A postcard view of 'Dunlin coming in to roost of the Taff estuary' and below, the reverse of the postcard is pre-addressed to the 'Iron Lady', Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister. The card is from the Penarth Dock Collection [001]

There were numerous counter-arguments to damming up the rivers Ely and Taff and the likely environmental impacts of the habitat change from sea-water and brackish-water to predominately fresh-water within the enclosure of the proposed barrage. 'The Cardiff Bay Barrage will destroy the food-rich mudflats of this beautiful estuary - and the 8,000 birds that depend on them' - the postcard proclaims to Mrs Thatcher!

The Dunlin is the commonest small wader found along the coast of Britain. In 2016 the RSPV website estimates UK breeding, (the number of pairs breeding annually) to be 8,600-10,600 pairs. Whilst, the statistics for UK wintering, (the number of individuals present from October to March) is estimated at 360,000 birds. How has the species fared due to the loss of the mudflats and its assocaited food and roosts over the period since the barrage was built? Not too well, I hear you whimper but then you exclaim, but look how vibrant Cardiff Bay is now!