Sightings

Main sighting: Red kite

Red kite happy and hovering for atleast 2 minutes watching something below. Couldnt take any pictures as was driving and couldnt stay to watch either unfortunately! Lovely siting!

Main sighting: White-fronted Geese

Car park – hides: crows, herring gulls, collard dove, mallards, heron, blackbirds, lesser black-backed gulls, cormorant, buzzard, 7 fly-by mute swans and woodpigeons. Hide 1: Canada geese, 3 white-fronted geese, 6 shelduck, 90 teal and 58 wigeon. Hide 2: robin, 2 coot, female marsh harrier quartering, 13 lapwing, 3 skylarks, 2 greylags and magpies. Snipe platform: 14 more white-fronted geese, blue tit, 25 more coot, 3 gadwall, 1 little grebe and starlings. Seawall: 4 redshanks, 4 oystercatchers, 25 curlew, 26 more shelduck, stonechat pair, 6 grey plovers, 1 black-tailed godwit and black headed gulls. Back at hide 1: meadow pipits, 4 snipe, female kestrel and a pied wagtail. Gate looking into field: 6 fieldfare and 2 redwings feeding, berries seem to have gone along the hedgerow so they are after alternative food now.

Main sighting: Short eared Owl

One SEO on a fence post between the Curlew Hide and Snipe Screen. Also 14 White Fronted Geese on far side of Monks, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel. No visible waders although Curlew calling as was a Song Thrush. Treacherous underfoot trying to access the Curlew Hide and I didn’t go beyond there.

Main sighting: Snipe

Out of county,12-Snipe along the east side of the spit,this is where they are usually found.Also 3-Grey Herons perched in the tree tops on the island.They bred successfully on the island last year,as did Little Egrets.

Main sighting: Common gulls

170 common gulls

Main sighting: Marsh Harrier

Marsh Harrier (female)
Goosander (male)
Little Egret (1)
Bar-tailed Godwit (3)
Black-tailed Godwit (c40)
Snipe (2)
Grey Plover (3)
Lapwing (c100)
Knot (5)
Dunlin (c500)
Redshank (c200)
Oystercatcher (7)
Curlew (5)
Wigeon (c200)
Teal (c200)
Shoveler (20)
Pintail (50)
Shelduck (c100)

Main sighting: Crossbill

5 Crossbill (in flight with the familiar ‘chipping’ call), 2 Woodcock flushed

Also Chaffinch, Siskin and Redpoll

Main sighting: White Fronted Geese

Only hide 1 visited as heavy rain coming in. En-route to hide: chiffchaff contact call (by bridge), collard dove, woodpigeons, herring gulls, chaffinches, blue tits, starlings, crows, goldfinches, buzzard, fieldfares, redwings (both in low numbers), magpies, song thrush in full song and moorhen. Hide 1: Canada geese, 2 white-fronted geese later joined by 5 more, 51 shoveler (good increase in numbers), 5 graylag’s, mallards, 96 teal (more flying around lagoon 3), cormorants, 52 wigeon, 3 snipe, female marsh harrier and pied wagtail. Robin and blackbird back at car park just as rain started.

Main sighting: White-Fronted Geese

AM Visit.
Nice bit of sunshine –
Highlight – White Fronted Geese x 15.( on Priors and grass near Becs and the remains of the Seawall Hide.
Others – Marsh Harrier x 2 ( M/F) , Buzzard, Kestrel x 2 ( M/F), Fieldfare x 30 + Redwing x 10+, Gadwall x 6, Shoveler x 30+ , Teal x 30+, Coot x 10 +, Mute Swan x 1, Canada Goose x 20+, Greylag Goose x 20 +, Skylark x 1, Stonechat x 2 ( 2 Pairs), Meadow Pippit flock x 20, Lapwing Flock 200+, Peregrine x 1 ( seen by another visitor), Blue Tits,Great Tits, Starling and Chaffinch. Magpies, Carrion Crows and Woodpigeons. Redshank x 2 , Curlews x 6 , Shelduck x 6 and Oystercatcher x 5.

Main sighting: Ring necked Parakeet

Ring-Necked Parakeet heard, then seen, flying over Marlborough Road school. 0900

Main sighting: CANCELLATION OF OUTDOOR EVENT

Hi All,

The strong winds and rain forecast for tomorrow mean we have had to postpone the bird ringing demonstration at the Newport Wetlands. We will look to reschedule later in the year.

Kind Regards

Richard Clarke.

Main sighting: Mandarin

Five Mandarin drake + female mixed in with Mallard on pond near Woodside house in Pen y Fan