Sightings

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.

Main sighting: Wheatears

Small pockets of water starting to form on lagoons 1 and 2. Quiet overall bird wise. Car park – hides: robin, crows, goldfinches and 2 chiffchaffs. Hide 1: meadow pipits, 85 Canada geese, male kestrel and 2 of the light-morph buzzards. Magpies, blackbird and a 3rd buzzard en-route to hide 2: Hide 2: herring guls, 16 lapwing in the grass, 1 heron, small numbers of swallows today (strong winds not good for migration), mallards, pied wagtail, 3 skylarks and the flock of 25 stock doves flying across to the seawall bank, lesser black-backed gulls. Seawall: along the stretch of the wall down to the remains of hide 3 were 8 wheatears and a whinchat, on the mudflats were 6 curlew only and black headed gulls. Male stonechat on the fence. Back at hide 2: woodpigeons, 2 fly-by cormorants and 6 black-tailed godwits (group of 5 flying towards seawall and a single bird which landed briefly on lagoon 2). Back to car park: moorhens, cettis calling, flyover little egret, long tailed and blue tit flock in the hedge, 2 more chiffchaffs.

Main sighting: Hobby

A vocal juvenile Hobby careering around the sky above Llanwenarth this evening chased by Jackdaws.

Main sighting: House Martins

Monmouth between 8 and 10 a.m. – there was a N–S passage of hirundines over the River Wye. The majority were House Martins (c. 150) with lesser numbers of Sand Martins (c. 25) and Swallows (c. 15).

Main sighting: House Martins

Perched on power lines – 310

Main sighting: Common Sandpiper

Monmouth below the Wye Bridge at 8 a.m.: 3 Common Sandpipers and 3 Greater Black-backed Gulls, 2 adults and a juvenile.

Main sighting: Migration

On way into reserve: starlings (numbers building up), blackbird, robin, crows, magpies, wren, swallows (migrating through in large continual flocks), woodpigeons, blue tits, goldfinches and a pheasant. Hide 1: lesser black-backed gulls, heron, 2 curlew, 2 buzzards, distant pintail flying and jackdaws. En-route hide 2: jackdaws, ravens, moorhen and 3 chiffchaffs. Hide 2: 2nd heron, Canada geese, cettis calling, male kestrel mobbed by 2 crows, 15 lapwing perched up, highest count of 25 stock doves feeding along the scorched far bank (right of hide 3), 2 wheatears and 6 skylarks in flight. 2 juvenile willow warblers in bushes by snipe platform and house martins in smaller numbers with more swallows. Seawall: 6 yellow wagtails, 2 cormorants, herring gulls, male (juvenile) whinchat, shelduck, mallards, 1 little egret, 51 ringed plovers (on dried lagoon), hobby flew over and was joined by a 2nd bird heading towards Chapel Lane direction, black headed gulls, 1 whimbrel, pair passing pintail and Ceri Lloyd picked up an odd colour shelduck in with common shelduck – looks to be a cape shelduck (possible escapee) but very distant. Down the remains of hide 3 were 2 more whinchats, 5 more wheatear, several pied wagtails, meadow pipits. and 5 stonechats. Female sparrowhawk seen on way back to car park. Other: speckled woods, large whites, peacock.