Sightings

Main sighting: Redwing

Single redwing,3 little egrets,red kite,song thrush,blue tits,great tit,2 pairs mallard,pair goosander, 6 male blackbirds.

Main sighting: Female sparrowhawk

F sparrowhawk, 3 buzzards, 40 goldfinches, a jay, 30 lbb gulls and 40 blackheaded gulls

Main sighting: Planning application

The deadline for submitting objections to the Llandegfedd Reservoir planning application is this Tuesday – 11th February. See the Home page for more information and what you can do to help protect this important site.

Main sighting: Goldeneye

Incredibly muddy and hard going underfoot and water levels still way too high. Highlights included male peregrine on 1st island eating a kill at dawn then returned with a second kill around 11am, buzzard 1, shelduck 48, mute swans 4, tufted duck 3 pairs, common pochard 5 males, goldeneye 4 females, 748 wigeon, 128 teal, black-necked grebe still present, lt grebe 1, glossy made a brief appearance in the gaps in the reeds, stonechat pair, lt egret 1, grey heron 1, black-tailed godwit 5 with a single redshank behind (water levels still too high for waders – its not all about the ducks you know), cormorant 2 and 3 pairs of skylarks (chasing each other and 2 singing).

Main sighting: Goosander

3 Goosander 2F 1 M.
Various sites in Cwmbran this AM: nuthatch, redwing, treecreeper (canal); goldcrest (boating lake), long tailed and coal tits (thornhill).

Main sighting: Avocet

34-Avocets ,45+Grey Plovers on the foreshore.5f-Goldeneyes still present on Priors.Regular Peregrine along with Glossy Ibis and BNG showing well.10h30-13h00.

Main sighting: Hen Harrier

A bright warm sunny morning at the lagoons. A male Hen Harrier flew over the seawall towards Uskmouth. On Prior’s Black-necked Grebe Goldeneye 3 Pochard 3 lots Snipe 4 and lots of Teal and Wigeon with a few Gadwall and Shoveler.

Main sighting: Common gulls

100 common gulls in school fields, plus 150 by viaduct

Main sighting: Goosander

Seven Goosander (4m, 3f) and just 2 pairs of Mallard on the river north from Usk this afternoon.

Main sighting: Glossy Ibis BNG and lots of shelducks

The lagoons remain very muddy and wellies recomended – and care required as its slippery.
Priors Lagoons – “Flossy” the Glossy showing very well. Black Necked Grebe, Goldeneyes, Pintail , Wigeon, Mallards, Teal, Shoveler and Gadwall. Male and Female Marsh Harriers very active all morning. Small flock of Curlews on borders. Big flock of Black Headed Gulls 150+ flew in over the reserve.
Monks – 285 Shelduck roosting at high tide. Peregrine – was eating prey on the island.
Foreshore – Flock of 80 Knot flew past me. Approx 150+ Dunlins and 40+ Curlew and Shelduck/. 20 + Oystercatchers.

Main sighting: Diving ducks

Posting for Thursday submitted 2nd time as first didn’t get added. Highlights included 1 cormorant, 1 heron, 748 wigeon (more out at sea), 109 teal, 56 shoveler, 2 pairs tufted ducks, now 5 female goldeneye, 5 male and 1 female common pochards, black-necked grebe still present and 2 lt grebes also, 4 mute swans, 2 barnacle geese flew in with the greylags, male kestrel, male and female marsh harriers hunting together, 14 gadwall, male stonechat, 1 redshank, spotted redshank still around, 1 buzzard, chiffchaff contact call, redwings and fieldfares. Mudflats: peregrine disturbed the waders but when they re-settled there were 940 dunlin with 1 black-tailed godwit, 11 grey plovers and 84 knot mixed in. 23 avocet beyond them.

Main sighting: Drake Smew

Drake Smew in the usual place near Usk (opposite Craig Olway Farm) 2 Little Grebes, 2 Drake Goldeneyes, 2 Moorhens, 2 Canada Geese, a Wren on the debris washed up by the river and 9 Mallards.