Siberia to St. Ishmaels

Sandy Haven: Greenshank 1, Little Egret 1, Wigeon 7, Teal 30, Snipe 1

Bicton Irrigation Reservoirs: top pond 90% frozen, nothing on the remaining 10%. More open water on the lower pond where there was: Pochard 1 (drake), Tufted Duck 5 (1 drake, 4 fem/imm), Teal 4, Mute Swan 2, Snipe 4, Coot 5, Moorhen 2. 7 swans flew over east, I only got on 3 of them well enough to see they were Mutes, but the silhouette of 1 at least looked good for Whooper - worth keeping an eye out in this area.

Monk Haven: 3 Chiffchaffs on the sewage beds included one very pale bird which looked good for an eastern abietinus - it also had a ring on its right leg (some ringing here would be very interesting). Further down the valley, below the end wall beyond Monk Haven Manor, at least 5 Chiffs included a calling Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis) - this bird showed well around the pond at midday (Google this sub-species for ID criteria and recordings of the call). The Chiffs were mostly feeding very low in the vegetation between the top of the pond and the ivy covered wall, viewed from either side. Also here a male Blackcap, 2 Siskin and a few Goldcrest.

Dale Airfield: 3 Golden Plover, 20+ Lapwing, 10+ Skylark, 20+ Snipe, 20+ Song Thrush (clear sign of hard weather movements).

Dale: Chiffchaff just w of the car park.

Gann: 12 Brent Geese (11 pale bellied, 1 dark bellied - Angle bird?), 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 150+ Teal & 8 Goldeneye on the sea (the lagoon was almost completely frozen, a few teal & Little Grebe on one unfrozen patch in front of the reedbed), 6 Ringed Plover, 7 Redshank, 4 Little Egret, 1 Mute Swan and a scattering of the common gull species.