Damp squib

Went looking for the reported possible first for the county, after fighting through the assembled ranks of expectant Gwent birders, who, in round figures, numbered precisely zero, I spent a couple of hours ensconced in the shelter belt getting rained/hailed on. The shitty conditions didn't help, nor did the fact that I could only see 3-4 Lesser Redpolls, might try again tomorrow; Common Redpoll must be the single biggest glaring hole in the county list. During my private cardueline caper I received news of a Slav at Llandegfedd. By the time I got there, it wasn't. The only grebe in the Green Pool inlet was a greasy starting to show the first signs of summer plum and looked like this...