I always really enjoy my visits to Wales. It presents new bird and wildlife opportunities and new places to visit. There is always lots to see with Little Grebe seemingly common for example.. they are a favourite of mine by the way. I must say that my visit to the Newport Wetlands RSPB was really memorable, not just for the birds which were not particularly noticeable but it is such a friendly and welcoming place. The staff are just so lovely, very passionate and interesting as well as “interested” in what I have to say. This is very refreshing. The celebrity bird at this site is the Bearded Reedling or Bearded Tit. I am yet to see one on my visits here but I am pretty certain that I heard one. It was really busy though being a Saturday, kids everywhere and their behaviour to be frank is not really what you want in a nature reserve. There is a bit of a confusion between conservation and recreation here. If you encourage children to take an interest then it is quite important I think to teach them the etiquette and behaviour required. …… my only complaint. In one of the tucked away areas there is an observation point that overlooks a drying pool. I was told that a Water Rail had just been seen as I arrived. I waited and eventually, after 20 minutes or so, it appeared and started to wander towards us feeding intently. Quite quickly it was quite close in front of me. I took loads of photos but this place is not good for photos, you can’t use a tripod because of the construction of the screening so everything is hand held. It was probing in the mud and was a bit of a mess to be frank. For example you can hardly tell the colour of the beak because of the mud. I was chuffed with this sighting, I have a plan to get some decent shots of Water Rail, I know where I may find one and be able to put up a hide. This is well away from any reserve and by a public footpath which is hardly used

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Also showing really well was this lovely little female Tufted Duck. I am quite intrigued by the eye colour which would be yellow if it was an adult so I presume that this bird is a first winter juvenile.

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Tufted Duck are divers and I tried to get photos of this but it is hard to get it just right, I almost did it though.

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Jay are a very intelligent bird that at times can be very hard to get close to. They are a very attractive well marked member of the crow family. We were staying with friends just north of Cardiff and from the bedroom window I noticed that Jays were flying from Oak tree to tree, obviously feeding on the acorns. I decided to get in to my car and move it closer to the trees and see if I could capture some good shots, it’s not often that you can get close to them. It was too good an opportunity to resist.

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I am pleased to report that we have now had visitors from 99 different countries. The latest is Syria, I wonder which country will be 100. It is incredible to think that visitors from so many countries have visited and read the blog.