eyes.

A miniature waterfall at Parc Slip nature reserve.

There are a few different trails to take, varying in length and I may well have gone wrong opting for the easiest and driest routes on the day but we passed over some little wooden footbridges spanning mini waterfalls flowing into a crystal clear stream.

Along the way we spotted a green woodpecker flitting low across a marshy field, saw great tits and blue tits in the woods and heard chiffchaff and robins up in the tree tops.

Nearing the 'snake section', I moved up ahead of the group as snakes are hard enough to find normally, without two little boys in tow, whacking the brambles with swords fashioned from muddy sticks.

After 10 minutes of pain-staking searching, I spotted what looked to be a silver-grey coloured lizard, approximately 1.5cm in circumference, nestled in a shallow hole surrounded by brambles - my first adder sighting of 2012.

I was expecting to see the pronounced dark zigzag markings of a larger adder but from the small part I could see - this juvenile only had a few black stripes on its side.

I shouted 'adder!' but by the time the group had caught up, it had slowly slithered back into its hole, away from prying eyes. Nevertheless, it was exciting to actually find one, as it literally was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Incidentally - snakes don't hibernate, they brumate over winter. In other words, their body temperature is maintained at a cooler level than normal, but they are awake and slowly move around to keep warm.

The return leg took us past a memorial stone marking the colliery disaster that happened here in the 1892 when 112 people lost their lives and it's hard to believe that this site was once an open cast mine.

From here it was a short trek along a tarmac road past woodland and marshland back to the car park.

I'll definitely be returning in summer, once the reed beds have grown, the weather is warmer and there are a few more birds about, but for a first visit - on a cold, wet and windy day in March, I was very impressed.

Try one of the Parc Slip walks

Parc Slip Nature Reserve

An exhibition at Nanshan Botanic Garden in Chongqing - entitled 'Barcode Wales: Beyond the Visible' features images and artwork illustrating the project to DNA barcode the flowering plants of Wales.

Photographs taken at the Garden by Professor Andrea Liggins, the Dean of Faculty of Art and Design at Swansea Metropolitan University, are the focal point of the exhibition and are presented alongside visual representations of the plants' DNA barcodes produced as part of the National Botanic Garden of Wales' Barcode Wales project.

DNA barcode of spreading bellflower (Campanula patula), an herbarium specimen of the species.

The Garden's Head of Conservation and Research, Dr Natasha de Vere, who leads the Barcode Wales project, will be in Chongqing for Wales Week, said: "Andrea began her exploration for this exhibition by starting from our science centre and photographing the plants growing wild outside our building and in the surrounding area.

"The plant species in Andrea's photographs have a personality of their own, like actors in a play. Sometimes we can tell what they are, sometimes they are more elusive. The DNA barcodes given with each photograph are a code to identify that plant species, even when we cannot identify it with our eyes."

Nanshan Botanic Garden is hosting the exhibition and has invited Prof Liggins, Dr de Vere and the Garden's Director Dr Rosie Plummer to Chongqing for the celebrations.

According to Sinba Duan, Senior Wales Officer in Chongqing, it's anticipated the exhibition will get 500,000 visitors in March and April - peak season for the Nanshan garden.

The exhibition is at the Nanshan Botanic Garden, Chongqing, from February 27 for three months.

Barcode Wales is a joint project between the National Botanic Garden of Wales and National Museum Wales.

The aim of Barcode Wales is to make Wales one of the first nations to DNA barcode all of its native flowering plants (1143 species) and to use the barcodes for biodiversity conservation and improving peoples' lives.

Up for grabs this year are over £1,000 of prizes including a place on the nature writing course at Tŷ Newydd (Lloyd George's old home) and £500 donated by WWF Cymru.

To enter - simply write 1000 words on a subject in Wales which inspires you.

Details and previous winning entries can be found at www.inspired-by-nature.org.uk

Last year's winner was John Harold from Moelyci with a story about wild fires.

Gillian Clarke, the current National Poet of Wales will be on the judging panel and, if all goes to plan, will present prizes to the winners at the new literature festival for Wales to be held at Dinefwr on 30 June.