Sightings

Main sighting: Little Egret

Four Little Egrets at a site where I’d previously only ever seen one (with the possibility of two once); Yellow and Pied Wagtail young; Sand Martin colony still active.

Main sighting: 3 kestrels

3 kestrels quartering the seawall midday 23/7; successful fledging presumably. Redshanks starting to gather in numbers again; hundreds of BHGs; shelducks and mallards; 20 oystercatchers; 3 curlews; 1 little egret.

Main sighting: Great white egret

0615-1000hrs, 46 species seen, of note were 4 chiffchaffs, 1 cettis, 1 willow warbler in sub-song, 1 reed warbler (contact call), pheasant and skylark. Redshank platform – 5 swallows, 15 swifts, 55 lapwing, 5 ringed plover, 2 little egrets, green woodpecker yaffling, 3 cormorants over. Snipe platform – 1 heron, 10 mute swans, 65 mallards. Seawall – good movement of sand martins (excess of 200 birds) aerial feeding, 7 more swift, 5 curlew, 1 whimbrel, 1 black-tailed godwit on the mud, 5 yellow wagtails, 42 greylags coming in. Marsh platform – 3 more black-tailed godwits feeding, 2 teal, 14 gadwall, 1 common snipe, 5 little ringed plovers (3 juvs and 2 adults), kestrel hovering, great white egret flew in but soon went back over the Pill area, linnets and a little grebe, Lapwing platform – 4 more yellow wagtails amongst the cow herd, starling, and at 0930 a female sparrowhawk flew past low with what looked to possibly be a ringed plover in her talons. Other: meadow browns, gatekeepers (good numbers now), 1 painted lady, Essex skipper, ruddy darter, female four-spot chaser and 1 speckled wood.

Main sighting: Shelduck

29-well grown juvenile Shelducks,1-Common Gull (adult),500+Blacked Headed Gulls including 11 juveniles.15h00-15h30

Main sighting: Goosander

Single female/eclipse male on the river

Main sighting: Whinchat

1-juv.Whinchat along with 4-juv.Stonechats.Large flock of Black Headed Gulls 200+,contained 29 juveniles,7-Little Egrets,3 distant-Kestrels all juveniles?,1f-Marsh Harrier and large numbers of Sand Martins over Priors lagoon.10h30-12h00

Main sighting: Stonechats

25 or more stonechats, mostly juveniles. 1 juvenile whinchat, 2 mipits, 2 stock doves, a jay, 7 juvenile redstarts, 5 willow warblers, a raven, a buzzard, 3 gsw, 2 green wpecker, 2 nuthatch, 4 song thrush, 2 skylarks, 60 rooks and 2 linnets.

Main sighting: Avocet Hide closed

We have closed the Avocet Hide (the largest hide next to the sea-wall) as the flooring is rotten. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Main sighting: Water levels

With the unprecedented heat forecast, it is unlikely that we will be able to keep water in all three lagoons at Goldcliff. We will concentrate efforts on Priors Lagoon as it is the deepest

Main sighting: Wigeon

Webs count today A Wigeon on Priors Great White Egret 1 Little Egret 7 Grey Heron I Mediterranean Gull a Juveniles on Monks Black-head Gull 200 Dunlin 90 Little Ringed Plover 2 Ringed Plover2 Black-tailed Godwit 80. Teal 1 Gadwall 10. There were lot of butterflies Meadow Brown Ringlet Gate Keeper Painted Lady Red Admiral Dragonflies Emerald Damselfly Blue-tailed Damselfly Emperor Common Darter

Main sighting: Great White Egret

Great White Egret at 2ish this pm from 3rd platform.

Main sighting: Caspian Tern

At 9.10 a.m. Adult Caspian Tern flying west over my head and calling. Lost to sight when close to Collister gull roost that was put up by paddleboarder