Sightings

Main sighting: Black Swan

3pm, after a short walk around Caldicot Castle grounds, I saw a lone Black Swan on a large flooded meadow off the Nedern Brook, not far from the entrance car park.

Main sighting: Hen Harrier / Bittern

En-route to hides – blue tits, crows, magpies, sparrows, starlings, collard dove, blackbirds, chaffinch and woodpigeons. Today redwings far outnumbered fieldfares. Hide one – teal numbers well up currently at 245, 330 lapwing, Canada geese, 6 redshanks, 3 swans, 40 greylags, , 222 wigeon, 46 shoveler, pair of peregrines calling and chasing each other and a distant female marsh harrier. Hide two – bittern showed at 0900, flew off from in front of hide at 0924 towards Red Barn, cettis, ravens, 6 gadwall, 5 shelduck, and meadow pipits. Marsh platform – 1 male and 3 female tufteds and coot. Seawall – 1 oystercatcher only, 24 curlew, 5 grey plover wiht 2 dunlin mixed in. Hide three – long-tailed duck still showing, 21 more shoveler, 15 more wigeon, 2 cormorants, barnacle goose, male pintail, mallards, stonechats, wren, kestrel and the highlight of the morning – a male hen harrier that passed right in front of the hide and headed across towards the Point. Back at hide two – 1 black-tailed godwit

Main sighting: Greenfinch

At least nine Greenfinches and a Reed Bunting in the garden this morning.

Main sighting: Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck. In left water body, behind the Island

Main sighting: Linnet

A 250-strong flock of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and c.150 Linnet in the seed crop and garden this morning; c.20 Linnet skating on the pond (water available nearby), Brambling under the feeders and a few Reed Buntings in the hedge.

Main sighting: Species round-up

En-route to hides – little egret, numerous blackbirds, woodpigeons, magpies, crows, house sparrows, ravens, goldfinches, starlings, buzzard, and high numbers of fieldfares at least 500 – 600 with around 200 redwings at least. Hide one – the female merlin was perched on the fence to the right of the hide. All lagoons frozen, 120 teal huddled in the right hand corner. Hide two – 21 greylags, 176 lapwing with 107 dunlin grouped in the center, later joined by 61 black-tailed godwits, Canada geese, 12 curlew over, moorhen, 7 gadwall, 1 shelduck, pair of cettis in the brambles, 2 mute swans, 12 long tailed tits in the hedge line and a pheasant calling. Seawall – stonechat pair, 2 skylarks, meadow pipits, 49 wigeon. 3 more little egrets, mallards and 23 more curlew. Hide three – the female merlin was sat on the concrete post opposite the hide affording great views, 4 shoveler, raven, 2 oystercatchers, robin, dunnock and blue tits. Back at hide two – 2 snipe and female kestrel. Back at hide one – 7 song thrush feeding together and 2 more pairs of stonechats. Notes re the merlin – she frequents the lagoons and just over the sea wall, then heads off in the direction of the seawall tea rooms, reappears around a hour and half later, hunts along the right side from hide 1 to hide 3 then goes back over towards the cafe area. Hope this helps.

Main sighting: Crossbill

Two birds flew over (notable regular occurrences of crossbills, up to several at a time flying over High Cross and Rogerstone through the autumn).

Main sighting: Mandarin Duck

A male Mandarin on Machine Pond was a surprise on a dismal murky afternoon. The first I’ve seen on any of the Heads of the Valleys ponds.

Main sighting: Merlin and species roundup

8am start, 42 species. En-route to hides – colard dove, starlings, herring gulls, magpies, crows, blackbirds, redwings, fieldfares, woodpigeons, chaffinch, siskin and by hide 1 a male reed bunting and a chiffchaff feeding. Hide one – Greylags, 299 lapwing, 159 teal, 70 shoveler, 50 wigeon, pair of kestrels perched on fence line right of the hide and the adult and 1st year female marsh harriers hunting. Hide two – Moorhen, cettis, 2 cormorants, mallards, 3 gadwall, coot, raven and pied wagtail. Seawall – House sparrows, 11 curlew only, 16 oystercatchers, 11 shelduck only, black headed gulls, meadow pipits, 35 dunlin flying past and a high count of 351 Canada geese. Hide three – 19 more shoveler, 9 more gadwall, 23 more wigeon, 28 more teal, pair tufteds, pair stonechats, wren, buzzard, ls black-backed gulls and a female merlin flew across becs lagoon then perched for some time on the fence line left of the hide.

Main sighting: Jack Snipe

Jack Snipe flushed from the edge of the bog below the old Brynmawr reservoir. Pair of Stonechats on perimeter fence posts.

Main sighting: Goldcliff roundup

Morning visit, 48 species. En-route to hides – robins, numerous fieldfares, wrens, large flocks of woodpigeons, crows, blackbirds, pied wagtail, smaller numbers of redwings, blue tit, magpie, goldcrest, kingfisher flying along the reen and 4 stock doves overhead. Hide one – 12 greylags, mallards, 5 knot, 224 teal (numbers building up now), 59 wigeon, single dunlin, 2 shelduck, 6 shoveler, 6 gadwall, 2 female marsh harriers hunting on and off all morning together (adult and 1st-year), skylark and starlings. En-route to next hide – cettis, chaffinch, long tailed tits, black headed and herring gulls. Hide two – 2 curlew, 1 heron, 2 mute swans, meadow pipits, male stonechat, 2 snipe, 2 cormorants and a female sparrowhawk which at one point harassed the adult marsh harrier. Marsh platform – coot, lt grebes and 5 more gadwall. Seawall – 31 more curlew, ls black-backed and 1 gt black-backed gulls, 183 Canada geese and a single grey plover. Hide three – barnacle goose and female peregrine which put up the 201 lapwing which did the ‘pumping’ action (i.e. flying high as a tight group to prevent the falcon diving from above).

Main sighting: Brambling

Male Brambling around all morning with many Chaffinches