Sightings

Main sighting: Little egrets

14 little egrets, 73 dunlin, 5 shovelers, 44 teal, 27 blackwits, 35 redshank, 6 knot, a little stint, 2 stonechat, 3 chiffchaff, 2 goldfinch, 6 pied wagtail, 2 cettis heard calling

Main sighting: Little Egret

I saw a single Little Egret actively fishing as it paddled/waded down the West bank of the Wye this morning at 1300. Only my second ever sighting in the Monmouth area.

Main sighting: Wigeon

Wigeon 250, Pintail 3,Meadow pipits 25, Grey wag(Sudbrook)

Main sighting: Redwing

Late entry sighting for 24th at 1830hrs – small group of redwing passing.

Main sighting: Migration

0630 – 0930 visit. Crows, wrens, robin, 2 cettis, moorhens, herring gulls, 20 magpies together and a pair of mute swans with 8 cygnets. Snipe platform – 74 curlew which took off at 0650, 62 knot, 16 little egrets, 3 herons, green woodpecker calling, 12 ringed plovers, 285 black-tailed godwits, 226 dunlin had 3 little stints and 1 sanderling mixed in, ravens, Canada geese, 1 greylag, linnets, water rail calling, teal, 1 yellow wagtail only, 1 curlew sandpiper and 4 snipe. marsh platform – 27 redshanks, pied wagtails and woodpigeons. Seawall – 15 skylark high overhead calling, 113 mallards (a good count) on the mud, shelduck, 4 adult and 1 1st year great black-backed gulls, black headed gulls, shoveler, gadwall, 1 oystercatcher only, 53 distant lapwing, and steady passage of swallows from 0810 in groups of 10 – 20, by 0900 they were passing in groups of around 50 – 70 at a time. Hide 1 – kestrel, goldfinches, blue tit, blackbird, 45 house martins and 71 meadow pipits on the mud (96 seen en-route to hide 1). Near the entrance gate, group of 7 long tailed tits had 2 goldcrests and 12 chiffchaffs moving through the hedgerow. Pheasant in the field with 64 starlings and the pale buzzard on a post.

Main sighting: Bar tailed godwit

Thanks to Allan for the heads up on 2 bar tailed godwits at the seawall on the very low high tide; few wheatears, oystercatchers, curlew etc; 4 or 5 little egrets

Main sighting: Female Merlin

Female Merlin hunting along seawall but then chased by a rook around 1pm and didn’t return.also 4 skylarks,a steady trickle of swallows and house Martin’s.Also 7 Whimbrels on salt marsh.also a female Kestrel and a wheatear In the berry bushes willow warblers stocking up.out at sea 2 male pintail.

Main sighting: Hobby

1-juv.Hobby landed on first (island) and was there when i left 20 minutes later,photo on gwent birders.Also.1-Ruff,25+Knot,250+Black’wits,2-Grey Plovers.10h30-13h00

Main sighting: Addition to the list

Three ducks that flew in to Prior’s lagoon were 2 females and 1 male pintail, to be added to Saturday’s visit tally.

Main sighting: Wood Sandpiper

0630 – 1030, 58 species with highlights being: Snipe platform – 6 chiffchaffs, pair of cettis, 2 herons, 379 black-tailed godwits with 1 bar-tailed mixed in, 61 knot, 40 redshank, 11 lt egrets, green woodpecker calling, 12 shoveler, kestrel and 2 snipe, female sparrowhawk, 1 water rail, 14 greylags, 8 sand martins through only 18 swallows only, wheatear on the mud and 1 lapwing only. Seawall – very productive migrant wise with a mix of 8 yellow wagtails, 1 male wheatear, 5 reed buntings, 9 pied wagtails and 51 meadow pipits. Also of note, 1 gt black-backed gull, 6 gadwall on the water’s edge, 1 cormorant, 56 shelduck, 62 curlew, 1 whimbrel flying and calling, 13 oystercatchers and a single grey plover. Hide 3 – 43 teal. Marsh platform – 3 white wagtails and 5 skylarks overhead calling. Back at snipe platform a wood sandpiper was feeding at the top end in the shallow water, linnets, 56 house martins aerial feeding and possibly 3 pochard in eclipse plumage (tbc from my pictures), 9 wigeon, 55 dunlin, 1 ruff and a pair of stonechats from hide 1. Other: holly blue, large white and several speckled wood butterflies.

Main sighting: Little Stint

09.30-12.20 high tide. Little Stint on rising tide. Golden Plover (1) dropped in for about 10 minutes before flying west and Black-tailed Godwit (6). Also Spotted Flycatcher (1), Wheatear (1), Yellow Wagtail (1) present.

Main sighting: Goshawk

Goshawk over (probably male, quite small), 1 juv Curlew Sandpiper, 520 Black-tailed Godwits, 80 Knot