The last few go's... 17/12/2017

Even though I was still tired from Friday's work do, Nick and I set off early to Garw Nant in the dark on a willow tit quest. We picked up Ai-lin from home on the way and the three of us. We arrived at Garw Nant in the breaking light, though you could barely tell that the sun was rising in the gloom and drizzle. It didn’t look at all promising, but as the rain died a little we ventured down the road and into the area that Dan had suggested, coats pulled up tight against the inclement drizzle and cold. We scanned Llwyn Onn in case of any specials, and with just the cormorants on view, we took a path to the waters edge and followed it along a few meters.

We saw two blue tits in the lakeside trees ahead of us, and thought that seemed positive – if they were up and out, why wouldn’t their cousins be? I asked Nick to play his Collins app willow tit call, and to our astonishment, a willow tit popped into view behind us almost immediately, inquisitive but nervous.  It gave us a quick lap, though never stayed still long enough for a picture.

And that was it.

A result non-the-less, and a triumphant victory considering the weather.

We dropped Ai-lin back off, and grabbed a Maccy’s brekkie to celebrate (and sort out my hunger pangs), and then we headed to Ogmore to find the goldeneye. From the water treatment works we could see quite a few species. Goosander, several little grebe, lots of gulls, redshank and a Canadian squadron flyby. We carried on to Portobello where we immediately picked up the goldeneye, including some perched out of the water, but they shortly flew further down river.