Sightings

Main sighting: Curlew Sandpiper

Quiet today and lagoon 1 completely dry, so most activity from lagoon 3. En-route to hides: woodpigeons, starlings, chiffchaff, wrens, lesser whitethroat, herring gulls, pheasants, goldfinches, lesser black backed gulls, whitethroats, crows, blackbirds and magpies. Hide 1: cettis, Canada geese, skylarks and moorhen. Hide 2: mallards and distant marsh harrier hunting. Snipe platform: little grebes, 2 gadwall, 5 shoveler, reed warbler and reed bunting. En-route to seawall: great tit, blue tits and meadow pipits. Seawall: 38 more mallards, 6 avocet, 1 oystercatcher, male stonechat and 1 great black backed gull. Hide 3: heron, 28 shelduck, 8 black headed gulls, 8 redshanks, 1 little ringed plover, 9 lapwing, greylag geese, pied wagtails, 12 ringed plovers (pair on the island with 1 chick), 152 black tailed godwits, 2 male teal, 10 more avocet, 2 cormorants, coot, 2 more shoveler, 1 swift, 2 stock doves, 1 little egret and 12 dunlin with the male curlew sandpiper mixed in. Back at snipe platform: sedge warbler and swallows. En-route to car park, song thrush and raven. Other: first of the year meadow brown butterfly.

Main sighting: Nightjar

22.30 – distant Nightjar churring from Beacon Hill direction.

Main sighting: 6 Great White Egrets

Report from a member of 6 Great White Egrets roosting in trees along the River Wye near Chepstow Castle, before flying upriver.
I’ve seen the video, so have verified the sighting.

Main sighting: Red Grouse

Red Grouse flew across summit path near Foxhunter car park early pm. Also Stonechat and Wheatear near car park.

Main sighting: Hen Harrier

En-route to hides: blackbirds, woodpigeons, starlings, lesser whitethroat, blue tits, great tit, great spotted woodpecker, crows, magpies, pied wagtails, swallows, song thrush, lesser black-backed and herring gulls (in field), pheasant, wren, goldcrest, whitethroat, reed warbler, male tufted in reen, mallards and chiffchaff. Hide 2: skylark, 24 black tailed godwits, 9 lapwing, Canada geese, 17 ringed plovers, 6 shelduck, 3 oystercatchers, coot (with chick), greylag geese and female marsh harrier. En-route to seawall: female hen harrier and low and flying straight towards Goldcliff Point, reed bunting and stonechats. Seawall: 1 curlew and jackdaws. Hide 3: kestrel on the hide roof, juvenile linnets, male cuckoo perched on top of the distant brambles, 166 more black tailed godwits, 10 avocet, 6 redshanks, 3 shoveler, sedge warblers, ravens, 1 whimbrel, 1 little ringed plover, cormorant and little egret. Marsh platform: little grebe. Back at hide 2: buzzard, 2 little ringed plovers and 3 swans.

Main sighting: waders

At 1330hrs along the tideline a mixed flock of @ 350 + ringed plover and dunlin.

Main sighting: Sanderling

Another fairly quiet morning: En-route to hides: woodpigeons, herring gulls, crows,, starlings, pheasants, wrens, blackcap, avocet, blue tits, crows, mallards, swallows, goldfinches, blackbirds, whitethroat, chiffchaff, magpies, reed warbler, swan and water vole crossing the reen just before hide 2. Hide 2: linnets, 91 black tailed godwits, 4 dunlin, 4 lapwing, lesser and 1 greater black backed gulls, 4 avocet, Canada geese, 4 redshanks, 2 oystercatchers, 2 ringed plovers, heron, 4 shelduck and 3 skylarks. Snipe platform: juvenile stonechat, pair of little grebes with 1 chick and 1 shoveler. Seawall: green woodpecker calling from the farm area, 1 curlew only, 74 distant dunlin. Hide 3: coot, 4 more shoveler, 131 more black tailed godwits, greylag geese, pair tufted ducks and a lone male, pochard pair, 9 gadwall, 1 little ringed plover,  more lapwing, 4 ravens, sedge warbler singing from the brambles, reed buntings, female pintail with 4 chicks in-tow, meadow pipits and 1 little egret. A pair of shoveler had an astonishing 17 chicks. Back at hide 2 the high tide had brought in more waders with 222 dunlin, 74 ringed plovers, pair of knot and 2 sanderling (1 a juvenile) all feeding together. Female marsh harrier, pied wagtails and buzzard also seen.

Main sighting: Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher and Common Redstart in woods; Garden Warbler on ridge towards Sugar Loaf

Main sighting: Swifts and Swallows

In general area during the walk –

3 x Swift and 4 x Swallow feeding whilst flying over the bracken.

Stonechat, Willow Warbler and Wheatears.

Main sighting: Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher observed on stonewall that borders the path leading down to the Punchbowl.
Other species seen and heard during the walk in the area –
Wheatear, Tree Pipit, Common Redstart, Linnet, Cuckoo, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Wren, Carrion Crow, Green Woodpecker, Woodpigeon and Buzzard

Main sighting: Swifts

6 x Swift observed flying over Griffithstown in the Kemys Street area.

Main sighting: chicks

Early AM visit to Goldcliff Lagoons.
Swallows – please be respectful in Hide 1 as a section is cornered off as a pair of Swallows are nesting in it. Another pair of Swallows were roosting in Hide 2.
Fantastic to see a significant number of Avocet Chicks that are the most mature I have ever seen at Goldcliff in my experience. I counted 4 on Monks and another three or four on Becs Lagoons.
There were two flocks of Black-Tailed Godwits – a smaller flock of 15+ birds on Monks and then a larger flock of at least 50+ on Becs Lagoon.
At high tide a mixed flock of Dunlins and Ringed Plover 60+ were present on Monks although I also saw a flock of 10+ on Becs separately.
On the foreshore there were a 6 Curlews.
All around the reserve warblers were singing well.
Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Cettis, Chiff Chaff and Sedge Warblers.
Stonechats and Linnets were on the fences leading down to the Seawall Hide.
I watched a Little Grebe feeding a single chick on Priors Lagoon.
Only raptor seen was a Buzzard hunting on the edges of Monk and being mobbed by Redshank and Lapwing. Plenty of Corvids – Magpies and Carrion. Crows.
On becs Lagoons – Ringed Plover, Avocet and Lapwing chicks were running about with adults keeping an eye on them. Flock of Starlings were drinking the water on Becs Lagoon.
Dcuks – Gadwall, Mallard – the weird hybrid white Mallard Duck appears to have had several ducklings.
Pintail Duck on Becs Lagoons had at least 4 chicks following it.
Other highlights –
Common Blue Damselfly mating, Skipper and Speckled Wood Butterflies.