You could hear a pin drop

With glossy ibis, bobolink and lapland bunting all within a chip and putt of Ryder Cupland the time felt right for an early visit to Llandegfedd Reservoir to pick up a nice passage rarity. Although the reservoir was pristine in the early morning sunlight with hardly a breeze to ripple the surface of the water there was equally hardly any bird activity apart from the usually culprits of cormorant and great crested grebe. Nevertheless there were early signs of wintering wildfowl with 9 wigeon and 11 teal. Other notables were a small group of about a dozen meadow pipit, a single lapwing, three mute swan and the arrival of c140 Canada goose from some point north at 10am.

A roadkill badger was a bloody grisly sight in the back lanes to the reservoir and marsh foxtail showed well towards the north end of Green Pool.