Sightings

Main sighting: Kingfisher

Dawn to mid-morning. Hide 1 – 72 curlew in the roost with 2 black-tailed godwits and 5 knot mixed in. The hedgerows between hides 1 and 2 had a female blackcap, 2 willow warblers, common whitethroat (contact call) and 9 chiffchaffs. Redshank platform – redshanks, 2 ringed plovers, 93 teal, 58 wigeon and a pheasant calling. Snipe platform – 3 tufted ducks, female pintail, male kestrel, pair of little grebes and a buzzard calling. Seawall – 3 wheatears (1 more on a hay bale), only 1 yellow wagtail all morning, 11 more knot on the saltings with singles of common and gt black-backed gull. A kingfisher was flying across the reserve towards hide 2. Hide 3 – only 4 dunlin (1 lighter bird but was not the pec sand seen by B Thomas later), snipe numbers now at 26, 2 herons, 4 little egrets, 11 ruff, 23 shoveler, 9 gadwall, 35 lapwing, 9 mute swans, 1 oystercatcher, juv female marsh harrier, steady passage of 60 swallows, 1 whimbrel and 2 stock doves. Small regular groups of meadow pipits just out over the sea. Back behind the lapwing platform was a red kite circling (not the scraggy one that has been about the past 2 weeks) and a spotted flycatcher. Other: Southern hawkers, common darters, red admirals, small copper, large whites, speckled woods, comma and a rabbit.

Main sighting: Pectoral Sandpiper

Possible Pectoral Sandpiper seawall hide.

Main sighting: Green Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper 2 Ruff 9 Little Stint 1 Snipe 4 Whinchat 3 Wheatear 10 none of which were on the hay bales!
The seawall hide has been swept out, a big thank you to who ever did it.

Main sighting: Green Sandpiper and Hobby

Afternoon visit at high tide. Wheatears and Meadow Pipits in abundance throughout the reserve but particularly fond of perching on the hay bales.
Most of the waders were on Becs Lagoon viewable from the seawall hide.
Green Sandpiper x 1 , Snipe x 8, Ruff x 11, Black Headed Gulls x 1oo, Lapwings x 40c, Whimbrel x 1 , Curlew x 7 ( none ringed). Redshank x 3. Dunlin x 10. Little Egret x 1 . Priors – Wigeon numbers appear to be growing. Teal , Shoveler, Gadwall and Mallard Ducks. Little Grebe x 1.
Kestrel seen several times . a Hobby flew through and put everything up.
I then left at 5pm

Main sighting: Hoopoe

Not in Gwent of course, but we went to see the Hoopoe at Sker, Kenfig today – fab views as it sat up on the wall in the sunshine.

Main sighting: Ruff

Not allot of birding as we were working with John Marsh cutting and cleaning. However, we did see a flock of elven Ruff.

Main sighting: Colour-ringed Curlews

Sightings of colour-ringed Curlews are needed for an important on-going BTO project. Please submit records to smartmike143@gmail.com . See our Home page and click on ‘Read here …’ for the details required.

Main sighting: Canada geese

50 canada geese over, 20 mallard,10 mistle thrush and sadly a tawny owl at the roadside. I photo’d this stunning bird and noted its white socks. I took the bird to the bench at the oxbow.

Main sighting: Hobby

WeBs count: Hobby flew over Becs chasing Swallows. Good numbers of ducks including 5 Pintail Teal 61 Gadwall 4 Wigeon 51 Shoveler 53
Whitethroat 1 Chiffchaff 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 Kingfisher 2 Snipe 4 Ruff 3 Greenshank 1 Dunlin 62

Main sighting: Swift

Forgot to add to Saturday’s Goldcliff list, single common swift over the reserve at 11.50hrs.

Main sighting: Barnacle geese

4 barnacle geese in western bay. Also green and gs woodpeckers, jay, 2 ravens, 2 great crested grebes, kestrel. 3 buzzards, heron. At Llandenny, a red kite. At Usk Bridge, 7 goosanders, 4 grey wagtails, a little egret and a reed bunting.

Main sighting: Red Kite

Dawn – mid-day: Cettis calling by redshank platform. Hide 2 – little egrets 4, teal 48, ringed plover 1, heron 3, black-tailed godwits 6, skylarks, linnets, pair of greenshank, 8 snipe, 76 lapwing, 9 ruff feeding together at one point, sedge warbler along the reeds ahead with 2 yellow wagtails close by, 41 dunlin, pair of kestrels, white wagtail (male), 2 wheatear, single whinchat (juv female) and 5 knot – all the waders took flight when a juv female marsh harrier came across low but resettled eventually. 7 stock doves in flight together (and 1 feeding near to hide 1) and steady stream of swallows passing trough in small groups. Common whitethroat and 8 chiffchaffs in the hedge row behind the hide. Snipe platform – pair of tufted ducks, 15 shoveler, 31 wigeon, 8 gadwall and a pair of lt grebes. Seawall – high tide but an excellent count of 373 sheldcuk on the water and the saltings with 106 curlew and a gt black-backed gull. Hide 3 – single bar-tailed godwit and whimbrel, 56 oystercatchers, 3 sand martins and another 5 wheatears. A red kite was circling near the entrance on the way out. Other: southern hawkers, 2 male common darters, 1 meadow brown, 1 speckled wood and several small whites.