Sightings

Main sighting: Curlew Sandpiper

an evening visit 17:00-19-45 Curlew Sandpiper 1 juv Wood Sandpiper 1 Little Stint 1 juv Spotted Redshank 4 Juvs Ruff 2 Little Ringed Plover 1 Black-tailed Godwit 106 Grey Plover 1
Wigeon 10 Red Kite 1 Marsh Harrier 1 Kestrel 3 together. Redstart 3 Yellow Wagtail 20 Long-tailed Great and Blue Tits Chiffchaff 9 Lesser Whitethroat 1 lots of Sand Martins and Swallows feeding on a mass of small insects as were the gulls.

Main sighting: Migration / waders / warblers

0600-1150. Excellent mix of birds. Buzzard 2 (on the hay bales in the field on the left past second gate), pair of kestrels hunting, distant peregrine calling, 1 stock dove, 5 cormorants over. Hide 1 – 162 Canada geese and 46 greylags, 4 herons. Hide 2 – 6 black-tailed godwits, 2 ruff, 4 snipe, 61 lapwing, 31 teal, wood sandpiper showed briefly in the inlet before flying off towards the seawall, 1 lt ringed plover, 8 ringed plovers, 7 dunlin, 13 shoveler, green woodpecker calling, gt spotted woodpecker over, 1 lt stint, 1 curlew sandpiper, 2 lt egrets, cettis calling, skylark, 2 swallows. 7 wheatear in total (2 on the hay bales in the field behind the snipe platform) and 5 more feeding in the cut field past hide 3 on the left. Snipe platform – 12 wigeon (first of the season), 2 lt grebes, 13 tufteds overhead and the female with 4 well grown young now, 1 pintail, good movement of sand martins all morning with well over 250 counted in small groups, 52 more teal. Seawall – 1 gt black-backed gull, 158 shelduck, good count of 102 oystercatchers, 62 curlew on the saltings with a single whimbrel mixed in and 1 tree pipit over low calling. Hedge behind snipe platform – good movement of warblers with 2 common and 1 lesser whitethroat seen along with a female redstart, 13 willow warblers, 9 chiffchaffs, 1 fem reed bunting and 1 dunnock all together. On the first lagoon on the way back were 3 spotted redshanks feeding together, 5 bar-tailed godwits and 41 yellow wagtails feeding along the strip of cut grass leading from hide 1 and up past redshank platform. Back at hide 1 was 4 whinchats on the fence line to the right of the hide. Other: 1 small copper, 3 speckled woods, 2 meadow browns, 1 small tortoiseshell, 1 common blue and 1 green-veined white.

Main sighting: Green sandpiper

1 green sandpiper on the gout; 1 greenshank and 1 common sandpiper on the estuary; only a handful of ringed plover and dunlin today (150+ of each at the weekend); 60-70 redshank; many shelduck and mallards, and F pintails starting to return; some teal as well; 1 heron, 1 little egret; many BH Gulls.

Main sighting: Ruff

Highlight of an early afternoon visit were 6-Ruff together from 2nd hide,1-Tree Pipit,1-Whitethroat and 1-Willow Warbler.12h20-14h15

Main sighting: Med gull

Two adult Med gulls between jetty and Black rock – later one flew over and back of house – Barwits 3 St pierre pill

Main sighting: Ruff

Highlights of todays WeBS count: Ruff 7 Greenshank 2 Little Ringed Plover2 Ringed Plover 40 Snipe 3 Teal 74 Gadwall 34 Mallard 53 Shoveler 11 Sparrowhawk 1 Marsh Harrier 1 Juv Kestrel 2 Redstart 2 Lesser Whitethroat 2 Chiffchaff 6 Willow Warbler2 Wheatear 1 Yellow wagtail 3

Main sighting: Little ringed plover

between jetty and Blackrock this evening a juvenile LRP – also a Common sandpiper

Main sighting: Dipper

1 bird sitting on rock on east bank of river next to main lake.

Main sighting: Wheatear / Bittern

Driving in at 0600 a bittern was at the side of the road in the grass by Red Barn Pool but flew off as I slowed down. Goldcliff – 0610 – 11.30 Hide One – Pheasant, 72 curlew (1 ringed bird but could not get the sequence/colours), 8 teal, 3 whimbrel, 41 ringed plovers, 3 little egrets, 2 yellow wagtails (juveniles), buzzard and female marsh harrier. Hide Two – 65 lapwing, 7 black-tailed godwits, 3 ruff, greenshank, 3 more yellow wagtails, kestrel, 2 snipe, 12 swallows and small groups of sand martins passing (at least 48 counted), 2 herons, skylark and a sedge warbler feeding at the base of the reeds opposite. Seawall – wheatear feeding along the seawall and perched up on the fence, oystercatchers and shelduck. Hide Three – single knot and the spotted redshank flew off towards the Pill, 17 mute swans, 3 little grebes, female sparrowhawk, 20 gadwall and 7 shoveler. Back near hide 1 along the hedgerow leading to the entrance was a male redstart, 1 common whitethroat joined by 1 lesser whitethroat. Other: single meadow brown in between the very heavy showers.

Main sighting: Kittiwake

am – Kittiwake adult west – Comic terns 9 + 1 west – also flock of birds overhead think poss terns but lost from view – wrong option going for scope – Swallows 50

Main sighting: Kingfisher

Seen flying low over the river, always look out for them and not disappointed.

Main sighting: Curlew

From sea wall a small number of Curlew and Oyster catchers on mudflats on incoming tide

At sea wall hide
A whinchat on the fence
and 2 Ruff, a Greenshank , about 20
Dunlin, 10 Ringed Plover and 30 Lapwing on Becs much of which was dry
Between open hide and Hide 2 about 6 tree pipits seen on the tops of the bushes flitting around