Al fresco

Over recent weeks I've taken the opportunity scoff my lunchtime cheese baps in the lay-by on the dam at Llandegfedd Reservoir. Anti-social this may be but you quickly develop a picture of the wildlfe that occurs along this long strip of concrete.  This stint of mid day office exclusion has reminded me of a item I wrote for the Gwent Bird Report back in the early 1980's. Entitled something like 'Llandegfedd Reservoir: Birds from the Dam' it centred on the avian delights that had personally been recorded at the end of the reservoir that didn't need changing your footwear to walk around. 

My recent observations have not been ground breaking but great black backed gulls, coot, great crested grebe and cormorant are regulars. Little grebe are reasonable frequent with a maximum of three. The grassy margins were until the last few days home for up to 30 meadow pipit along with good numbers of pied wagtail.  

Elsewhere on the dam an area of flowering ivy has been alive with early atumn diptera, hymenoptera and lepidoptera. This queen wasp frequented gaps in the masonary looking for an over wintering site - I believe this to be a German wasp