Sightings

Main sighting: Grey wagtail

Correction, grey wagtail not a yellow one.

Main sighting: Ravens

4 ravens, 2 buzzards, 12 House martins, 8 swallows, 5 swifts, heron, stock dove, green woodpecker, cormorant, yellow wagtail.

Main sighting: Spotted Redshank

1-Spotted Redshank (photographed) from 1st. platform,in full bp.Also 10-Avocets four of which were juveniles,1-Common Sandpiper,and several Small Copper butterflies.11h00-13h15.

Main sighting: Juveniles

May and June has seen a lot of activity in the garden including – great spotted woodpecker 1 juv, robin 2 juvs, dunnock 1 juv, woodpigeon 1 juv, nuthatch 2 juvs, treecreeper 1 juv, goldfinch 6 juvs (2 pairs adults bred), greenfinch 8 juvs (2 pairs), house sparrow 9 juvs (3 pairs), blackbird 2 fem juvs, coal tit 3 juvs, blue tits 9 juvs (possibly 2 pairs), great tits 4 juvs, starlings a flock of 21 adults and juvs around the fat balls. In the adjacent field regular sightings of a family group of mistle thrushes and crows with 5 ravens over yesterday (possibly a family group).

Main sighting: Greenfinch

single greenfinch in garden

Main sighting: Wood warbler, Yellowhammer

42 species from home to St.Mary’s Vale and back via the Usk. Expected to be too late for Wood Warbler song, but there was still one singing away. Also yellowhammer up in the bracken

Main sighting: Cuckoo

Cuckoo,meadow pipit

Main sighting: Black Headed Gull

I counted at least 298-Black Headed Gulls but only one juvenile amongst them.Also 5-Knot and a male Ruff,all from first platform.12h45-13h45.

Main sighting: Quail

Just heard a single three part run of “wet-my-lips” at 10.35 pm whilst enjoying watching the bats and hedgehogs in my garden. Call came from fields S of the village.

Main sighting: Ruff

Male Ruff at the back of the first lagoon, female then later on male Marsh Harrier, 70+ Redshank, a few Ringed Plover, and Lapwing. Avocets and Black Tailed Godwits out on the mud. 3 Reed Warblers in full song, as were a couple of Skylarks. Swallows, Swifts and House Martins zooming around. A few of the other usual species present although not sure who was responsible for the ‘murder at the Marsh Patform’, skeletal remains, and lots of feathers but not very good at identifying them if their not attached to the bird, also an owl pellet on the shelf at the platform-maybe not prime suspect for what looked like a reasonable size bird carcass?

Main sighting: Goosander

two families of Goosanders,one with nine adult size juvs. and the other with seven smaller juveniles.3/4-Common Sandpipers,2/3-Red Kites,1-Peregrine and 1-Oystercatcher,10h30–13h00.

Main sighting: spotted flycatcher

1 spotted flycatcher in the churchyard
NB firecrest remains in situ in the Grosmont area as per Mark Whitaker