Sightings

Main sighting: Spotted Redshank

WeBS count today Spotted Redshank heard calling then seen swimming on Priors. Teal 286 Lapwing 149 Black-tailed Godwit 222 Shoveler 45 Gadwall 24 Stonechat 3. A quite day. Interestingly, No Coot, Tufted Duck or Little Grebe.

Main sighting: Great White Egrat

One Great white Egrat on the canal in Fernlea

Main sighting: Avocets

Waders fast becoming a rarity on the lagoons due to the water levels purposely kept high for the winter ducks. Shame something couldn’t be constructed for lagoon 3, only long-legged waders now. En-route to hides: robins, crows, 2 buzzards, jackdaws, Canada geese, blackbirds, moorhen and herring gulls. Hide 1: mallards only. Hide 2: pair of shelduck, 7 shoveler, 86 lapwing, 24 teal, 23 wigeon, 6 passing swans, 35 ringed plovers that flew in over the lagoons and straight out over the seawall as water too high, starlings and female marsh harrier. En-route platform a single chiffchaff feeding in the hedge line, magpies and a blue tit. Snipe platform – 76 more teal, 5 gadwall, coot, 4 more shoveler, 4 more swans and woodpigeons. En-route to platform – 3 stock doves overhead and distant collard dove calling. Marsh platform – cettis and wren at the base of the reeds opposite. Seawall: cormorant, 1 heron, 10 curlew, oystercatchers, 1 great black-backed gull, 1 common gull, black headed gulls, male peregrine perched on the washed up tree later having a go at the godwits, pied wagtail, 3 dunlin and 19 avocets was nice to see. Hide 3: little egret, 233 more teal and 3 more wigeon. Back at the car park 3 redwings, chaffinch and a song thrush.

Main sighting: Yellow leg gull

Yellow leg gull – 2 -Adults – plus assorted gulls – in flooded fields 250 meters north of bridge
over river Usk – there is a parking space on north side of bridge – very busy with with road works!

Main sighting: Yellow leg gull

There are some flooded fields which contained at least two of the above YLG’s adults, plus some BH and some other larger gull’s – I was on my way home from Landegfedd res when I spotted the gulls, and had to do a u – turn – there is a handy parking space just before the bridge going south. – There are also road works north of the bridge, with traffic lights at the road works!

Main sighting: Black Swan

Black Swan; Canada Geese 73; Lapwing 23; Wigeon 52; Teal 21; Gadwall 2; Coot; Moorhen; Grey Heron; Little Grebe; Mallard; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Blue Tit; Great Tit; Coal Tit; Greenfinch; Nuthatch.
Nedern Brook well flooded due to recent rain.

Main sighting: Curlews!

Went to Goldcliff at first light in the hope of reading Curlew rings on the high tide (12.4 metres at 08h21). 57 Curlews had spent the night on the first lagoon, where water levels were lowish, and observation conditions excellent. Disappointingly, I could not see any rings at all, though it’s good to have confirmation that Curlews do actually spend the night on the lagoon when tides are high. At the same time, Chris Wells was at Peterstone and read eight rings among the 250 Curlews on the high tide roost there.

Other birds of interest at Goldcliff were a very large flock of Black-tailed Godwits, which had also spent the night and were feeding hungrily at first light, though they flew out over the seawall at about 08h00. I estimated the flock at 1500 individuals. Also a roosting flock of 70 Knot, and quite large and agitated flocks of about 500 Lapwings, perhaps recently arrived migrants.

Main sighting: Chiffchaff in song

Bullfinches, chaffinches, blue tits, jackdaws, dunnock, rook, mistle thrush, crows, cettis warbler, great tits, wrens, herring gulls, blackbirds, water rail and woodpigeons. From the hide – 2nd and 3rd water rails calling,, moorhens, mallards, 8 gadwall (a good count here), 1 swan, kingfisher, stock dove, little grebe, teal, magpie and green woodpecker yaffling. Elsewhere – robin, chiffchaff in full song, song thrushes, raven, long tailed tits and house sparrows.

Main sighting: Merlin

Merlin, Kestrel, Peregrine and group of four Red Kites over. Red Grouse flushed. Report of a Goshawk narrowly failing to catch a rat on a bird feeder.

Main sighting: Woodcock

Woodcock flushed from roost. Goshawk over ridge, pursued by a Raven. Sparrowhawk soaring.

Main sighting: Adult goshawk

M when mountain

Main sighting: Goosanders

Two females fishing on the river