Sightings

Main sighting: Female Goosander & 6 ducklings

At 4.00 pm saw the above no sign of the male

Main sighting: Cuckoo

2 singing over a mile apart on NE slopes. Also 1 Red Grouse calling towards summit, about 10 Stonechats (none around mast compound as before), 1 Mistle Thrush plus, slightly strangely, Reed Bunting singing from sedges on moor top. No Wheatears seen at locations where they were last year. Usual numerous Skylarks and Mipits.

Main sighting: Wood Warbler

At least 3 Wood Warbler singing

Main sighting: Garganey / Spoonbill

En-route to reserve – pheasants, woodpigeons, starlings, cormorant, wrens, blackcaps, crows, herring gulls, jackdaws, swallows, magpies, whitethroat’s, goldfinch, song thrush, chiffchaffs, moorhen, mallards, lesser black-backed gulls and collard dove. Hide 1: Canada and greylag geese (numerous chicks), 3 little ringed plovers, raven and male stonechat. Hide 2: most productive again with 2 curlew, cettis, reed warblers, 206 black tailed godwits, 9 lapwing, 25 knot, 10 avocet, heron, 5 redshanks, 9 ringed plovers, 18 dunlin, 3 oystercatchers, coot, black headed gulls, female marsh harrier along the distant seawall, 1 little egret and cuckoo heard only (twice). Snipe platform: 1 swan, 15 gadwall, pair of tufteds and 1 lone male. Linnets en-route to sea wall: pied wagtail only from the wall. Hide 3: spoonbill showing well on two occasions doing a circular fly-over, 2 male garganey on the far bank with a 3rd male to the left and in the water, lesser whitethroats, 1 whimbrel, 34 more avocet (one pair with 4 chicks), 14 more gadwall, 4 teal, 6 shoveler, 2 more pairs of tufteds, male wigeon, 1 more little ringed plover and shelduck. Back at hide 2: great tit and 1 ruff. Other: speckled wood, 2 peacock and the 1st hairy dragonfly of the season.

Main sighting: Garganey

Male Garganey, Spoonbill, Bittern and at least 11 fledged Avocets.

Main sighting: Cuckoo

Male cuckoo, swift, 2 meadow pipits, 2 skylarks, numerous stonechats, 3 ravens, 2 willow warblers, 2 swallows.
On Bryn Arw, a buzzard, 2 red kites, a green woodpecker, a stock dove, 4 stonechats, numerous skylarks.

Main sighting: Sparrowhawk

A recce for the forthcoming GOS walk on Saturday 17th May. Only 22 species noted which were: Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Woodpigeon, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Jay, Carrion Crow, Raven, Greenfinch, Goldfinch.
NOTE: For those attending the walk for the first time- at the bus turning circle at Upper Cwmbran there are two signs for Blaen Bran parking, please follow the left one (DO NOT TURN RIGHT UP THE STEEP HILL). The walk is over rough and uneven ground initially. We will be taking a slightly different route from previous years to improve walking conditions in the later stages.

Main sighting: Hobby

Hobby flying high over this morning, heading up river.

Main sighting: Wood warbler

Heard in beeches on track from car park

Main sighting: Disturbance

There will be some disturbance on Thursday, between 12pm and 1pm when we lower the water level on Bec’s Lagoon. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Main sighting: Cuckoo

Cuckoo heard, a buzzard, a song thrush, a blackcap, also 40 sand martins.

Main sighting: Wood Warbler

Wood Warbler singing in mixed softwood/hardwoods.