Hi all. With the end of the year approaching it’s timely for me to ask all observers to start thinking about making sure your observations for 2014 are up to date by the time 31st Dec arrives. It is also very important if you are a MapMate user, to make sure that you sync with your hub as soon as possible after 1st Jan, so that all records reach me by the time I do my final sync. Thanks in anticipation and have a good Christmas.

6 Black Redstarts still around the far end of Penarth Marina. I saw 2f and 1m and then met Gareth Pryce who had seen all 6 in and around Plas Pamir/Pals Taliesin/Llwyn Passat. Also 1 Redshank, 1 Turnstone and 1 Grey Wag on the rocky slope by the waters edge, and oddly, 2 Moorhens. 6 Common Gull by the orange buoys by the barrage, and 1 Rockit.

brief visit to see if my back was up to birding! Ad Yellow-legged Gull was sitting on E lake plus 1 ad Common Gull, and c.150 Tufted Ducks. Didn’t do a circuit so that’s it! Back seems OK.

highlights this morning – at least 8 Common Snipe in the snipe paddock, ad Yellow-legged Gull on E lake and Common Gull on W lake posts. Sparrowhawk over.

at Green Point today, Alan Cripps had at least 6 Jack Snipe, and excellent count for this site, and the highest I have known there. [I have databased this record].

India & Sri Lanka by Richard Smith. 7:45 p.m. KNNR Be there or be square!

No sign of the B-n Grebe from the mouth of the Taff back to the Clarence Rd bridge. At least 17 Little Grebes around the Cardiff Bay bridge and just upstream, and c. 40 Tufted Duck. 1 Grey Wag long the W side of the river, party of 10 Long-tailed Tit in trees by Clarence rd bridge and also a male Blackcap.

Don’t forget the indoor meeting tomorrow!

There’s an indoor meeting at Kenfig on Tuesday – Richard Smith is giving an illustrated talk on a trip to central India and Sri Lanka. Expect exc quality digital photos of the wildlife. 7:45 p.m.

6 Black Redstarts were seen today at Penarth marina, and at least 10 Hawfinches near Tongwynlais.

A lot of reed bed management going on:

In the cut area near St David’s Hotel, at least 10 Reed Bunting feeding together with a fem Blackcap, 3-4 Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Wren, Dunnock, Robin & Blue Tit. The drake Lesser Scaup was showing well from the boardwalk.

There won’t be much bird news today, so just another quick heads up.

No Bird Report arrived?? Probably because you haven’t renewed your membership – we have sent a couple of reminders! Get in touch with Alan Rosney to renew.

Also most of you will notice that on the text pages that are the reverse side of the photo pages, shading in table headers or columns has come out slightly coloured rather than grey. This is obviously due to the fact that these sheets were printed in colour for the photos but it’s not clear to me how the grey came out coloured, as the text is black as it should be. This hasn’t happened before as the photo pages have been printed double sided, but the printer has done it differently this time so the photo pages face each other. Hope it’s not too irritating.

Just a quick note. The local PO postage labelled all 260 envs for me today and they will either have been collected by the postman this eve or will be first thing tomorrow.

Kingfisher W lake, sitting in tree by the reed bed, 3 Little Grebe, around 100 Tufted Duck divided equally between E and W lakes, and 2 Pochard on E lake, plus the more or less resident mass of Canadas.

Common Gull nos. building up – there were 21 on the orange buoys by the inner barrage this morning.

Not bird news I know. I am picking up the 2013 Report from the printer later this afternoon. It will then take a couple of days or so to stuff 250+ of them into envelopes and get them posted so please bear with us.

I had a call from Geri Thomas today  – a contact of his, who isn’t a birder, has found an active nest with young being fed, whilst pruning a tree! Perhaps we shd all keep a look out for birds still breeding in this, at times, still mild weather. Thanks for the heads up Geri.

The 2 Gt Northern Divers were still present at the southern end of the reservoir this morning. Initially both together on the far side of the Res, then lost them for a while, then re-found not far north of the dam, one on one side and one north far north of the spillway.

Early p.m. managed to find 2 ad male Black Redstarts by Plas Pamir, one on a roof top and the other flew right past me having appeared from nowhere, flew round a corner and disappeared. Couldn’t re-find them despite a couple of circuits – suspect they were keeping low due to the stiff cold breeze. 3 Were reported later in the afternoon.

By the beach area, several Rock Pipit,  Redwing in the hedgerows, and a fem Black Redstart briefly on the lifeguard’s building and then on the cliff on the east side of the beach. Buzzard & Raven over.

Damp [initially] and v windy GBC trip to WWT Penclacwydd today. This odd little beastie had us scratching our heads looking thro’ the blurred glass of the Heron’s Wing hide. Managed this phone scoped pic from a viewing screen outside in a howling gale. It’s cropped, but clearly shows a Common Teal with a weird partial leucistic head. It also had pale dirty yellowish legs. From our poor views in the hide we were stringing Bufflehead/Hooded Merg! Other than that, there were 9 Greenshank, about 50 Blackwits, and other common waders, a Peregrine, 1 Sprawk, around 10 Brents seen out in the Burry, and all the common ducks – good weather for them!