Dragged myself down to Glandyfi layby on Christmas morning. Brisk wind up the
estuary and not a lot about. 2 distant grey geese encouraged me to get the scope
out, they were greylags. Absolutely nothing on the track up to Dyfi Jct, heard a
blackbird and a dunnock, heads down I think.
Re the Teifi spill. Not
heard the details yet but it sounds horrendous and its about time the farming
comm really started caring about something other than sheep, cattle and the bank
balance. In recent years going about mid Wales on various surveys I always look
at the rivers and streams and it is a fact that the fish popns are weak, if they
exist at all.
Beautiful rivers devoid of fish and I put most of that down to
livestock access to a vast % of the waterside. The sizeable Afon Banwy and Gam
join at Llangadfan, fantastic watercourses but the fishing fraternity there have
abandoned both and I couldn't find any inverts at all! Local farmer blamed it on
headwater afforestation, may not help but not the main cause. Likewise the
mid-upper Teifi reaches, always disappoints me that I have only ever seen a few
migratory fish or river minnows and the latter are near confined to minor
tributaries.
Post Brexit, will it get worse? We really do have to start
looking after what little we have left!