Sightings

Main sighting: Short-eared Owl

Dusk visit. Around 130 Fieldfares coming to roost on the moor. Pair of Ravens in the lone tree. At 4.50 pm, in near darkness, a Short-eared Owl appeared, hunting over the area below the road.

Main sighting: Fieldfare

1600hrs – Large flock of Fieldfares (circa 400) gathered around the quarry before descending into the trees to roost.

Main sighting: Water Rail

Car park – hide: jackdaws, pheasant, starlings, 3 redwings, crows, herring gulls, magpies, chaffinches, woodpigeons, 2 fly-by mute swans, moorhen, blackbird, wren and blue tit. Hide 1: Canada geese and 9 lapwing. Hide 2: cettis, 2 shelduck, 64 teal, 10 shoveler, 2 wigeon, 51 more lapwing with 26 dunlin mixed in, pied wagtails, 5 more mute swans, 1 heron, lesser black-backed gulls and 2 buzzards (1 light and 1 dark morph). Snipe platform: 526 black-tailed godwits which by 8am had taken off in small flocks heading high, meadow pipits, stonechat pair, ravens, chiffchaff contact call and greylags. Seawall: high tide and no salt marsh visible – more shelducks on the water. Remains oh hide 3: good count of 218 curlew with 1 redshank, 1 grey plover and 3 knot mixed in, water rail calling, flock of passing long tailed tits and mallards. Back at hide 2 the dunlin flock had increased to 317 with 3 juv ringed plovers mixed in. En-route back to car hide, kestrel seen, 2 mistle thrushes and 1 fieldfare.

Main sighting: Cettis Warbler

Cettis Warbler heard, this is the first time I have heard one in this area. Also Wigeon numbers increasing, 3 Great Crested Grebes, Grey Heron and 2 Cormorants. Brief sight of Kingfisher and also heard Goldcrest. 2 mute Swans back in residence. Also today Goosander along with good numbers of Coot and Tufted duck.

Main sighting: Great White Egret

Two Great White Egrets flew low over Gilwern heading south-east around 10:30 this morning.

Main sighting: Disturbance

Work to repair fencing and gateways damaged in the fire will take place this week. Work will not take place around high tide. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Main sighting: Barn owl

Spotted Barn owl hunting over the fields in Lower Machen today.

Main sighting: Fieldfare

Apologies for the late entry, but nice flock of 60+ in the fields above Mynydd Iswlyn on this date, no redwings mixed in.

Main sighting: small flock of cross bills 20+ on 27/10/25 and 10 on 28/10/25

fragmented flocks of Fieldfare flying through.

Main sighting: Peregrine

Peregrine on pylon (another also on a pylon at Llanfoist); Goosander (2); Sparrowhawk (2); Little Grebe (5); Kingfisher; Grey Wagtail; Grey Heron; Red Kite; Buzzard (4); large flock of Canada Geese

Main sighting: Brambling

A gorgeous male Brambling feeding with Chaffinches this afternoon – my first of the autumn

Main sighting: Brent goose

on the foreshore – also 23 Ring plover + 6 Dunlin + Marsh harrier