There have not been too many bright dry mornings of late, but this was one of them. Four members (the same ones as last month) met at the seawall in Gileston at 9.30am to coincide with high tide, and walked along the coast path to the lagoon and the Nature Reserve at Aberthaw. We were hoping to find waders and sea birds. We very soon came across a raft of wigeon on the sea near the shore. They were difficult to see other than in silhouette because of the bright sun but as they accompanied us there and back on the walk we were able to view their colouration in different light later on. We found curlew, oystercatchers and shelduck as well as the usual gulls - herring, black headed, lesser and greater black- backed, but on the whole it was quite “quiet” and we probably only saw about 20 species. However it was a very pleasant, if cold day and it was good to be outside without getting wet. We felt a little unfortunate not to see the black redstarts around the ruins of the power station especially as another solitary birdwatcher had done so.

Two of us stopped in Flemingston on the way home and were rewarded with finding a large flock of lapwings, (roughly 75) in the valley in standing water. They were quite a distance away, but something put them up and they were much easier to identify when they took flight and were calling. Not a common sight anymore these days.

TJ