Main sighting: Dipper

Dipper seen on this, now fast flowing brook.

Chiffchaffs singing, Bulfinch,

Main sighting: Cuckoo

First sighting this year of a cuckoo on the Tumble this evening.

Main sighting: Osprey

Highlight of a 5 hour walk, an Osprey at The Bryn which put on a display of diving (but didn’t seem to catch anything) then flew off NW up the Usk valley and eventually lost to view, also 1 Green Sand, 3 Common Sand, 1 Oystercatcher, some kind of plover, plus 1 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare, a handful of Willow Warblers, a singing Reed Bunting, 6 Mandarin, a pair of Tufted Duck on one of the pools, c.4 Kingfisher. 62 species in total.

Main sighting: Great white egret

Dawn visit – en-route to hides: robins, wrens, pheasants, 2 blackcaps, 2 chiffchaffs, great tit, starling and buzzard. Hide 1: Canada geese, 17 avocet, 12 shelduck, blackbirds, woodpigeons, skylarks, 5 lapwing, coot. 86 black-tailed godwits – female peregrine came in and the flock flew off, 1 singled out and almost caught, only 1 remained and relocated to lagoon three, 7 redshanks, 2 spotted redshanks joined by a 3rd and almost in black plumage, 1 ruff, 7 gadwall, 12 shoveler, 2 cettis, lesser black-backed gulls, 4 cormorants and 5 swallows. Hide two – pied wagtails, 1 white wagtail, linnet pair, 10 teal, magpies, moorhen, kestrel, mallards, gt black-backed gull, 4 oystercatchers, black headed gull, 1 more swallow and greylags. Snipe platform – male stonechat, 2 herons, great white egret flew across to hide 3 then swifly flew off going past the power station, 1 lt egret, 6 more swallows with 2 sand martins mixed in, 8 mute swans and reed buntings. Seawall – unusual high count of 56 crows together, 8 curlew, 17 more avocet, siskin overhead, dark-bellied brent goose that joined the others on the saltings, and brief views of a harbour porpoise. Hide three – 13 more redshank and a willow warbler singing.

Main sighting: Great White Egret

2-GWEs together over the reeds and into the reeds.26-Avocets on and around the first island.11h00-13h00.Also i have reconnected the gate release handle.

Main sighting: Reed Warbler

1 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warblers,my firsts for this year, singing at times near the Lighthouse. Also a few Swallows flying west.

Main sighting: Sand Martins

Good numbers of sand and house martins flying low over the Usk this afternoon.
On the Blorange spring arrivals are also increasing by the day despite the weather with good numbers of wheatears and stone chat.

Main sighting: Red Kite

1 red Kite over south end of Tintern village and over woodland south of Tintern on Gwent side of Wye 11.45

Main sighting: Swallow

First swallow over the buildings at Taurus crafts, also reported from Usk over the town.

Main sighting: Serins

M and F serin seen above Grwyne Fawr river at SO282242, (track south of Cadwgan CP) both birds then flew west over the river into Powys.

Main sighting: Waders

2 oystercatchers, 2 common sandpipers, green sandpiper. Great spotted woodpecker, 2 green woodpeckers, 5 willow warblers, 8 chiffchaff, mistle thrush, 2 song thrush, 2 collared dove, 10 goldfinch, 3 long tailed tits, m and f mandarin, 10 canada geese, 2 grey heron, 8 buzzards, red kite, 4m 4f goosander, raven, coot, moorhen, 40 sand martins, cormorant, yellow-legged gull

Main sighting: Firecrest

Another walk on the southern edge of the Black Mountains. Not many summer visitors yet, 3 male Redstarts in about 4 hours, 3 Willow Warblers all in one patch of birches. Best bird by far though was a singing Firecrest moving along the top edge of a wood at 350m. I’ve found Firecrests at 5 sites in north Monmouthshire (N of the A40) since 2011 but this is the first in the Black Mountains. At a couple of sites they persisted for 2 or 3 years, but on the whole seem to be transient.