Sightings

Main sighting: Hawfinch

A single Hawfinch and 4 Greenfinch in the village this morning. The swan herd (19) can be seen fairly distantly from the Caerleon-Usk road near Llandowlais; no scope this morning – too far to see if the Whooper was with the Mutes.

Main sighting: Pintail

Pintail 6; Lapwing 300+; Redshank 200+; Starling 400+; Widgeon 80; Teal; Shoveler 4; Gadwall 2; Tufted Duck 6; Snipe; Heron; Coot; Black Headed Gull; Greylag Goose 50; Canada Goose 35; Wood Pigeon 50;

Main sighting: Perigrine, male sparrow hawk male and female builfinch nuthatch

Machen Mountain

Main sighting: Harriers

A walk from Saltmarsh lane at 1500 to 1630 hrs to the lighthouse, we had good views of a female marsh harrier hunting the area west of the lighthouse plus a male on the eastern edge of the reserve. On return to the the lane we sighted 4 harriers, of which one was a ringtail, plus two male marsh and a female.

Main sighting: Spoonbill

1 Spoonbill with 2 little egrets on the salt marsh; also few oystercatchers, redshanks, pair of stonechat

Main sighting: Red Kite

One hovering over fields on the Newport side around 11:15.

Main sighting: Pochard and highest count of lapwing

Crows, starlings, robins, blackbirds, woodpigeons, magpies, blue tit, song thrush, 1 heron in the reen and 1 little egret feeding in the adjacent field. Hide one – highest count of lapwing for me here with 815 on the island, 21 shelduck, female kestrel, 146 widgeon, 26 teal, lesser black-backed gulls, greylag and Canada geese, pied wagtail and 11 shoveler. Hide two – 2nd heron, meadow pipits, mallards, dunnocks, wrens, 1 snipe, fem marsh harrier and 1 cormorant. Snipe platform – 5 gadwall, 2 pairs of tufteds with a pochard mixed in, raven, common gull over and a single redwing over. Seawall – house sparrows, 1 stock dove, female stonechat, 2 redshanks, 21 curlew only, black headed gulls, buzzard, 46 grey plovers, 106 dunlin, gt black-backed gull, oystercatchers, goldfinches, chaffinch and a male kestrel plucking a small bird on the fence post.

Main sighting: Bittern and otters

Manage to spot 2 bitterns in flight on a 3 occasions , one really close encounter as it flew towards the hide perfectly lit in the sun , just gutted didn’t have my camera. Also sightings of adult otter in front of the hide fishing in the shallows .

Main sighting: Bittern

In flight at pylon wires height over reedbeds, around 2 pm.

Main sighting: Fieldfares

150 fieldfares, a red kite, 3 buzzards, 5 song thrushes, raven, 2 longtailed tits, 15 meadow pipits, cormorant, fem bullfinch and a jay.

Main sighting: Whooper Swan

A single Whooper Swan was with a flock of 22 Mutes feeding in pasture; the carcass of a nearby dead Mute Swan was mostly eaten away. Two Wigeon were the first I’ve seen here. Also 5 Goldeneye, 10+ Mandarin, 4 Goosander and a single Little Grebe.

Main sighting: Pintail

Caldicot pill over high tide. Pintail 129, black tailed godwit 32, dunlin 3000 to 4000, curlew 190, shelduck 314, oystercatcher 54, shovler 3, grey plover 39, teal 3 and turnstone 150+