Watching for the otter at RSPB Ynis-hir

A day at the RSPB reserve at Ynis-hir today. This is where the BBC's Springwatch programme was broadcast from a few years ago.

Owing to its national prominence we were expecting it to be a popular place but it was very quiet and so lacked a cafe from where we could have purchased the requisite coffee and scone. We did have a small vending machine coffee, but that's not the same.

There are three habitats on the reserve, the first being the most rewarding and where we spent the most time. However, before we even started we were rewarded by seeing an otter in the pool in front of the visitors centre. Everyone rushed out to watch the animal swimming and diving in the water. It was a "first" for many people including us and so made the visit particularly memorable.

Other than that we saw many different birds on the marshes and in the woodlands, including a Redstart. We had to go offsite for lunch which made seeing the rest of the reserve a bit of a push and meant I had to run back nearly two miles to get the binoculars back for 5.00pm.

Evening meal was a potluck supper, made from leftovers and stuff people had brought with them. So it was salad and bits with pizza, pork pie, flan, then fresh fruit salad, meringues and cream, rhubarb cake and custard ending with cheese and biscuits