From yesterday (Monday 1st)

Relatively little bird life in the sea between the mouth of Milford Haven and Skokholm yesterday: handfuls of auks, some Kittiwakes, and a Fulmar feeding on the corpse of a young seal. 

The big surprise came on our way back, when we stopped off in Mill Bay (just inside St Ann’s Head) to eat our lunch. We saw a small-ish black and white bird on the water that we initially thought to be an auk, maybe still coming into breeding plumage. But it turned out to be a smart adult female Long-tailed Duck. The white sides to the rump, and the white “curl” markings on the face were particularly visible, even from 100m away – we had no wish to get much closer and distress or flush her.

If still present, she would be likely visible from the Coast Path on either side of Mill Bay.

Our entry to the “Worst Record Photo of 2023” attached