Off to Wales today with up to 4 possible yanks available. Left early to try and get them all in. Ok if you know where you are going. After following some signs to Cardiff Bay on arrival realised it was a different Cardiff Bay to the one I wanted! This one was the new business district that had been given the same name. Bought a map and found the Ice rink where the Bonapartes had been seen from. Got there to find a load of Black-heads feeding a long way out and into the sun. Decided to just keep driving around the bay until the sun was in the right place. After some perseverance managed to locate the bird.
Off to Llanelli now for the Blue-winged Teal. It was at a place called Sandy Water Park and was fairly easy to find. Lovely bird when I eventually got some good views. Unfortunately was beaten to it by some local twitchers trying to get photos. What a bunch of dicks. No fieldcraft what so ever. It was located at the edge of the reeds as I was approaching and the first guy just went straight into the reeds to get a closer look and flushed it! Boy did he get a mouthful.
After it was located at the other end of the lake the next guy did virtually the same thing! Unbelievable! It went something like " What the fuck are you doing you idiot, why didnt you just wait for it to come out! In the end they buggered off and I was able to get some decent shots.
Next place on the agenda was Peterstone Gout just east of Cardiff for Green-winged Teal. This was another difficult place to find. Infact I didnt really find it in the end. I got to a rather dodgy looking parking area near some gypsy caravans where you were supposed to park and then walk about a mile so didnt bother in the end.
This then gave me enough time to get to Slimbridge and have a look for the Lesser Scaup. Well that was the plan. Just a quarter of a mile from the motorway turnoff we all came to a stop. And it stayed that way. In the end got so frustrated that I made a dash for it down the hard shoulder to get off at the exit only to be greeted by the local constabulary. The exit was in touching distance. " Do you realise it is an offence to drive on the hardshoulder" blah blah blah
It wasnt even shut, the accident was a few miles down the road but for some reason we all had to sit there. Eventually we were allowed to use the exit.
Got into Slimbridge 5 mins before closing and the Lesser Scaup had not been seen all day. Persuaded the lady to let me in for half price so could have a look for myself. Well I had come all this way.
Whats this? A Lesser Scaup me thinks.
Oh look and there's another! I think I was in the wrong place. Ah well nevermind 2 out of 4 will have to do today
Bit of a collar going on there.
