Sightings

Main sighting: Merlin

Morning visit was very quiet a few fieldsfares and stonechat on the way to Pwll du along the tumble.Single Peregrine falcon perched on the cliff of the quarry in the usual spot. Very pleased to get a great view of a female Merlin that flew along the cliff edge and passed below me.

Main sighting: 2 Snow Buntings

2 Snow Buntings just before the mile marker.

Main sighting: Wood Pigeon

1000+ Wood Pigeon moving through this morning, 100+ Fieldfare over!

Main sighting: Firecrest

A single Firecrest feeding in my garden this morning. A wonderful first!

Main sighting: Short-eared Owl

Dusk visit. Around 130 Fieldfares coming to roost on the moor. Pair of Ravens in the lone tree. At 4.50 pm, in near darkness, a Short-eared Owl appeared, hunting over the area below the road.

Main sighting: Fieldfare

1600hrs – Large flock of Fieldfares (circa 400) gathered around the quarry before descending into the trees to roost.

Main sighting: Water Rail

Car park – hide: jackdaws, pheasant, starlings, 3 redwings, crows, herring gulls, magpies, chaffinches, woodpigeons, 2 fly-by mute swans, moorhen, blackbird, wren and blue tit. Hide 1: Canada geese and 9 lapwing. Hide 2: cettis, 2 shelduck, 64 teal, 10 shoveler, 2 wigeon, 51 more lapwing with 26 dunlin mixed in, pied wagtails, 5 more mute swans, 1 heron, lesser black-backed gulls and 2 buzzards (1 light and 1 dark morph). Snipe platform: 526 black-tailed godwits which by 8am had taken off in small flocks heading high, meadow pipits, stonechat pair, ravens, chiffchaff contact call and greylags. Seawall: high tide and no salt marsh visible – more shelducks on the water. Remains oh hide 3: good count of 218 curlew with 1 redshank, 1 grey plover and 3 knot mixed in, water rail calling, flock of passing long tailed tits and mallards. Back at hide 2 the dunlin flock had increased to 317 with 3 juv ringed plovers mixed in. En-route back to car hide, kestrel seen, 2 mistle thrushes and 1 fieldfare.

Main sighting: Cettis Warbler

Cettis Warbler heard, this is the first time I have heard one in this area. Also Wigeon numbers increasing, 3 Great Crested Grebes, Grey Heron and 2 Cormorants. Brief sight of Kingfisher and also heard Goldcrest. 2 mute Swans back in residence. Also today Goosander along with good numbers of Coot and Tufted duck.

Main sighting: Great White Egret

Two Great White Egrets flew low over Gilwern heading south-east around 10:30 this morning.

Main sighting: Disturbance

Work to repair fencing and gateways damaged in the fire will take place this week. Work will not take place around high tide. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Main sighting: Barn owl

Spotted Barn owl hunting over the fields in Lower Machen today.

Main sighting: Fieldfare

Apologies for the late entry, but nice flock of 60+ in the fields above Mynydd Iswlyn on this date, no redwings mixed in.