A very enjoyable walk doing both transects from Merthyr Mawr Village, adjacent farms up to Broadlands and back down New Inn Road to the ‘dipping bridge’ at Newbridge Farm fields. I logged 39 species which appears to have exceeded all previous survey counts by some margin. The highlights were 2 Whitethroats plus Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Raven, 2 pairs of Dipper, a few pairs of Pied and Grey Wagtails and plenty of commoner woodland species and farmland finches. As I left the square to return home through Newbridge fields, as well as 2 pairs of Dipper actively returning to nest sites, I was delighted to find a Common Sandpiper feeding quietly along the bank of the Ogmore in amongst all the rubbish there- a new species for me on my adjacent home square SS8979.