Fake fudge

The Uskmouth end of the patch has produced yet another aythya hybrid. This one is a peach of a Ferruginous-type Pochard hybrid and looks unerringly like a bird that has been recorded at Slimbridge over the last two winters (see pic below and compare it to http://anserdiary.blogspot.com/2006/10/wwt-slimbridge-sightings-12-october.html and http://anserdiary.blogspot.com/2006/11/ferruginous-x-pochard-hybrid-wwt.html). Other 'notables', which momentarily took the mind off the hordes of dog-walkers, screaming overweight kids and the usual cross-section of Newport freakery, included: 3 Bearded Tits, 1 Brambling, 2 Goldeneye, 12 Siskin, 6 Stonechat, 10 Water Rail and 18 Cetti's Warblers (including 12 singing males). A much quieter Saltmarsh grasslands held 1 Bewick's Swan, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Bar-headed Goose and a possible Greylag x Canada hybrid (it were miles away in the dark).