from facebook

""No John your eyes did not deceive you... I just forgot to get round to labelling it. This illustrates exactly what I said to you yesterday and what Mike and I have been saying about the importance of Rhaslas Pond as a migration stop off point and thus the harm done by the 2011 bird report failing to record efficiently the birds 'to the north of the county' (all be it accidentally). If we dont stop the open cast plans... Rhaslas and the adjacent moorland, currently holding a sizable number of wintering Short Eared Owls, Hen Harrier and Red Kite, regular wintering flocks of Diving Ducks and Dabbling Ducks, with the occassional inland rarity such as Common Scoter, Long Tailed Duck or a pair of Black-necked Grebe in summer plumage in a similar habitat to the Scottish lochans where they still breed, not to mention breeding Curlew, Lapwing, Snipe, Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover!!! I urge GBC and all birders to get behind the fight to save Rhaslas Pond. RSPB can not be trusted.... they have colluded with the Opencast Company with a 'Heads of the Valley Lapwing Strategy' that isnt worth the paper it is printed on. Even Iolo appears to be on the side of the Opencast. I hope his warm words on his TV show were not coloured by the pretty little Welsh speaking Ecologist working for the Opencast.""

 Interesting reading  indeed.I think Geri highlights the need to save this important site.Nice one Geri for bringing this to everyone's attention.