Sightings

Main sighting: Common tern

In addition to Blair’s report – 1 common tern.

Main sighting: Additional - Turnstone

Also – watch out for a Turnstone in with the BTG and Knots on Monks Lagoon.

Main sighting: Waders and Med Gull

Dawn Visit and high tide. Monks Lagoon – Busiest Lagoon at the moment : 100+ Black Tailed Godwits, 7 + Knot ( one is in nice breeding plumage), 20c Dunlins, 20+ Redshanks, 10 x Oystercatchers, 15+ Lapwings, 4 x Little Egret, 1 x grey Heron, 2 x Cormorants, 60+ Black Headed Gulls. x Mediteranean Gull ( checked my pics and confirmed, 1 x Common Sandpiper, 7 x Linnets, 1 x Raven, 7 x Carrion Crows. 6+ Shelduck. 2 x Little Ringed Plover, 10 + Ringed Plover. 1 x AvocetThere are some juves around. Priors was quiet – Usual coots and ducks. Becs had Ringed Plovers, 12 x Avocets, 6+ Redshanks , 10+ Black tailed Godwits and 20+ Black Headed Gulls.
Also- Swifts, Swallows and House Martins observed.
Dead shrew found near Seawall Hide.
Very cold and windy for July!

Main sighting: Waders

Afternoon visit at low tide. Out on the foreshore mud was a nice flock of 90+ Black Tailed Godwits. Mixed in with them were 7c Knot. They flew in and landed in Priors ( sea wall end) for a short time before being disturbed by a Buzzard. ( normal brown form).
Later they returned to Priors and landed in Priors near the Marsh Platform.
Als0 seen – Little Egret and Marsh Harrier ( female).

Main sighting: Lockdown freedom birding

0430 hrs start – 0950. Chiffchaff 2 (1 alarm calling by entrance), common whitethroat 1 singing. Hide 3 – 18 redshanks, brief views of spotted redshank, 2 whimbrel, buzzard, 13 lapwing, 3 cormorants through, female tufted duck, 2 linnets, 2 grey herons, glossy ibis showed briefly from lagoon 3 across to priors (0510), starlings, 8 swifts and a barnacle goose that dropped in briefly before flying over the Pill and the sea wall. Seawall – 2 gt black-backed gulls, 11 avocets, 28 curlew and pied wagtails along the wall. Marsh platform – 9 swallows, siskin overhead calling, gt spotted woodpecker calling, pheasant heard, 114 black-tailed godwits (many in breeding plumage), 9 knot mixed in, 6 lt egrets, avocet (5-6 week juvenile), 11 dunlin and marsh harriers. Snipe platform – 7 teal in eclipse plumage, greylags, meadow pipits, 25 oystercatchers roosting with 9 turnstone close by and 253 roosting black headed gulls (including 4 juvs). Redshank platform – 6 ringed plovers, 2 little ringed plovers (no sign of the 3 reported chicks), 13 dunlin and ravens. Hide 1 – common sandpiper and 7 house martins aerial feeding. Other – meadow browns, several gatekeepers, 1 small heath and 1 rabbit.

Main sighting: Ruff

Plenty of waders taking shelter on the first lagoon mainly this evening, including a Ruff, 15 Knot including one in summer plumage, 70+ Black Tailed Godwit, 5 Dunlin, 4 Turnstone, 4 Curlew as well as the usual numbers of Redshank, Rnged Plover and Lapwig. Also 300+ Black Headed Gulls, and a Buzzard hovering in the wind only a few feet off the ground- it was pretty breezy. A Heron, perched on a rail, was showing a keen interest in some still quite small Mallard ducklings, whose mother unwisely took them past it, however the Heron was ‘mobbed’ and distracted by a white butterfly flying round its head and the Mallard family managed to get away.

Main sighting: Jackdaws

Sorry clicked too soon ,
I was walking in wood little time ago and the jackdaw/crow calls were very loud.
They were in the tree tops. The crows seemed to chase the jackdaws out. They formed massive flocks and I estimated there was well over a 1000. The crows chased them and eventually flew off towards Monmouth.

Main sighting: Avocet

Birds of note this afternoon;5-Avocets,3-Knot.15h00-15h35

Main sighting: Hobby

Hobby hunting over Pen y fan pond, observation time 20 minutes, swooping after sand and house martins

Main sighting: Spotted Redshank summer plumage

In the channel between the island and hide one, a Spotted Redshank in beautiful summer plumage and a Common Redshank. Also on the bank of the island a Little Egret, two Coots, a Common Sandpiper and 2 pairs of Little Ringed Plovers. At the back of the lagoon opposite hide two c.20 Black-Tailed Godwit and c.40 Black-Headed Gulls.. Channel behind island a c.8 Dunlin, c.6 Ringed and c.4 Little Ringed Plovers. Female Marsh Harrier over.

Main sighting: Quail

My wife heard the bird calling twice at around 10.40 pm from same location, so apparently holding territory – a neighbour also heard it recently but didn’t know what it was.

Main sighting: Med gull Ad

As well as the sum plum Med gull there was an what I believe to be a Porpoise swimming out with the tide (am), the tide is coming back in this afternoon so might be worth looking out for.