Sightings

Main sighting: Redstart

Just east of black rock picnic site one male one female redstart and at least two spotted flycatcher.

Main sighting: Migration

Dawn – 11.30hrs. 3 chiffchaffs (contact calls), 70 mallards flying out as a group past hide. Snipe platform – 20 knot, 338 black-tailed godwits, 1 greenshank, 2 lt egrets, 2 grey herons, 62 lapwing, 2 curlew, 62 teal, 1 garganeye, and a juv fem peregrine which failed at catching the teal before moving off. Sea Wall – 2 avocets close in on the mud, oystercatchers, 1 whimbrel, 20 dunlin and large numbers of black-headed gulls. 4 wheatears along the seawall and 6 yellow wagtails also. Good movement of house martins with at least 200+ counted along with 31 swallows, 4 sand martins and 2 swifts. Good numbers of meadow pipits also. Hide 3 – male stonechat, 1 whinchat and a barnacle goose that came in with a large flock of Canadas, 68 greylag geese was a good number. Marsh Platform – glossy ibis showing well preening etc, 2 ruff, 35 redshanks and 1 buzzard. Other: Large and small whites, 1 small tortoiseshell, male common darter and 1 migrant hawker.

Main sighting: Spotted flycatcher

Three Spot flys (different to Ed’s}
Swift(Ed)

Main sighting: Long-eared owl

Mid afternoon long-eared owl roosting in hedge east of black rock, 5 spotted flycatcher, 1 lesser whitethroat, 1 swift, 4 yellow wagtail

Main sighting: Spotted Flycatcher

Three Spotted Flycatchers together, one carrying food. Numerous Chiffchaffs, one singing.

Main sighting: Swift

Swift 1 House Martin 8 Sparrowhawk 2

Main sighting: Firecrest

Firecrest in mixed flock of blue tits, long tailled tits, blackcap and chiffchaff. In hedge along seawall between surbrook and second Severn bridge

Main sighting: Osprey

Am: dam end . Successful fishing osprey

Main sighting: common sandpiper

9-Common Sandpipers,1-Spotted Flycatcher,1-Willow Warbler,1-Chiffchaff and m+f-Blackcaps. 10h30-12h00

Main sighting: House Martin failure

House Sparrows ousted House Martins from every single nest on my house this year.
HMs began building at six sites – 3 nests were ⅞ built, 1 was ½ built and 2 were started.
Three nests changed hands repeatedly as nesting material taken in by HSs was removed by HMs, only to be taken back in by HSs. At other nests HSs stood guard on the gutter above the nests, calling constantly and aggressively.
In every year from 2005 to 2019 at least 3 nests were successful in spite of constant intimidation (in 2016 HMs were evicted from five of nine nests).
Providing terrace HS nest boxes made no difference.
This year’s total failure makes it a sad year for a declining species.

Main sighting: Swift

Five Swifts, 40 House Sparrows, Little Grebe, numerous Chiffchaffs

Main sighting: Waders

A relatively quiet morning at the lagoons. Priors – Greenshank x 2 , Lapwings x50, Knot x 10 (a number in breeding plumage), Common Sandpiper x 1, Green Sandpiper, Black Tailed Godwits x 150+, Redshank x 30, Black-Headed Gull x 15, Teal x 8, Shoveler x 13.
Turnstones x4 and Dunlin x 3.
Monks – Dunlins and Ringed Plovers ( approx 100+) and Knots x 4.
Becs- Dunlins and Ringed Plovers ( approx 80+)

Other – Wheatears, Yellow and Pied Wagtails, Swifts, House and Sand Martins, Whinchat and Meadow Pipit.
Little Egrets and Grey Herons.
Out on the foreshore near the pill – 150+ Shelduck and Curlew ( 30+)
No sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper in the morning.