Sightings
David Roberts
Llanellen
Sat 21st Sep 2019
Main sighting: Red Kite
Red Kite soaring over fields at Llanellen around 1.50 pm.
Neville Davies
Goldcliff Lagoons
Sat 21st Sep 2019
Main sighting: Spotted Redshanks
Dawn to mid-morning visit highlights – 5 chiffchaffs, 8 lt egrets, 156 teal, 4 shoveler, 2 herons, 1 buzzard (light-phase bird), 48 sand martins with 26 house martins and 248 swallows passing through together, another passage of meadow pipits with 148 counted and 14 skylarks, 1 cettis calling, green woodpecker yaffling, only 1 ringed plover and no dunlin, 3 ruff, 2 spotted redshanks feeding together, 2 greenshanks, 9 snipe, 56 lapwing, 7 yellow wagtails, 2 white wagtails in with numerous pieds, 9 black-tailed godwits, female kestrel, male sparrowhawk, glossy ibis made a brief appearence before going out to the mudflats, kingfisher, black swan, pair of stonechats, 1 wheatear, 62 knot and a male peregrine. Mudflats: 2 gt b b gulls, 68 curlew and 62 oystercatchers. Other: 1 painted lady, 2 red admirals, 2 speckled woods, common darters and numerous migrant hawkers. Likely candidate for a great-white egret flying across to the Pill but not enough time to confirm ID – size right, kinked neck, slwoer wing beats etc but could not see the bill for positive ID sorry.
Neville Davies
Goldcliff Lagoons
Thu 19th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Water rail
Dusk visit. Fairly quiet but highlights included 6 chiffchaffs, female kestrel hunting, 44 lapwing, 4 yellow wagtails (including a juvenile), 2 herons, small passage of swallows and meadow pipits, 3 ruff, skylarks, 6 snipe, black swan, 1 greenshank, juvenile water rail with the snipe, 2 turnstone in with the lapwing, cettis calling and 3 lt egrets. Seawall – 1 wheatear with 600+ black-headed gulls on the mudflats, 87 knot, 170 black-tailed godwits and a surprising 17 avocets. Other: 1 red admiral, 1 painted lady, several male and female common darters and 18 migrant hawkers.
Chris Forster Brown
Llanbadoc
Thu 19th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Little grebe
Returned to Llanbadoc church area early this morning. Two winter plumage little grebes present. Spoke too soon about pied-billed. Some (a lot) of compensation in the form of three otter swimming downstream in synchronised fashion. One of them then fishing close to the near bank. Short trip to Goldcliff Lagoons, where three yellow wagtail, single wheatear, small numbers of dunlin, single turnstone, sparrowhawk, two kestrel and glossy ibis. The last was feeding close to a little egret some distance away on the saltmarsh down channel.
Roger Price
Peterstone Gout
Thu 19th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Linnet
Flock of c300 Linnet feeding on stubble, 30 Goldfinch, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, 4 Lgrt, 2 Heron, a few Swallows N.E.
Blair Jones
Goldcliff Lagoons
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Black Tailed Godwits and Knots
Late evening visit before sunset. Priors had a small number of Black Tailed Godwits, Lapwing and Knot initially. As it was low tide most shore birds out on the mud. Flock of Black Tailed Godwits 100c, Knot 100c and Oystercatcher 60+ feeding on mude. Lots of Curlew tonight 300c also on mud. Hundreds of Shelduck. Wheatears showing well on the wall and a Sparrowhawk narrowly missed one I was photographing. Meadow Pipits all feeding near Snipe Platform. Lots of Dragonflies about – Common Darter and Migrant Hawker. Red Admiral Butterfly.
Chris forster brown
Llanbadoc
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Grebe?
Went to look at the reported grebe at Llanbadoc. Only had 8×30 binns so not sure but there was sometbing of the pied-billed about it. Going back tomorrow early with scope.
Iain Crawford
Llandegfedd reservoir north end
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Redshank
A redshank, 3 herons, 130 canada geese, 80 blackheaded gulls, 200+ herring and lbb gulls, 55 cormorants and 2 great spotted woodpeckers.
Simon James Bedford
Newhouse Chepstow
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Hobby
Flock of over 20o starlings on Transmission tower plus Sparrowhawk female hunting the stragglers .Juv Hobby and wheatear female .
Mike andJackie Pointon
Goldcliff Lagoons
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Mediterranean Gull
The opening of the Snipe platform went well and was most enjoyable. Birds seen included a Mediterranean Gull an adult insecting over the platform with BHG’s, Marsh Harrier Sparrowhawk Kestrel Peregrine Buzzard Spotted Redshank 1 Ruff 2 Avocets Black-tailed Godwit Knot Dunlin Great White Egret Yellow Wagtail Pied and White Wagtail several Chiffchaffs Lots of Swallows and House Martins. Others: Clouded Yellow Common Darter ++
Iain Crawford
Llanbadoc
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Slavonian grebe
Small longnecked winter plumage grebe by church, either Slavonian or blacknecked. Elusive, dives out of sight.
Also 130 canada geese downstream with two grey wagtails, buzzard, heron, two cormorant, a female goosander, a green woodpecker
Simon James Bedford
Black Rock
Wed 18th Sep 2019
Main sighting: Passage
At least 40 “green warblers” including one Wood warbler Chiffchaff and Willow warbler in picnic area bushes also 2 spotted Flycatcher and 63 redshank on rocks at high tide .