Sightings

Main sighting: Cuckoos

Not a great deal about but what was was quality. Highlight was a male cuckoo perched on the brambles by hide 3 joined by a second male before flying off calling. Elsewhere – cettis 1, lesser whitethroat 1, common whitethroat (pair possibly nesting), blackcap 2, chiffchaff 2, reed warbler 1. Male stonechat, pheasants, ravens and a stoat by hide 1 with 5 kits (taking them one by one in her mouth across the path). Hide one – stunning little stint, 1 curlew sandpiper (partial plumage), 13 ringed plovers, 15 dunlin, 2 little egrets, 4 black-tailed godwits only, singing skylark, redshanks, lapwing and no avocet. Redshank platform – 6 swifts, marsh harrier and oystercatchers. Hide three – 19 gadwall, 6 shoveler, 9 swallows, 3 cormorants, female kestrel hunting, 3 grey herons, reed buntings and a common buzzard. Other: small white butterflies and a caterpillar to be identified.

Main sighting: Female Wheatear

Studied female Wheatear in our front garden for 10 minutes. Flew away showing white area clearly. Returned later to sit on wall.

Main sighting: Swift

The wetland are certainly living up to their name and very windy. Currently there is a small amount of mud to the right of the Greenshank hide on Monks. At high-tide there were no large wader flocks in fact very few waders at all. Knot 2 seen flying with swifts Avocet 4 Redshank 6 Dunlin 8 Oystercatcher 6 Gadwall 18 Pochard 1 Swifts put on a great show flying low over the reserve. Whitethroat Lesser Whitethroat Chiffchaff Cetti’s Blackcap and Reed warbler singing.

Main sighting: Common Pochard

Cormorant 3, pheasant 2, chiffchaff 1 (contact call), common whitethroat 1, cettis 1 and a goldcrest. Hide one – shelduck 11, avocet, redshanks (pair copulating), skylarks, lapwing, linnets, 18 dunlin only and 2 curlew. Redshank platform – oystercatchers, 2 ringed plovers (on the island), marsh harrier and reed warbler singing close by. Hide three – 53 black-tailed godwits, reed buntings, good count of 17 gadwall, female common pochard, 6 more dunlin, 2 tufteds, 8 swans, 4 black-headed gulls over, 11 swallows and 1 little egret. Seawall – swifts came in aerial feeding and numbered around 20 birds with 2 house martins mixed in, 8 curlew flying over had 2 whimbrel mixed in. Common buzzard on the fence.

Main sighting: Curlew request

Although Curlews aren’t calling so frequently now, they’re still about. Please continue to send all sightings (and heards) of inland birds to curlew@gwentbirds.org.uk . Every record counts but the more info (number, location, habitat etc) the better.

Main sighting: Terns

Spent an enjoyable hour or so with Ed Stevens sea watching the Severn yesterday, where Ed spotted Gannet(ad), 24 Comic terns, and also two Arctic terns which were feeding by the side of the Prince of Wales bridge. Ed also had 2 Fulmar on the west side of the bridge. 3 Little egrets were also seen.

Main sighting: Spoonbill

Seen well feeding and flying around south of island on monks – seen well from both hide 1 and 2

Other birds include Skylark Lapwing Ringed Plover. Dunlin. Oystercatcher. and Swallow

Main sighting: Bar-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit 3 (WP) Black-tailed Godwit 22 Dunlin 300 Sanderling 3 Ringed Plover 20 Turnstone 18 (BP) Gadwall 27 Little Grebe 1 Swift 10 Green Woodpecker 1 Reed Warbler 1. Also, Holly Blue Peacock Small White and Orange Tip butterflies.

Main sighting: Waders

0515 – 1000 Wheatear on fence to the right of the hide, Chiffchaff 2, pheasant, buzzard, cettis calling, common whitethroat 1, blackcap 2, lesser whitethroat 1 and a raven with a small chick. Good wader roost including 624 dunlin (several Arctica race and the pale looking bird), 4 grey plover, 3 sanderling (1 almost in summer plumage), 46 ringed plovers, 2 bar-tailed godwits, 2 knot (1 partial summer plumage), 2 black-tailed godwits, 2 whimbrel and 17 turnstone. 1 heron, 3 skylarks and reed buntings. Hide two – reed warbler singing, avocet, lapwing, shelduck, 2 whimbrel overhead. Hide three – 8 bar-tailed godwits, 5 black-tailed godwits, mute swans, 4 tufteds, teal and around 11 sand martins but good numbers of swallows (80+) with a number landing on the fences and in the reeds, with a spectacular feeding almost in slow-mo right in front of the hide within 10 feet.

Main sighting: Common Sandpiper

Another wet visit – 1615 to 1830. Blackcap 1, chiffchaff 2, lesser whitethroat 1, common whitethroat 1, cettis warbler 1, pheasant, skylark singing and a raven which took a Canada goose gosling. Hide two (scanning the three lagoons) – gadwall, 3 pairs tufted ducks, avocet with 2 chicks, grey heron 2, cormorants 3, lapwing (one pair copulating), common redshanks, oystercatchers, at least 100+ house martins feeding over the lagoons with swallows and sand martins mixed in, 1 swift over the seawall, 1 whimbrel with a second seen on the seawall, 1 bar-tailed godwit with 2 more later, reed warbler singing, reed bunting, 33 black-tailed godwits, 1 dunlin, 1 little ringed plover and 1 common sandpiper. Dan Webb and John Lawton remained after I left so not sure if the main wader flock came in later?

Main sighting: Dunlin

Good numbers of dunlin on the ebb tide @ 1400hrs, several small groups combined to estimate 700 + , also inland 14 buzzards soaring on a thermal then dispersing. Single male wheatear on the seawall

Main sighting: Dipper

Also Wheatear main highlight of BTO BBS survey at Celyn Farm near Grosmont