Why not spend the day discovering some of the many fascinating plants and animals found within the Millennium Coastal Park? There are many different habitats found within the park including sand dune, lake, salt marsh, fen, woodland, stream and semi-natural grassland. Each habitat is home to a unique assemblage of plants and animals.

From the Discovery Centre to Loughor Bridge

North Dock Dunes Local Nature Reserve is home to many specialist plants and animals that are adapted to withstand the dry sandy conditions. Look out for plants like sea holly, sea campion, sea spurge and grasses such as marram and sand couch grass. The rare marbled white and small blue butterfly also occur here.
 
From the cycle path on the Machynys peninsula there are good views over the mud flats of the Burry Inlet which is internationally important for its birdlife. The estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is within the Carmarthen Bay Special Area of Conservation. Look out for small flocks of dunlin, ringed plover, sanderling and redshank along the coast whilst shelduck, oystercatcher and curlew can be seen further out on the mudflats.

Machynys Pond is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and includes marsh and fen habitats. Water plants such as spiked water-milfoil and grey club-rush are present along with the ruddy darter and migrant hawker dragonfly.

The National Wetlands Centre Wales at Penclacwydd includes many wetland habitats which support a wide range of birds, otters, dragonflies and damselfies and many emergent plants such as reed, flag iris, sedges and bulrush. The rare water vole has its stronghold here as well as the black poplar which is found growing in hedge banks.

From the Discovery Centre to Pembrey

In the peace and quiet of Pwll Lagoon Local Nature Reserve many rare plants can be found in this fenland habitat such as southern marsh orchid, common sundew and lesser centaury. In the more wooded areas royal fern and lemon-scented fern grow.

The semi-natural grassland is full of meadow flowers in the summer along with the accompanying buzz of bees and other insects which feed on nectar. Skylark and linnet both nest here along with numerous butterflies such as ringlet, meadow brown, gatekeeper, large skipper, peacock and red admiral.

At Ashpits Pond Local Nature Reserve there are high numbers of breeding birds such as swan, mallard, coot, moorhen, little grebe, great crested grebe and tufted duck. In the summer sand martin are found over the pond hawking for their insect food. Overwintering ducks including gadwall, shoveler, teal, pochard, wigeon and goldeneye.

The large sand dune system at Pembrey Burrows and Saltings Local Nature Reserve is still being formed and contains examples of all the different types of sand dune, from embryo dunes to the large semi-stable yellow dunes. Specialist plants and animals live in the saltmarsh which has formed behind the dunes. It is inundated with saltwater at every high tide and in late summer the purple flowers of common and rock sea lavender cover the ground. The notable insect population of the dunes includes the strandline beetle, the brown-banded carder bee and the tiger beetle. Many bees and wasps use the dry soft conditions found in the sand as nest sites. In the winter also look out for short-eared owl, hen harrier and merlin as they follow smaller birds which come down from the uplands to over winter here.