Aline Denton spotted a scoter on the tideline as we were looking at 14 pale bellied Brent geese from Ynys Las carpark in the late afternoon wind, rain and general murk yesterday. I thought it might have been another casualty but it flew off strongly to join a small group of 10 further out; interesting to see scoter in the estuary .
Also struggling with the conditions was Chris Bird who had also seen 5 dark bellied brents further along so we went off to check them out but by then they were floating and we couldn't see their bellies. At least it was good to meet the legendary Chris after admiring his sightings for so long!
Meanwhile my further investigations into the cause of death of the red-necked grebe, generously assisted by Lyndon (who has a background in taxidermy) revealed that it was probably killed by one or more peregrines. There was no evidence of pellets.
It was 580gr in weight and a first winter male.
Anyone wanting more info can phone or mail me.