On the 13th a Cetti’s Warbler gave a short blast of song by the Tal-y-fan hide. After keeping its head down for a few days, it called again on the evening of the 14th by the coffee shop. The Firecrests have been seen more regularly this week after the winds dropped and the sun came out, occasionally singing. The Chiffchaff was seen twice this week too.
As with our shallow lagoon, many small local patches of water have frozen over this week. This has made our non-frozen deep lagoon bring in more ducks. High counts include 13 Tufted Ducks, 7 Goldeneye, 4 Pochard, 2 Shoveler and 7 Gadwall.
Wader wise, a highlight was our first Jack Snipe of the year seen on the 14th. 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Ringed Plover and a Greenshank were also notable.
The Water Rail has been seen and heard most days this week, from the Tal-y-fan hide.
2 Foxes were about on the 17th and more reports of Stoat are coming in.
Bridge pond trailThe supports on the old bridge over the Bridge Pond have started to rot, so we're going to be replacing it with a brand new design of bridge. While the work is going on we will have to close the Bridge Pond trail, and there will be a minor diversion in place to take you round the other side of the pond instead. The alternative route may not be suitable for unaccompanied wheelchair users, so if you are thinking of visiting in the next few weeks, please give the Visitor Centre a call on 01492 584091 for advice. We're expecting the work to last another two weeks. We're very sorry for any inconvenience, but hopefully in a few weeks time we'll have a lovely new bridge!