And now for something completely different . . .

I've been a bit worried about the standard of the photography on this blog of late. So I thought it was about time I posted an image more befitting the quality we have come to expect over the years . . . . .

Slavonian Grebe at Lisvane Reservoir

What you mean you can't see it?! It to the right behind the Tuftie. Originally found by Rob Thomas, Geth and I picked it up during our WeBS count this afternoon. Sadly for us, it stayed right at the back of the reservoir the whole time we were there. This was disgiscoped at 8x through a 30x 'scope! Oh, and did I forget to mention that the light was absolutely dreadful?

To be serious though, since it's closure to the general public and, more importantly, dogs, it was clear that the wildfowl on Lisvane Reservoir were much more 'relaxed' today than I've ever seen them before. 'Relaxed' may not the most ornithological term you'll hear, but now that these birds have a bit of peace and quiet many of them had hauled out of the water and resting up on the banksides, they were more evenly spread out over the water and a Grey Heron was quietly fishing just 20metres up from the car park - something it wouldn't have been able to do just a few weeks ago.

I say 'closed to the public', the Lisvane end car park is now open again for business and you can birdwatch from there. But the access restrictions around both reservoirs continue to be enforced in order to protect the SSSIs.