Sightings

Main sighting: Curlew

Chris Wells and I continue to look for colour-ringed Curlews round the Usk estuary. Chris has seen observed several at Peterstone; water levels at Goldcliff have been a bit high for ring reading. So twice this week on very high tides I have tried St Brides; only about ten Curlews present this morning, none of them ringed If anyone sees colour-ringed Curlews, please let us know!
But lots of other birds as well, notably a huge Dunlin roost, probably 5000 birds, doing aerial evolutions and sitting shoulder to shoulder on the beach. Also 20 Grey Plover, 20 Knot, a Bar-tailed Godwit. And a Long tailed Duck was carried up the river by the tide, disappearing into Newport harbour, probably the one seen recently at Goldcliff. Lots of birds along the tideline including a Jack Snipe and three Chiffchaffs.

Main sighting: Black Swans

Black Swan midway up the Nedern Brook around midday, shortly joined closely, by a second Black Swan. The pair stayed closed together for the two hours of my visit. Others: Black Headed Gulls; Herring Gulls; Bullfinch; Robins; Blackbirds, Blue Tit; Great Tit; Long Tailed Tit; Canada Geese (3); Common Gull (8); Coots; Gadwall (4); Grey Heron (4); Lapwing (10); Shoveler (2); Tufted Duck (20); Wigeon (70+); Teal (30); Mallard

Main sighting: Avocet

Highlights of todays WeBS count; Avocet 53 Grey Plover 6 Pintail 6 Long-tailed Duck 1 Teal 150 Marsh Harrier Curlew 70 Black-tailed Godwit 40 Common Gull 1 Fieldfare 7 Greenfinch 2

Main sighting: Pintail

Single pintail quite high up above the River Rhymney, came from the direction of Caerphiily and heading towards Newport – approx 10.40am.

Main sighting: Amendment to weekly roundup

Forgot to add, two separate groups of snipe flew over seawall totaling 24 birds.

Main sighting: Avocets / Snipe / weekly roundup

En-route to hides – blue tits, starlings, crows, blackbirds, redwings, herring gulls, buzzard and magpies. Hide one – female kestrel, 21 curlew with 2 black-tailed godwits mixed in, 123 lapwing and woodpigeons. En-route hide 2 – robin and fieldfares. Hide two – 2 shelduck, 97 teal, 11 shoveler, Canada geese, coot, mallards, 7 greylags, song thrush, moorhen, shoveler, shelduck, 17 gadwall, fem marsh harrier and 2 little egrets. En-route to platform – goldfinches, great tits and 2 pied wagtails. Snipe platform – 1 heron and 2 black-headed gulls. Marsh platform – 4 male and 2 fem tufteds, meadow pipit and a pair of stonechats. Seawall – oystercatchers, 36 curlew, 2 cormorant, 12 redshanks, 39 avocet feeding close in, gt black-backed gull, ls black-backed gulls, 58 more wigeon, 1 grey plover and 1 dunlin. Hide three – 97 more wigeon, 86 more teal, 12 more shoveler, 5 more shelduck and a male marsh harrier hunting. En-route to car park – 2 stock doves in the field. Car park area – chaffinches, gt spotted woodpecker and a pair of bullfinches.

Main sighting: Long-tailed Duck

A female Long-tailed Duck diving repeatedly on a nearly empty, ice-fringed lagoon at 1100 today. Watched for 10 minutes. Not there by 1300.

Main sighting: Avocet, Bar-tailed godwit

Thos afternoon 5 avocet, 1 bar-tailed godwit, 52 pintail, 13 shoveler 1 grey plover

Main sighting: Herons

Forest farm cardiff 13 roosting herons

Main sighting: Waxwing

We saw one waxwing trying to feed from mistletoe whilst being attacked by very unhappy mistle thrush.

Main sighting: Little Egrets

Afternoon walk on ebb tide started very quiet but eventually gave a flock of 30 dunlin heading upriver, 16 oystercatchers, a flock of 18 little egrets heading upriver, 3 grey heron, female sparrowhawk, single cettis and a male stonechat

Main sighting: Weekly roundup

En-route to hides- Canada Geese, Chaffinch, Jackdaws, Magpies, Moorhen, Herring Gulls, Robin, Song Thrush (in full song), female Reed Bunting and male Goldcrest. Hide one – female Kestrel on a post, female Marsh Harrier, 1 Redshank only, 1 Buzzard and Crows. En-route to platforms – Dunnock, Blackbirds, Woodpigeons, 198 Starlings, female Sparrowhawk, Blue Tits, 11 Fieldfares and 21 Redwings. Snipe platform – 11 Gadwall, Wren, Coot, Greylags, 68 Lapwing, Cettis calling, 3 Snipe, 1 Little Egret, 3 1st-year Mute Swans, 1 Great Black-backed Gull and 16 Pied Wagtails passing just overhead. Seawall – 42 Curlew only. Hide three – lagoon 3 held almost all of the wildfowl with 201 Wigeon, 188 Teal, 58 Shoveler, 2 male and 1 female Tufted Ducks and Meadow Pipits. No sign of the Long-tailed Duck but the wildfowl was so packed together it may still be present. En-route to car park pair of Stonechats, 2 Collard Doves, 2 Black-headed Gulls and a Goldfinch.