If you’ve been following here for a while, you might remember my previous encounters with phalaropes, those tiny birds that usually get sighted on British waterways during the month of September as they migrate south from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to their over-wintering sites in warmer climes, in the Arabian Sea and off the coast of Africa.

Last year we were treated to four phalaropes popping in to Cardiff: the Lifer: Red-necked phalarope (blogged on 23 September) and, published the next day, Two Grey phalaropes (though three birds actually featured in that blog as a bonus Grey phalarope was found feeding on the River Taff for a couple of days); and the previous year, we had a Juvenile Grey phalarope visit the seaside town of Barry during the end of August holiday weekend. I’m tagging those previous posts here as all of those birds provided much closer, more confiding views than the bird that is currently still on Cardiff’s Lisvane Reservoir, having arrived on 3 September so, if you want to see what a Grey phalarope looks like, click on those links.

Our latest Grey phalarope is spending almost all of its time floating and flying back and forth in the middle of the reservoir, making it very difficult to see at times; during my two visits, I’ve actually lent my binoculars to a few curious non-birders because they haven’t been able to spot the bird with the naked eye. Still, I’m not complaining – any opportunity I get to spend time watching a phalarope is time well spent in my book.