With respect to the comment of Meurig and John on the dearth of Purple Sandpipers at Aber on Wednesday - last Monday morning I checked the harbour wooden jetty an hour or so after high tide - not a Sandpiper to be seen. However there was clearly an environmental problem in that area for as soon as I got out of the car there was an overpowering smell of fuel oil in the air. The water of the harbour and along the seaward side of the jetty was covered in a film of oil - probably a diesel oil from the manner in which it was evaporating. This was leaving a film of oil along the shoreline as the tide fell, inevitably contaminanting the seaweed which the Sandpipers forage in. Perhaps this is the reason they have disappeared?! I duly reported the matter to the harbour master who confirmed that the Environment Agency were aware of the problem which probably originated from a culvert upstream.
I would be interested to know if any one else noticed this pollution and more importantly as to whether any Purple Sandpipers have been seen on the rocks of the wooden jetty in the last couple of days.