I’ve only seen Yellow wagtails a couple of times and never locally so, when they were reported flitting about Cardiff Bay, I went walking that way. On my first walk past where they’d been reported, I couldn’t find any – I dipped as they say in birder speak, and I’ve been dipping a bit lately so didn’t bother trying again the next day.

Then, last Friday, I thought I’d pop over to the wetlands reserve to see if I could find any Sedge warblers to photograph. Those birds were being very vocal though visually elusive but then I spotted a couple of birders I know who were obviously looking at something interesting. Turns out, it was a Whinchat, my first of the year – good news! – and then both chaps said they’d seen more Yellow wags that morning, dotting around the grassy areas on the Barrage.

So, a quick change of plan saw me strolling in that direction and, remarkably, the birds were still there. Four gorgeous little bursts of vibrant yellow, easily disturbed by walkers and dogs, but I managed to get some quality watching time and a few distant photos before they headed off over the water. Magic!