A quick round-up for the last few days: water rail being seen regularly in several places, several bar-tailed godwits with the curlew flock, and up to 40 black-tailed godwits daily. Common sandpiper and lots of chiffchaffs are the last of the summer migrants, and a couple of golden plovers on the estuary are a sign of winter. Quite a few jays around, presumably part of the influx from the continent over the last week or so. A couple of choughs fly over most mornings, between roost and feeding area somewhere above the Valley.
We've got the diggers in over the next week or so, sorting out our drainage and preparing the ground for other improvements over the winter. However, all the trails and visitor facilities remain open as normal. As well as upgrading the car park in November, we're also planning to create a new covered viewpoint overlooking the wader roost at the Glan Conwy end of the lagoons, making it much easier to find that Nearctic rarity... Next Wednesday (10th), however, the coffee shop will be closed while we install solar thermal panels on the roof, part of our drive to cut our carbon emissions by 25% (we've already achieved 17%).
Finally, author and environmental commentator Mark Avery will be at the reserve next Saturday (13th), signing his book Fighting for Birds: 25 years in nature conservation. It's an insightful read into the big stories affecting nature in the UK. A keen birder, he'll also be joining our 11 am guided walk that day. More details at http://www.rspb.org.uk/events/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-324951
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