And through the gloom of a Fochriw morning, it emerged.

Yes it is technically out of county but Rhaslas Pond above Fochriw is less than a bills length beyond the boundary. Saturdays are always busy for me so to get in a visit before the long-billed dowitcher skipped on to its next watering hole I needed to be on the road early. At the pond the weather was dismay, low light, cold, windy and a threat of rain. Nonetheless the bird was located at the south west corner and performed well with views down to 10 metres. 

On the way home two separate parties of redwing were noted crossing the Heads of Valleys road and on the outskirts of Blaenavon a red kite battled the wind.