One of the highlights of my local walks this winter has been the presence of a Common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), usually seen foraging along the embankment where the river Ely runs out into Cardiff Bay. These birds usually migrate to west Africa for the winter but, each year, a few birds remain in Britain, and we are privileged to have this one, sharing our area during these cooler months. Yesterday, it was feeding well on some kind of tiny crustacean, freshwater shrimps perhaps.

You can read a detailed summary of the life cycle of Common sandpipers on Graham Appleton’s excellent Waderstales blog, Not-so-Common sandpipers, May 2019.