Sightings

Main sighting: Bar Tailed Godwits and Whimbrel

Evening visit /sunset/dusk. – Monks Lagoon- A small mixed flock of Curlew, Whimbrel x 2 and Bar Tailed Godwits 3 and Dunlin x6 landed on Monks Lagoons. The whole reserve was very “busy” with the coming and goings of birds. a Male Marsh Harrier came through the reserve.
As usual the Bean and White Fronted Goose were hanging about on Priors.
The foreshore was packed with waders as the tide came in. Watched two Whimbrel feeding near the sea wall observation point. Later a flock of six birds flew over calling throughout. Two large flocks of Black Tailed Godwits on waters edge. Easily 400+.
Lots of movement of Curlews 40+ moving along foreshore and then flying into the reserve. Avocets and Oystercatchers feeding also on the mud.
At sunset one part of the wader flock separated from the foreshore and landed on Becs Lagoon.

Main sighting: Curlews

Please keep submitting your inland Curlew records (see the Home page for details). Now’s the time to look and listen – it’s World Curlew Day on the 21st!

Main sighting: Pied Flycatcher

First PF of the year a lovely male

Main sighting: Whinchat

Dawn – lunch time visit: Chiffchaffs 2, willow warblers 2, blackcaps 3, pheasants, goldcrest singing. Hide one – 3 cormorants over, lapwing, shelduck, avocet, 10 gadwall, 2 common sandpipers, common redshanks (several displaying), shoveler (pair copulating), 31 dunlin, 4 teal, spotted redshank showing well (almost in full breeding plumage), 4 oystercatchers ‘piping’ and pair little ringed plovers. Redshank platform – reed buntings, 2 ringed plovers, 1 white wagtail, 3 skylarks chasing each other, cettis calling. Snipe Platform – white fronted goose in the field behind (later came onto the lagoon) and the male peregrine flew through. Marsh Platform – bean goose present again. Hide three – 1 white wagtail, beautiful male whinchat along the fence line in front of the hide, 4 bar-tailed godwits, pair of black headed gulls overhead, 5 wigeon, 11 tufted ducks, 1 yellow wagtail calling and a pair of linnets. Seawall – pair of wheatear, 31 curlew, 19 oystercatchers and 5 distant godwits may have been bar-tailed but slight heat haze by now.

Main sighting: Male Wheatear

5 male Wheatear skimming across the top of a hedgerows.

Main sighting: Spotted redshank

Spotted redshank showing well in front of hide 1 on monks – did though go hiding for periods behind bank – seen best at 1pm

Other sightings included Turnstone
Reed Bunting, Linnet, Skylark, Grey Heron, Swallow, and also Bean goose and White fronted goose showing well

Main sighting: Red kite

Red kite, 5 ravens, 4 buzzards, 3 gsw, heron, red legged partridge, and a long tail tit. Also an unidentified bat species hunting at 4pm at junction of Clawdd Brook and River Usk

Main sighting: Black Redstart

Handsome male Black Redstart at the end of Mead Lane Redwick near perimeter fence of new solar farm. Wheatears using solar panels as a perch for insect hunting.

Main sighting: Linnet, Fieldfare

A flock of 50 Linnets in the garden trees and recently topped field, and a flock of 30+ Fieldfare and Redwing (mostly the former) about two miles away.

Main sighting: Curlew

Three calls heard, presumably in flight, at 5.28 pm from the valley just south of the village but not seen.

Main sighting: Wagtails, waders and geese

Morning visit at high tide. Monks Lagoons 3 x Little Ringed Plovers, 20 x Dunlins, 16 x Ringed Plovers, 40 + Avocets, Shelduck, Lapwings, Canada Geese. Skylarks and 1 x Yellow Wagtail on far bank mud opposite Hide 1 . 1 x Male Marsh Harrier. 1 x Grey Heron
Field at rear of Snipe Platform – Greylags with 1 x Bean Goose and 1 x White fronted Goose.

Sea Wall – 9 x White Wagtails, 2 x Reed Buntings, 4 x Wheatear 2 x Swallows.
Saltmarsh 40+ roosting Curlews, 30 + Oystercatchers , Canada Geese with 1 x Brent Goose.
Becs Lagoon – 300 + Black Tailed Godwits, 80+ Avocet. Shelducks in good numbers. 2 x Oystercatchers . 1 x Little Ringed Plover. 2 x Ruff.
Note – on Saturday and Sunday a sperate big flock of Black Tailed Godwits was put up from the saltmarsh direction. I reviewed pics and the flock is 200c at least and is a separate flock to what was on Becs.
Note – I am noticing increasing visits from people turning up with dogs on the reserve going to hides and platforms and not on leads.

Main sighting: Lesser Whitethroat

Dawn – mid morning visit: Entrance – Goldcrest singing, treecreeper taking nesting material into nest site, pheasants, 3 chiffchaffs, blackcap singing and a lesser whitethroat contact call heard. Redshank Platform – shelduck, common redshanks (several pairs copulating), 15 black-tailed godwits, male goshawk mobbed by crows was flying just above the hedge line before dropping out of sight, cettis calling, willow warbler singing in the hedge line, female marsh harrier hunting for over half an hour, 2 skylarks singing, 4 swallows, lapwing, avocets (some copulating), 31 ringed plovers and 4 dunlin mixed in and a great black-backed gull trying to eat the remains of what may have been a peregrine kill. The white-fronted goose was feeding with a few Canada geese in the field behind the platform. Lapwing Platform – pair of ruff. Snipe Platform – linnet overhead, 12 mute swans, 8 tufted ducks, 8 gadwall, reed buntings and 2 grey herons. Marsh Platform – the bean goose dropped in and was showing well. Seawall – the brent goose was on the saltings but later came onto the top of lagoon 2 with the Canada geese, 6 white wagtails, ringed plovers with 20 dunlin mixed in, 42 curlew, 48 shelduck and 6 teal. Hide 3 – male wheatear on the fence post, 2 buzzards overhead circling, 1 little egret, 9 wigeon, 1 little ringed plover, shoveler, 3 oystercatchers ‘piping’ and at least 426 more black-tailed godwits and male marsh harrier making an appearance.