There was definitely an Otter at the Gann on 13th. I was there a little later than the sighting reported in the earlier post and got this picture at 12.06. Until then, I was wondering why the mullet were jumping around so much, presumably trying to get away from the unseen predator. One was not lucky - the tail of a fish is apparent in the otter's mouth. The otter later disappeared into the reeds.
It seems like you do not have to be out as early as Derek to find them, just being in the right place at the right time, the same as for Ospreys. I too have been out seeking Ospreys around the middle Cleddau and have not yet seen one. In the last couple of years I have heard of sightings near Uzmaston and Boulston as well as around Millin Pill. A couple of years ago Emyr at Dyfi Osprey project told me he had heard stories of Ospreys nesting near Picton Castle in the past. Steve and Anna might want to expand their search area further westwards as well. An Osprey nesting platform or two in the area might help attract and focus them. Reports of sightings from mid and north Wales show there are wandering two and three-year old birds looking for nest sites. These are ringed Welsh birds plus at least one from the Poole Harbour reintroduction and Rutland birds. There do not seem to be enough existing nests for an expanding population, so there is increasing liklihood for local nesting, but ospreys are notorious for not building new nests - preferring to move into a proven good site with an incumbent partner (or perhaps just lazy or incompetent, if you are not an osprey fan).
Yesterday I thought I saw a Hobby near some swifts over Crowhill village. I did not get a good view but went inside the house to get the binoculars for some relaxed skyscanning from a sunlounger in the shade. No luck with a Hobby, but what I did see seemed really weird. There was a large bird circling slowly like a buzzard soaring over the northern edge of Havefordwest. It was obviously a Cormorant when seen with the binoculars. It continued circling and rising with occasional wing beats interspersed with glides. It clearly had found a strong thermal and was using it to gain altitude. I must have watched it rise from a couple of hundred metres to over a thousand until it was a dot drifting northwards. I have never seen one so high. Normally I expect to see them at low level over water with busy wingbeats or occasionally at higher levels when moving between rivers. Has anybody else seen them do this?