After a walk along the coast south of Llanon in the hope of migrants, I was back at the beach car park when I met up with Pete and Elaine, who have been on some of our monthly bird walks. They told me that they had just seen a Hooded Crow. I walked up the road to the place they described and found the bird after a couple of minutes, in a small party of Carrion Crows and Jackdaws around a flooded corner of a field.
Unfortunately, a dog walker was coming along the field edge towards the road and flushed all the birds, some of which soon returned, but without the hoodie.
It would be nice if other people could try for it, as it is the first county record since one at Borth on 5th March 2000. I would have let others know at the time, but my mobile was out of credit.
For those not familiar with the area, if you head south along the A487 and take the first road on the right after leaving Llanon; it goes to the Plas Morfa Hotel, about 50 yards before the blue house there is an entrance to the fields on the left. The bird was easily viewable from there, near the flooded area of the field.
I forgot to thank Pete and Elaine, so thanks very much for giving me a Wales and Ceredigion tick.
Earlier, at Llanrhystud, there were at least 29 Red-throated Divers on the sea: difficult to get an accurate count as there was quite a swell.
Also, 25 Curlews near the lime kilns and a Mediterranean Gull with a full hood on the sea with 100 plus Black-headed.