Sightings

Main sighting: Hen Harrier

En-route to hides: blackbirds, woodpigeons, starlings, lesser whitethroat, blue tits, great tit, great spotted woodpecker, crows, magpies, pied wagtails, swallows, song thrush, lesser black-backed and herring gulls (in field), pheasant, wren, goldcrest, whitethroat, reed warbler, male tufted in reen, mallards and chiffchaff. Hide 2: skylark, 24 black tailed godwits, 9 lapwing, Canada geese, 17 ringed plovers, 6 shelduck, 3 oystercatchers, coot (with chick), greylag geese and female marsh harrier. En-route to seawall: female hen harrier and low and flying straight towards Goldcliff Point, reed bunting and stonechats. Seawall: 1 curlew and jackdaws. Hide 3: kestrel on the hide roof, juvenile linnets, male cuckoo perched on top of the distant brambles, 166 more black tailed godwits, 10 avocet, 6 redshanks, 3 shoveler, sedge warblers, ravens, 1 whimbrel, 1 little ringed plover, cormorant and little egret. Marsh platform: little grebe. Back at hide 2: buzzard, 2 little ringed plovers and 3 swans.

Main sighting: waders

At 1330hrs along the tideline a mixed flock of @ 350 + ringed plover and dunlin.

Main sighting: Sanderling

Another fairly quiet morning: En-route to hides: woodpigeons, herring gulls, crows,, starlings, pheasants, wrens, blackcap, avocet, blue tits, crows, mallards, swallows, goldfinches, blackbirds, whitethroat, chiffchaff, magpies, reed warbler, swan and water vole crossing the reen just before hide 2. Hide 2: linnets, 91 black tailed godwits, 4 dunlin, 4 lapwing, lesser and 1 greater black backed gulls, 4 avocet, Canada geese, 4 redshanks, 2 oystercatchers, 2 ringed plovers, heron, 4 shelduck and 3 skylarks. Snipe platform: juvenile stonechat, pair of little grebes with 1 chick and 1 shoveler. Seawall: green woodpecker calling from the farm area, 1 curlew only, 74 distant dunlin. Hide 3: coot, 4 more shoveler, 131 more black tailed godwits, greylag geese, pair tufted ducks and a lone male, pochard pair, 9 gadwall, 1 little ringed plover,  more lapwing, 4 ravens, sedge warbler singing from the brambles, reed buntings, female pintail with 4 chicks in-tow, meadow pipits and 1 little egret. A pair of shoveler had an astonishing 17 chicks. Back at hide 2 the high tide had brought in more waders with 222 dunlin, 74 ringed plovers, pair of knot and 2 sanderling (1 a juvenile) all feeding together. Female marsh harrier, pied wagtails and buzzard also seen.

Main sighting: Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher and Common Redstart in woods; Garden Warbler on ridge towards Sugar Loaf

Main sighting: Swifts and Swallows

In general area during the walk –

3 x Swift and 4 x Swallow feeding whilst flying over the bracken.

Stonechat, Willow Warbler and Wheatears.

Main sighting: Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher observed on stonewall that borders the path leading down to the Punchbowl.
Other species seen and heard during the walk in the area –
Wheatear, Tree Pipit, Common Redstart, Linnet, Cuckoo, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Wren, Carrion Crow, Green Woodpecker, Woodpigeon and Buzzard

Main sighting: Swifts

6 x Swift observed flying over Griffithstown in the Kemys Street area.

Main sighting: chicks

Early AM visit to Goldcliff Lagoons.
Swallows – please be respectful in Hide 1 as a section is cornered off as a pair of Swallows are nesting in it. Another pair of Swallows were roosting in Hide 2.
Fantastic to see a significant number of Avocet Chicks that are the most mature I have ever seen at Goldcliff in my experience. I counted 4 on Monks and another three or four on Becs Lagoons.
There were two flocks of Black-Tailed Godwits – a smaller flock of 15+ birds on Monks and then a larger flock of at least 50+ on Becs Lagoon.
At high tide a mixed flock of Dunlins and Ringed Plover 60+ were present on Monks although I also saw a flock of 10+ on Becs separately.
On the foreshore there were a 6 Curlews.
All around the reserve warblers were singing well.
Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Cettis, Chiff Chaff and Sedge Warblers.
Stonechats and Linnets were on the fences leading down to the Seawall Hide.
I watched a Little Grebe feeding a single chick on Priors Lagoon.
Only raptor seen was a Buzzard hunting on the edges of Monk and being mobbed by Redshank and Lapwing. Plenty of Corvids – Magpies and Carrion. Crows.
On becs Lagoons – Ringed Plover, Avocet and Lapwing chicks were running about with adults keeping an eye on them. Flock of Starlings were drinking the water on Becs Lagoon.
Dcuks – Gadwall, Mallard – the weird hybrid white Mallard Duck appears to have had several ducklings.
Pintail Duck on Becs Lagoons had at least 4 chicks following it.
Other highlights –
Common Blue Damselfly mating, Skipper and Speckled Wood Butterflies.

Main sighting: Osprey

Osprey flew over Coed Eva this am. heading south.

Main sighting: Two Male Redstarts

In the Olchon valley was a red kite, meadow pipit, raven, tree pipit on the branch of a hawthorn tree, two male redstarts and in a secret location a fox was sleeping on a path in the sunlight with four young cubs which then scuppered into rocks – a den ! .
At Upper Blaen also in the Olchon valley a cuckoo sat on larch trees calling, there were house martins, swallows, a treecreeper and a pied wagtail.

Main sighting: Peregrine and Spotted flycatcher

12 people attended the morning walk at Upper Cwm
36 species recorded with highlights being the fly over Peregrine,, Swifts, House Martins, Swallows, Redstart, Spotted flycatcher ,Garden Warbler, Great spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Jay, Sparrowhawk, Mistle thrush, Song thrush,Blackcap, Red kite, Nuthatch.

Main sighting: Cuckoo

In terms of species variety it was quieter today. En-route to hides: woodpigeons, herring gulls, wren, blue tits, pheasants, lesser whitethroat, crows, chiffchaff, blackbirds, swallows, goldfinches, reed warbler, moorhen and great tits. Hide 1: skylark, Canada geese, mallards, 3 shelduck, 2 redshanks and 2 lapwing. En-route to hide 2: whitethroat. Hide 2: heron, 7 avocet, 6 more redshanks (pair with chicks), 2 dunlin, 2 ringed plovers, 2 shoveler, 3 gadwall, 2 oystercatchers, cettis, magpies, lesser black-backed gulls, 1 stock dove, starlings, 2 black tailed godwits, black headed gulls, 2 cormorants, 2 little egret, pied wagtails and a distant buzzard. Snipe platform: coot, shoveler pair with 2 chicks, 2 male and 1 female tufted ducks and 1 swan. Nothing different from the seawall. Hide 3: male stonechat, linnets, 20 more gadwall, 4 more ringed plovers, 162 more black tailed godwits, meadow pipits and sedge warbler singing. No sign of the garganey or pink footed goose today. En-route to car park – cuckoo overhead quite high heading in the direction of Goldcliff Point.