Sometime on the 5th a flock of 60 Canada Geese arrived in front of the Benarth hide. Another notable arrival was 7 Goldeneye appearing on the 11th. A lone Whooper Swan was on the estuary on the 4th briefly. Shelduck numbers are now in their 20’s in front of the Tal-y-fan hide. 10 Gadwall, 2 Tufted Duck and 2 Pochard complete the waterfowl counts.
3 Black-tailed Godwit and 20 Ringed Plover were the most interesting wader counts. There have been a couple of Water Rail sightings, from the Tal-y-fan hide.
An ill looking Guillemot was swimming close inshore on the estuary on the 8th.
2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers have been seen all around the reserve since they arrived on the 6th.
One of the Firecrests has less frequently been around the Bridge Pond and back track. One of the Chiffchaffs was about on the 10th. On the same day, 3 Redpolls flew over with the Siskin flock (9).
There are still regular sightings of Stoat, most recently from the coffee shop.
The 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. This means unfortunately that 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. The work is starting on 16th January, and we're expecting it to last around about 3 weeks. We're very sorry for any inconvenience, but hopefully in a few weeks time we'll have a lovely new bridge!