Some good local patch birds around this afternoon -red kite over high heading west, curlew over heading north and GBB gull arrived from the south, along with swallow and the regular wildfowl.

Iceland gull still on Taffs Mead Embankment near Cardiff Central Station, 10:30am. Coming to bread and fairly approachable -well worth a visit!

A nice record from Jez Smith, of a drake pintail showing well on Tredegar House lake this morning.

The reservoir is half-frozen today, forcing the Long-tailed duck into the SW part of the res, often diving along the ice-edge off the car park, giving fantastic views. Ideal for the big-lens boys to get the definitive photos, as opposed to these digiscoped efforts…

Also, very good numbers of other wildfowl; a pair of gadwall were a good record for here (bringing my Patchwork Challenge total to 52), 9 shoveller, 44 pochard, 98 tufties, 28 coots, 2 GC grebes, 7 little grebes, 19 mallards, 25 Canadas and a common gull. Nearby, 2 chiffchaffs and a jack snipe.

Long-tailed duck (male) on Lisvane Reservoir, giving good views in the sunshine, viewed from the car park off Lisvane Road. Also 45 tufties, 17 pochard, 9 mallards, 25 coots, 7 little grebes, 1 heron, etc.

Lisvane: highlight was a lapwing going over -scarce here. A good count of 122 tufties and 23 pochard, 34 Canadas, 8 mallards, 3 GC grebes, 3 cormorants, 6 L grebes, 38 coots, 1 heron, etc.

Roath Park Lake: 7 little grebes and a common gull, no sign of any shovellers or teal today.

Cardiff City Hall: male peregrine viewed from the Winter Wonderland ice rink, every 45 seconds from 4pm until 4:45 when a spectacular nosedive ended my birdwatching for the day.

Roath Park Lake: 3 male shovellers, 4 common gulls.

in the last light of 2014, at Lisvane: 8 shovellers (2M + 6F), 1 common snipe, 81 tufties, 28 pochard, 34 Canadas, 14 mallards, 38 coots, 1 heron, 4 GC grebes, 10 little grebes, 8 cormorants, etc. Nearby, 1 male blackcap.

Happy New Year to all the Glamorgan birders!

Roath Park Lake: 6 teal, 3 shovellers, 7 little grebes, 2 common gulls.

Lisvane at dusk: 1 common snipe, 94 tufties, 20 pochard, 8 mallard, 47 coots, 15 Canadas, etc.

Lisvane Res: Highlight was a close encounter with a weasel (ok not actually a bird), and 1 chiffchaff. Out on the water were 14 pochard, 82 tufties, 9 little grebes, 3 GC grebes, 34 Canadas, 1 common gull, etc.

Roath Park Lake: 3 shovellers.

Hope everyone has had a good Christmas. At Lisvane today was a common snipe foraging along the southern shore (my first record of snipe this side of the fence!). Also a good count of 26 pochards, 48 tufties, 37 coots, 4 mallards, 11 cormorants, 5 GC grebes (1 somehow in full summer plumage!), 8 little grebes, etc. Nearby, 1 chiffchaff looking chilly in the rain.

Lisvane: 23 pochards and 2 common gulls were the more notable counts on the reservoir. Nearby, a wintering chiffchaff (heard occasionally for several weeks now) finally showed itself to be a typical collybita-type individual.

Roath Park Lake: 1 little egret, 1 sub-ad yellow-legged gull, 3 common gulls, 1 shoveller and 2 teal.

10 shovellers (7M + 3F) was a site record for me this morning. Also 16 pochard, 12 tufties, 1 juv mute swan, 13 little grebes, 1 GC grebe, 3 mallard, 54 coots, 3 herons and 2 cormorants. 1 common gull among the usual flock.

A long-tailed duck was a nice surprise this morning, associating with 14 tufties and the female goldeneye on the main lagoon. Also 3 shovellers, 1 teal, 12 mallards, 3 little grebes, 1 moorhen, 4 coots and a heron.

Llanishen: Highlight was a female goldeneye -my first of the winter here and my first on Llanishen Reservoir post-drainage. More tufties on Llanishen (37) than on Lisvane Reservoir today (18). Also visible were 2 teal, 6 mallard, 2 little grebes, c30 redwings, and a flock of 24 linnets.

Lisvane: business as usual: 18 tufties, 4 pochard, 2 mutes, 36 Canadas, 8 mallards, 8 little grebes, 4 GC grebes, 53 coots etc. Steady passage of hundreds of wood pigeons heading west.

Roath Park Lake: 1 shoveller, 2 teal and impressive numbers of coots, e.g. 142 in a single loose flock at the north end,

Hendre Lake: a late chiffchaff near the car park.

Lisvane: a bit of a clear out of wildfowl evident -numbers a little down from last week.

Llanishen: at least 1 shoveller in heavy rain.

Roath Park Lake: 2 shoveller, 1 teal.

Lisvane today: 9 pochard, 29 tufties, 8 mallards, 47 Canadas, 18 little grebes, 6 GC grebes, 49 coots, 2 mute swans etc.

Llanishen Reservoir yesterday evening: 1 water rail, 3 shovellers, 3 pochards, 27 tufties, 6 moorhens, 8 coots, 4 little grebes and 1 GC grebe. No teal or snipe visible from the perimeter fence, despite the scores counted here on last week’s walk-through for WeBS count. c50 redwings came in to roost. A South Wales Echo article about the proposed re-flooding of Llanishen Reservoir (and an aerial photo of the superb wetland habitat!) is here: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/blueprint-long-lasting-solution-protect-llanishen-7954618

The Roath Park shoveller flock has grown to the dizzying heights of 5, with 3 teal also present today.

Llanishen: a full walk-through of the reservoir basin (courtesy of Celsa, for the WeBS count), produced 1 jack snipe among an impressive 79 common snipe. The jack snipe was separate from the main flock of snipe, at the pool in the NW corner.  Also, 1 water rail, 2 shoveller, 36 teal, 22 tufties, 3 pochard, 27 mallard, 3 little grebes, 1 GC grebe, 1 moorhen, 9 coots and 1 cormorant. Passerines within the reservoir included 8 linnets, 13 meadow pipits, 4 goldfinch, 2 grey wags and 4 song thrushes. The large numbers of snipe being flushed attracted a male peregrine.

Lisvane: 16 little grebes, 6 GC grebes, 6 pochard, 43 tufties, 7 mallards, 2 mutes, 2 cormorants, 53 coots, 2 Canadas, 54 LBB gulls, 28 BH gulls, 3 H gulls, 1 heron and a grey wag.

Roath Park Lake: 4 shoveller still present, just 1 teal today, 1 common gull was my 1st of the autumn, 1 Mediterranean gull (ad winter), and the old faithful colour ringed LBB gull blue AKZ.

Near Caerphilly mountain today, a goshawk was being intensively mobbed by a sparrow hawk and eventually departed SE.

Yesterday on Roath Park Lake: 1F and 1 eclipse drake shoveller.

Yesterday on Lisvane Res: 15 little grebes, 6 GC grebes, 12  Canadas, 3 pochard, 39 tufties, 6 mallards, 2 mutes, 47 coots, 1 cormorant. Among 52 LBB gulls, 4 H gulls and 19 BH gulls were 2 mid-tone larus gulls, but nether looking entirely convincing as yellow-legged.

Lots of temporary pools following the heavy showers, being enjoyed by c35 mallards, 1 shoveller, 1 wigeon, 2 teal, 1+ water rail, 21 tufties, 2 pochard, 21 tufties, c8 little grebes, 1 GC grebe, c10 coots, 2 moorhens and 2 herons. 1 skylark over, was my first of the autumn here,