Birds seen on the reserve that I missed during the year included Common sandpiper, Greenshank, Hobby, Little owl and Jack snipe. My highlights of the year were Osprey, Glaucous gull, Yellow wagtail and breeding Little ringed plovers.
I enjoyed the challenge but will not be doing it again this year as I found it a little restricting on the way I normally bird watch, which involves a lot of coastal birding. Parc slip is a marvellous local reserve though and I will still be visiting on a regular basis. I particularly like the varied insect life there and was delighted to find the reserve's first Brown argus butterfly in the summer, along with a first for Glamorgan, the Alder signal moth.
On reflection I really enjoyed the year, although September was too settled weather wise for our main migration period, meaning birds passed through without stopping, and the last two months were very quiet and mild, lacking a good cold snap to push some new birds in.
We at Parc Slip would like to thank Paul very much for choosing Parc Slip as his Patchwork Challenge area- it's been fantastic to hear about everything he has seen and we look forward to seeing him on the reserve again soon.
