Sightings

Main sighting: Warblers and redwings

En-route to hides: starlings (several very large groups heading across from the roost site at Uskmouth), pheasants, crows, chaffinch, woodpigeons, magpies, moorhen, robin, blue tits, light-morph buzzard, dunnock, jackdaws and blackbirds. Hide 1: Canada geese, 136 teal, 34 lapwing, mallards, 6 shoveler and distant male stonechat. En-route to hide 2, collard dove, herring and lesser black-backed gulls and 6 passing redwings. Hide 2: cormorant, 90 wigeon, wren, cettis warbler, 15 greylags and 6 rooks. Snipe platform – 12 swans, coot, 12 more shoveler, 8 gadwall, 30 more teal, linnets, water rail squalling, stonechat pair, great tit and single little grebe. Seawall: 6 pied wagtails (the males in pristine condition), siskin, skylarks, 27 oystercatchers, 19 curlew only, 86 shelduck, 112 more lapwings, 15 more wigeon and meadow pipits. 2nd water rail squealing en-route to hide. Hide 3: stock dove, 28 more teal, 1 heron, 1 little egret and 1 willow warbler. Back by the snipe platform was a stunning male blackcap, chiffchaff and 13 long tailed tits with a single redwing feeding on hawthorn berries. 2nd chiffchaff back at the car park. Other: several male common darters.

Main sighting: Pintail

15 Pintail showing well in the late afternoon sunshine, on the flooded Nedern Brook. 14 Canada Geese; 14 Coots; 6 Gadwall; 5 Herring Gulls; 1 Common Gull; 20 Mallards; 4 Teal; 5 Tufted Ducks; 35 Wigeon; Mute Swan (juv).

Main sighting: Redwings

6 Redwings early this morning, on my lawn, feeding. 12 others flying overhead calling.

Main sighting: Long-eared Owls

Two “eared owls”, most likely long-eared, flew alongside the A449 at treetop height about 1km south of the Usk turnoff/A472 at dusk c.6.15pm. They were flying close together, possibly in a chase, seen silhouetted against the sky.

Main sighting: Crossbills

About a dozen crossbills feeding in tops of conifers. North eastern end of Buckholt woods near car park off Mansons Lane

Main sighting: Goldcrest

Pair of goldcrest in garden hedge. PUC is also indicating 2 detections of firecrest but not confirmed visually. Other species this morning are redwing, fieldfare, green woodpecker, kingfisher, robin, house sparrow, long-tailed tit, dunnock, blackbird, wren, kingfisher, carrion crow, tawny owl, jackdaw, blue tit, siskin, great tit, rook, mistle thrush, moorhen pied and grey wagtail, raven, Eurasian treecreeper, song thrush, Canada goose, goldfinch, magpie and a single swallow.

Main sighting: Yellow-browed Warbler

Apologies for late report. 1 YBW calling (coal tit type call) as it made its way through the tall hazels in our garden. Not relocated.

Main sighting: Brambling

About 6 Bramblings including colourful males feeding on Rowan at the top of the Blorenge. I posted this 3 days ago, but for some reason the system ignored me!

Main sighting: Highlights

En-route to hides: robins, woodpigeons, pheasants, Canada geese, buzzard (light-morph regular), moorhen, 13 long tailed tits and blue tit. Hide 1: Single avocet and dunlin, 4 teal, 10 wigeon, dunnock, 82 lapwing flying across and 64 (un-ringed) curlew flushed from lagoon 3 by a jogger in a luminous top running the full length of the sea wall. One curlew has a badly damaged leg which is bent backwards. Cettis, magpies and 2 chiffchaffs en-route to hide 2. At hide 2, 29 more teal, stock dove, 8 shoveler, female stonechat, jackdaws and blackbird. Snipe platform: 171 more teal, 10 more shoveler, 21 gadwall, coot, black headed gulls, 26 swans, mallards, chaffinch, pied wagtail, cormorant and 2 swallows. En-route to seawall – skylarks. Seawall: 10 shoveler flying in off the sea, 1 great black-backed gull with herring gulls and meadow pipits. Hide 3: wren, 18 oystercatchers, 1 little egret, female kestrel and linnets. Back by snipe platform were 2 pairs stonechats (both males chasing each other), goldfinches, 2 jays overhead and a bullfinch calling. Other: 2 hawkers (possibly migrant) and small tortoiseshell butterfly.

Main sighting: Red Kite

1 being mobbed by several jackdaws near the solar farm.

Main sighting: Bramblings

About 6 birds ( they were quite far away!) feeding on Rowan at the top of the hill this morning

Main sighting: Peregrine Falcon

3 Peregrines flying together on ridge then went high in sky