“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.”

Saw this on Peter's blog and, given that creativity is almost extinct and should probably not be wasted on blogs, I stole his theme and twisted it to my own nefarious ends [NB. Click on the images for larger versions,... or squint].

The patch 1945, Uskmouth A power station is already in gestation although it wouldn't open until the early 50s.  Even by this point, it would be a bit late for breeding Red-backed Shrike, Cirl and Corn Bunting; maybe the odd Corncrake would have been hanging on, but I'd bet any of these species would have gone in the notebook in capital letters.  Yellow Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer must all have been reasonably common breeding species; less sure about Grey Partridge and Turtle Dove, though they couldn't have been any rarer than today.  Given the nearby populations, Marsh Warbler must have snuck through on a semi-regular basis. Was Quail regular?  Did Snipe breed?

The patch 2012, definitely a greater diversity of species, and a reasonable number of local 'notables' at any time of year (sometimes even a national doozy) but I bet the intervening years' erosion of our avifauna means today's overhead passage is crap in comparison; and the amounts of breeding and wintering farmland dross (Skylark, etc.) must be much reduced.  On the up side, at least birds are in colour now and the vast majority of Gwent is no longer living with sugar rationing. 

PS. If your time machine did rock up in 1940s Gwent, I'd suggest you get your arse up country and bag a real county blocker - Black Grouse.