Sightings

Main sighting: Waders

Late afternoon walk to Collister Pill and return to Magor – female sparrowhawk hunting the reen and hedgerows, a few redwing and fieldfares, murmeration of 500 starling around the pillbox, small numbers of little egrets and at the mouth of Magor Pill on the flood tide, 15 redshank, 25 grey plover, 150 dunlin, 2 GBB gulls and at dusk a peregrine over the foreshore.

Main sighting: waders

1400 hrs low tide, very little on foreshore to Collister Pill, female sparrowhawk over, a few redwings and fieldfares in the hedgerows but on the return to Magor Pill with the tide on the flow, increasing numbers of thrushes, several egrets, a few shelduck and at the mouth of the pill 25 grey plover, 20 redshanks, @ 150 dunlin, 2 GBB gulls and a peregrine over the foreshore heading to Caldicot.

Main sighting: Raptor activity

Blackbirds, larger numbers of redwings today, magpies, Canada geese, wrens (5), fieldfares (big umbers), robin, crows, herring gulls, mallards, cettis, 46 greylags, pheasant. Snipe Platform – good number of teal (201) and shoveler (52), 9 mute swans, 3 gadwall, starlings, chaffinch, woodpigeons, pair stonechats, meadow pipits, blue tit. Marsh Platform – 281 black-tailed godwits, 81 lapwing, water rail showing quite well, 6 dunlin in the top left corner, one with a damaged left leg, pied wagtails, 8 snipe, 2 little egrets. Seawall – curlew, oystercatchers, lesser black-backed gulls, black headed gulls, house sparrows, single redshank. Hide 3 – linnet flock and skylarks. Hide 2 – good raptor spectacle with a buzzard at the edge of the island eating food remains, taken over by ravens. Female marsh harrier quartering the lagoons with a female kestrel chasing a male peregrine, then the peregrine chasing the kestrel, a male kestrel appeared, followed by a female peregrine all flying around together with some aerial tactics. Prior to this a female sparrowhawk was also present from hide 3.

Main sighting: Goosander

1 male goosander

Main sighting: Merlin

Excellent view of female Merlin perched on a post near the old reservoir. Pair of Stonechats still on their territory in the gorse. A few Meadow Pipits. Winter thrushes (and berries) mostly gone. Red Kite and Sparrowhawk over. No Woodpigeon movements as yet.

Main sighting: Dartford Warbler

Low-tide: Dartford Warbler (first winter), Teal 215 lots of Black-tailed Godwits also Clouded Yellow 1 Red Admiral 2 and Common Darter 1

Main sighting: Wildfowl & Waders

Short walk along The Moorings which is a short trail around one of the Usk’s meanders. 9 wigeoen, 2 teal, 7 mallard, 10 lapwing, 20 redshank, 1 dunlin,5 magpies, 2 pied wagtail, a few redwing, 2 song thrush, a few blackbirds, 3 reed bunting, flock of goldfinches, 1 stonechat.

Main sighting: Water Rail

1 water rail in dense reeds, 5 mute swans (2 adult, 3 juvs), flock of long tailed tits, 1 bullfinch, groups of mallards and moorhens along canal.

Main sighting: Wheatear

A very confiding female Wheatear near the old reservoir. Female Merlin flying low and fast over the moor failed to flush anything.

Main sighting: Swallow

2 swallows passing mid-morning. Late afternoon over Blackwood, female peregrine tried her luck at a lone woodpigeon but failed (1550hrs).

Main sighting: High tide roost spectacular

Huge numbers of oystercatchers, redshank, curlews, dunlin (hundreds of each); also BHGs, shelduck at Peterstone on the roost with the very high tide today; also good number of shoveler, wigeon, teal, mallard; a few pintail; great black backed gulls; 1000 starlings; 6 little egrets; 1 grey heron, 1 kestrel; 2 grey plover; cormorants; coots (golf club lake); swans with cygnets; few ringed plover; big flocks of fieldfares and redwings; meadow pipits and pied wagtails; lots of corvids.
AND a crimson speckled moth

Main sighting: Pintail

Dawn – 10.00. Chaffinches, skylarks, moorhens, crows, lots of fieldfares again but only 2 redwings, cettis calling. Snipe platform – 2 mute swans, robin, wren, 1 greenshank, 1 heron, 9 shoveler, Canada geese, pheasant, spoonbill still present, pair of kestrels, magpies, 1,200+ starlings, 19 snipe, 2 little egrets, 581 black-tailed godwits in 2 separate groups, linnets, excellent count of 178 knot, woodpigeons (large flocks high overhead), pied wagtails, pair stonechats, 93 lapwing, good count now of 103 teal, raven, 103 dunlin roosting but 206 seen in total, female sparrowhawk hunting (twice), blue tit, 1 ruff, meadow pipits, black headed gulls. Seawall – curlew, shelduck, ls black-backed gulls, 12 pintail, gadwall, cormorant. Blackbird, chiffchaff contact call from the hedge line. Hide two – 5 grey plover with 19 ringed plovers, pair of buzzards, goldfinches, jackdaws and collard doves.