Sightings

Main sighting: Hawfinch

Two Hawfinch present in churchyard

Main sighting: Chiffchaff

More activity this morning which was nice, en-route to hides jackdaws, blue tit, pheasant, magpies, crows, herring gulls, dunnock, chaffinch, woodpigeons, starlings, robin, blackbirds and moorhen. Hide one – Canada geese, 28 teal, 59 wigeon and 71 lapwing. Hide two – 2 buzzards, 19 shoveler, single dunlin, mallards, coot, 5 redshanks, male stonechat, wren and 2 cormorants (fly-by). Snipe platform – 32 more teal, 2 more shoveler, 2 greylags, water rail squealing and distant green woodpecker calling. Seawall – 12 curlew, 15 shelduck, black headed gulls, 158 black-tailed godwits and meadow pipit. Hide three – 11 gadwall, 53 more wigeon, 2nd water rail squealing, female marsh harrier hunting, 3 male pintail and chiffchaff feeding. Single redwing flying past en-route to the car park.

Main sighting:

Main sighting: Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank 1 Redshank 40 Curlew 30 Teal 100 Wigeon 50 Pintail 5 and a few Shoveler and Mallard. Greylag Goose 27 Canada Goose lots Green Woodpecker 1.

Main sighting: Hen Harrier

Ringtail harrier hunting mid-afternoon over and round the old Brynmawr reservoir. Eventually disappeared towards Garnlydan. Red Kite circling over, also swooped on a Carrion Crow that was bothering it. A single Meadow Pipit. Flock of 16 Redwings around Hafod Farm.

Main sighting: Peregrine

Two Peregrines over Castle Meadows together, one carrying prey. Faint squeaky calls – not clear if it was the prey or one of the Peregrines. Water Rail foraging in one of the wet ditches. Dipper in river under Llanfoist bridge.

Main sighting: Water Rail

Another quiet visit, water levels still too high on the lagoons to encourage waders. En-route to hides – Canada geese, 2000+ starlings coming from their roost site on the main reserve, heron, blackbirds, pair pheasants, crows, magpie and collard dove. Hide one – 2nd heron, 13 wigeon, 9 fly-by swans, 25 lapwing, 48 teal, female marsh harrier hunting, cormorant, mallards, reed bunting, herring gulls, woodpigeons and 300+ black-tailed godwits which the harrier spooked with the group flying over the seawall. Hide two – female sparrowhawk and 6 shoveler. Snipe platform – single little grebe, 120 more teal and water rail calling. Seawall – 2 curlew and 12 shelduck only. Hide three – male pintail, 15 more shoveler, meadow pipit, ravens, wren and redshank calling.

Main sighting: Announcement

Main sighting: Barnacle Goose

15:00 to 16:30 visit; rising tide near saltmarsh. Single Barnacle Goose on Saltmarsh. Gull Roost: Black Headed Gull 260+; Common Gull 350+; Herring Gull 51; Lesser Black Backed Gull 36. Shelduck 60+; Redshank 16; Oystercatcher 6; Curlew 4; Dunlin 1000+; Knot 7; Mallard18;Teal 7; Wigeon 46. Buzzard 2; Raven 2; Pheasant; Magpie; Great Tit; Robin; Starling 500+; Wood Pigeon.
(There were many more waders coming in but was too dark to identify).

Main sighting: Common Scoter

From 15:25: Tide rising, close to saltmarsh edge. On the Severn: 25 Common Scoter (spread across 3 close groups). 20 Black Headed Gulls; 5 Curlew; 60 Dunlin; 26 Grey Plover; 1 Lesser Black Backed Gull; 4 Oystercatcher; 30 Redshank; 32 Shelduck; 600 Starlings; 1 Teal; 2 Wrens; Robins; Blackbirds, Meadow Pipit; Carrion Crow.
(I was conducting a Recce visit for Winter Gull Roosts (WinGS), but no evidence of Gull Roost present at this time).

Main sighting: Black-Tailed Godwit

Black-Tailed Godwit 1000
Dunlin 3000
Knot 250
Grey Plover 20
Avocet 2
Redshank 200
Turnstone 10
Oystercatcher 18
Ringed Plover 10
Curlew 10
Teal 100
Wigeon 175
Pintail 100
Shoveler 50
Shelduck 100
Mallard 50
Little Egret 1

Main sighting: Avocet flock

Another fairly quiet morning. En-route to hides: crows, buzzard, bullfinch, magpies, moorhens, blackbirds and pheasant. Hide one – cormorant only. Hide two – female marsh harrier hunting, male stonechat, lesser black-backed gulls and 3 lapwing. En-route to platform – robin and herring gulls. Snipe platform – 14 mallard and 4 swans on the only small bit of unfrozen water. Seawall – most productive again with mistle thrush, starlings, light-morph buzzard, 42 avocet, 11 curlew, 6 shelduck, 2 gadwall, 18 oystercatchers, Canada geese, black headed gulls, 15 shoveler, 215 wigeon, 8 black-tailed godwits and 3 male pintail. Meadow pipit, 3 wrens and woodpigeons en-route to hide 3. Hide three – 1 greylag, green woodpecker heard yaffling, pied wagtail, song thrush and 15 more lapwing. En-route back out blue tits and female reed bunting. Back at the car park female chaffinch, kingfisher fly-past, collard dove and 2 redwings.