Sightings

Main sighting: Barn Owl / Merlin

All lagoons frozen but a good mix of birds nonetheless. En-route to hides – robin, crows, chaffinch, buzzard, magpies and blackbirds. Hide one – fly-by from 7 mute swans, herring gulls and a pheasant calling. Hide two – 9 lapwing, 2nd (light-morph) buzzard, female reed bunting, 1 little egret and barn owl (08.32). Snipe platform – starlings and blue tit. Seawall – small patch of open water on lagoon and visible from the seawall had 15 teal, male pintail, 1 coot, 1 swan and 18 gadwall all huddled in together. On the only saltmarsh on view was Canada geese, wigeon, 2 curlew, 8 shelduck and a 100+ black-tailed godwits. Hide three (most productive today) – goldfinch, ravens, mallards, female marsh harrier, pied wagtail, barn owl hunting again (10.22) which landed on a distant post and was dived at by a passing male merlin, 14 greylags overhead, wren, 1 heron, male stonechat, 15 more lapwing and a female gt spotted woodpecker working her way along the fence posts. En-route to car park, female stonechat, song thrush, male bullfinch and a fly-over male peregrine.

Main sighting: Goldeneye

A very wary pair of Goldeneye on an otherwise quiet river.

Main sighting: White-tailed Eagle

Imm. White-tailed Eagle flying down Gwyddon valley at 09:15

Main sighting: Merlin F

F merlin, 7ltt, 3canada geese over.

Main sighting: Blackcap

A Blackcap, male I think, flickering about in trees in The Gardens, Monmouth at 10.30 this morning.

Main sighting: Merlin

I was on the phone to the AA, when the bird suddenly appeared very low overhead, gliding west.
I wonder if it would do a repeat tomorrow !

Main sighting: Waders

Song thrush, crows, 222 black-tailed godwits, 79 teal, 320 wigeon, 223 redshanks, herring gulls, 20 pintail, 10 shoveler, 25 shelduck, lesser black-backed gulls, mallards, female kestrel hovering, 15 curlew, 75 Canada geese flying over, 250 dunlin, 18 ringed plovers, 1 great black-backed gull, great tits, blackbirds, male sparrowhawk 24 magpies, starlings, woodpigeons, 16 oystercatchers, robin, meadow pipit, 15 fieldfares, buzzard and goldfinches.

Main sighting: Caspian Gull

On Monday afternoon a large gull showing characters of Caspian was with other gulls in the wet field N of the lane at Llanwenarth- darker grey back than Herring Gulls, elongated structure with long wings, pear-shaped head sloping into a long, parallel-sided bill, dark-looking eye in an (almost) unstreaked white head. The bird was a subadult/3rd winter with a few black spots on the tertials (also apparently a Caspian feature), leg and bill colour dull greenish-yellow, bill with a prominent black band near the tip. Details of wing-tip pattern were not visible, nor was the leg-length due to long grass. An adult Yellow-legged gull was also present, loosely associating with the ‘Caspian’. With extralimital Caspian there is always the possibility of a hybrid, but based on the books and feedback received by observers with experience of the species this bird seems to be a strong candidate for a pure bred male Caspian. It wasn’t present yesterday but it might be worth a look at groups of large gulls in case it’s still in the area (for gull obsessives!)

Main sighting: Black-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver 1 on Llanishen and Ring-necked Duck 1 female type and Common Sandpiper on Lisvane.

Main sighting: Goosander

A pair of Goosander on the borrow pit in Overmonnow this morning, as well as a Little Grebe. Long tIme no see!

Main sighting: Male Bullfinch

Whilst travelling to Bettws Newydd I encountered more tree destruction in various fields in and around Gwent/Monmouthshire caused by storm darragh ( dec 7th ) in addition to what I saw in the black mountains ( dec 23rd ) – see Brecknock birds for further reading.
I saw 4 buzzards in different places. 2 robins, blue tit and great spotted woodpecker in Bettws Newydd Priory Wood nature reserve. Above the reserve was a jay and a green woodpecker flying between the trees. At Bettws Newydd lakes there were 2 mallards – male and a female, 4 chaffinches and perched/sat on a fence a superlatively wonderful male bullfinch.

Main sighting: Jack Snipe

One Jack Snipe flushed from the path near the old reservoir. Count of nine Meadow Pipits (unusual in mid-winter). Red Kite, two Buzzards, Raven, otherwise pretty quiet. Coal Tit sang near Hafod Farm.