Sightings

Main sighting: Wader mix

Update: No sign of wryneck before I left at 11am – water levels slightly higher, ducks and waders starting to re-visit now. Car park to hides: robin, Canada geese, crows, woodpigeons, great tits, magpies, pheasant, 2 cettis, mallards, herring gulls and 2 cormorants. Hide 1: little egret and wren calling. Hide 2: ravens, kestrel, hobby came through hunting on 3 occasions, meadow pipits, buzzard, 3 herons, pied wagtail, goldfinches, 21 teal, female marsh harrier (first time since water returned), black headed gulls and swallows. Most of the action from Snipe Platform: good mix of waders including 2 sanderling, 92 dunlin, 6 ringed plovers, 1 little stint, 4 curlew sandpipers (juveniles), 3 grey plovers, 49 black-tailed godwits, 38 lapwing, 39 redshanks and 3 snipe. Also of note 2nd little egret, 44 greylags, 4 swans and a curlew. En-route back to car park: fly-by great white egret, 6 chiffchaffs, blue tits, moorhen, dunnocks, pair of stonechats and grey wagtail in reen by concrete bridge.

Main sighting: Wryneck and Waders- Little Stint/Curlew Sand

Highlight was watching a Wryneck – initially showed near where the old Seawall ( Avocet) Hide used to be up to the perimeter fence and then along the path and electric fence line. Eventually it made its way all the way to the Hawthorn Berry Bushes near Hide 2.
Other sightings –
Overjoyed to see water now on all three lagoons.
All three had waders on them at some stage .
Overview –
Monks and Priors ( some birds flew between both -most on Priors)
2 x Sanderling, 30 + Dunlins. 1 x Curlew Sandpiper, 30 C Lapwings, Several Black-Tailed Godwits. 2 x Little Stint. 5 + Ringed Plovers
Becs Lagoon- Mixed flock of Curlews , Black-Tailed Gowdits , 2 x Gey Plover, Ringed Plovers and Dunlins. Little Egret. Buzzard and Carrion Crows
Fly over –
Great White Egret and 5 x Snipe.
Lots of Greylag Geese and Canadas at Dawn on Monks.
Seawall area had 30 + Meadow Pippits, Skylarks and Reed Buntings. 1 x Wheatear.
Foreshore – Mallards, Shelduck, Curlew 20+ and Black-Headed Gull. Herring Gulls further our.

Main sighting: House Martins

Large numbers of house martins, sand martins and swallows heading south. 3/400.

Main sighting: Wryneck

A wryneck for its third day. Mostly favours the area next to the seawall. Also dunlin, lapwings, 2 sanderlings and a curlew sandpiper

Main sighting: Kingfishers

2 kingfishers, a little egret and a grey heron

Main sighting: Swallow passage

Between 8 and 10 a.m. at the Monnow – Wye confluence, c. 80 Swallows in 2 large flocks and smaller groups flying N-S.

Main sighting: Crossbill

1 male Crossbill – male – possibly heard some more calling?

Main sighting: Grey Phalarope

Adult Grey Phalarope feeding on the mud. Also Great white Egret Little Egret 4 Greenshank 1 Black-tailed Godwit 30 Redshank 40 Knot 1Shelduck ++ Goldfinch flock of 50

Main sighting: Bittern

Water levels higher after the rains: Car park -hide 1: magpies, robins, starlings, pheasant, woodpigeons, crows, mallards, blackbirds, male stonechat and pair of kestrels perched in large willow by hide entrance. Hide 1: male wheatear, 2 buzzards (light-morph), 3 herons, goldfinches, lesser black-backed gulls, 1 little egret, 9 ringed plovers on the mud, 2 cormorants, 38 lapwing, 4 stock doves, Canada geese, great egret flying above the Pill (showed twice), 5 fly-by mute swans, 1 curlew and 2 gadwall. En-route to next hide: 5 chiffchaffs, blue tit, cettis calling and several passing sand martins. Hide 2: meadow pipit numbers up, around 40 flying / feeding, 6 skylarks mixed in, several juvenile house martins passing through with low numbers of swallows, 32 crows landed on the bank, 4 greylags and a nice surprise of a juvenile bittern on the far side of the lagoon, right of the cows, walking around in the open for around 2 minutes before flying off towards the right corner of hide 1.

Main sighting: Cetti's Warblers etc.

2 Cetti’s Warblers, 4 Chiffchaffs, 3 female Goosanders, good numbers of hirundines and an Otter.

Main sighting: Common Tern

High Tide visit (PM).
Common Tern was in with the roosting Redshanks ( 50+). 1 x Greenshank 1 x Common Sandpiper.
Large numbers of Sheduck 300+
Black-Tailed Godwits 100c
Oystercatchers x 10
Dunlin x 10
Ringed Plover x 20.
Curlew 10+
Black-Head Gulls 100+
Buzzard x 1
Mallard x 20
Cormorant x 1
Little Egret x 1
Swallows x 10

No sign of the Marsh Sandpiper.

Main sighting: Hobby

Hobby hunting over wood, then drifted south along ridge. Also Red Kite, Raven, Buzzard.