Sightings

Main sighting: Hobby

Hobby

Main sighting: Merlin

7:30 this evening Female Merlin hunting unsuccessfully along the Tumble chasing linnets.

Main sighting: red kite

At 1800 hrs red kite flying high over Chepstow heading east

Main sighting: House martins & Swifts

On a house opposite the garage on Brecon road in Abergavenny there were between 10-20 house martins and 10 swifts in the sky.

Main sighting: red kite

a single red kite spotted heading east over Chepstow at 1800 hrs.

Main sighting: Swifts

Party of three Swifts screaming over the Narth.

Main sighting: Wood Warbler

Wood Warbler singing, near dusk; Blackcap; Willow Warblers; Wren; Chiffchaff; Song Thrush; Siskins; Woodcock; Nightjars; Blackbird; Robin.

Main sighting: Little Stint

Dawn visit – en-route to hides: robin, crows, wren, 2 chiffchaffs, pheasants, magpies, mallards, buzzard (light individual), blackcap, whitethroat, woodpigeons, lesser whitethroat, blackbirds and dunnock. Hide one – 11 little egrets including two fully fledged juveniles, greylags and Canada geese, avocet, 4 lapwing, 1 shelduck, 6 redshanks, 2 oystercatchers, coot, cettis, 2 gadwall, 1 shoveler, 2 cormorants and reed buntings. Hide two – 2 herons, reed warbler, long tailed tits, and lesser black-backed gulls. Snipe platform – 16 mute swans, 2 pairs little grebes, 2 pairs tufteds with 2 other males also present, meadow pipit, cuckoo calling and showing well, goldfinches and linnets. Seawall – single curlew and starlings. Hide three – male pintail still present, 15 more gadwall, single dunlin, 1 stock dove and 22 black-tailed godwits. Back at hide one – 7 ringed plovers with 9 dunlin, 1 little stint mixed in and jackdaws.

Main sighting: Little egret

Little egret feeding in the shallow water.

Main sighting: Wood Pigeon

At least 64-Wood Pigeons were on the salt marsh before flying inland.I thought this an unusual sighting for the time of year.Also,a good number of Swallows. 14h30-15h30

Main sighting: Swift

GOS walk at Collister Pill saw the following species: Collard Dove , Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Shelduck, Pochard, Linnet, Whitethroat, Swift, House Martin, Swallow, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Buzzard, Kestrel, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Skylark, Dunnock, Starling, Pied Wagtail, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Sedge Warbler, Magpie, Little Egret, Meadow Pipit Wren, Robin. Also an unidentified Pipit/Lark on foreshore.

Main sighting: Lesser Redpoll

A beautiful (and unexpected) Lesser Redpoll in a small tree near a bog-pond. Also: Mallard
Woodpigeon, Common Swift, Carrion Crow, Skylark, Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler (lots of them), Chiffchaff, Goldcrest (Elusive, but loud enough I eventually caught sight of him), Wren, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Siskin who seem to be expanding their numbers here this year.