The female RN duck is still present with 6 tufted ducks on Central Lake, as are 8 goosanders (2 males) on the Eastern Arm.
Most surprising of all, to me at any rate, was an observation at 1700hrs of a single very vocal chough perching (and preparing to roost?)in the top of a mature pine tree in woodland along the eastern arm of the lake. At least one chough has been regularly feeding in an adjacent cattle-grazed field during the week but, although I am aware that they can be found perching on scrub/trees on coastal cliffs in Wales, this is the first time I have ever found one perching in trees in woodland close to the usual corvid (mixed jackdaw, rook and carrion crow roost) at least 1 to 1.5 km inland of the usual sea-cliff (normal) chough roosting zone!
I'm not quite sure what is going on here, perhaps this is a single unattached (dare I say lonesome!) chough just wanting to hang around with other corvids in a fairly secure location at the end of the day? What ever, it just goes to show that there is always more to learn about birds you think you know quite well in the locality!
Earlier on a beautiful (if a bit chilly) spring-like day, there were still at least 1,000+ golden plovers on the Range (near Stack Rocks road) and flocks of up to 50 meadow pipits on the move along the Castlemartin peninsula but no sign of any sand martins yet.
