Sightings

Main sighting: Bittern

Water levels higher after the rains: Car park -hide 1: magpies, robins, starlings, pheasant, woodpigeons, crows, mallards, blackbirds, male stonechat and pair of kestrels perched in large willow by hide entrance. Hide 1: male wheatear, 2 buzzards (light-morph), 3 herons, goldfinches, lesser black-backed gulls, 1 little egret, 9 ringed plovers on the mud, 2 cormorants, 38 lapwing, 4 stock doves, Canada geese, great egret flying above the Pill (showed twice), 5 fly-by mute swans, 1 curlew and 2 gadwall. En-route to next hide: 5 chiffchaffs, blue tit, cettis calling and several passing sand martins. Hide 2: meadow pipit numbers up, around 40 flying / feeding, 6 skylarks mixed in, several juvenile house martins passing through with low numbers of swallows, 32 crows landed on the bank, 4 greylags and a nice surprise of a juvenile bittern on the far side of the lagoon, right of the cows, walking around in the open for around 2 minutes before flying off towards the right corner of hide 1.

Main sighting: Cetti's Warblers etc.

2 Cetti’s Warblers, 4 Chiffchaffs, 3 female Goosanders, good numbers of hirundines and an Otter.

Main sighting: Common Tern

High Tide visit (PM).
Common Tern was in with the roosting Redshanks ( 50+). 1 x Greenshank 1 x Common Sandpiper.
Large numbers of Sheduck 300+
Black-Tailed Godwits 100c
Oystercatchers x 10
Dunlin x 10
Ringed Plover x 20.
Curlew 10+
Black-Head Gulls 100+
Buzzard x 1
Mallard x 20
Cormorant x 1
Little Egret x 1
Swallows x 10

No sign of the Marsh Sandpiper.

Main sighting: Hobby

Hobby hunting over wood, then drifted south along ridge. Also Red Kite, Raven, Buzzard.

Main sighting: Wheatears

Small pockets of water starting to form on lagoons 1 and 2. Quiet overall bird wise. Car park – hides: robin, crows, goldfinches and 2 chiffchaffs. Hide 1: meadow pipits, 85 Canada geese, male kestrel and 2 of the light-morph buzzards. Magpies, blackbird and a 3rd buzzard en-route to hide 2: Hide 2: herring guls, 16 lapwing in the grass, 1 heron, small numbers of swallows today (strong winds not good for migration), mallards, pied wagtail, 3 skylarks and the flock of 25 stock doves flying across to the seawall bank, lesser black-backed gulls. Seawall: along the stretch of the wall down to the remains of hide 3 were 8 wheatears and a whinchat, on the mudflats were 6 curlew only and black headed gulls. Male stonechat on the fence. Back at hide 2: woodpigeons, 2 fly-by cormorants and 6 black-tailed godwits (group of 5 flying towards seawall and a single bird which landed briefly on lagoon 2). Back to car park: moorhens, cettis calling, flyover little egret, long tailed and blue tit flock in the hedge, 2 more chiffchaffs.

Main sighting: Hobby

A vocal juvenile Hobby careering around the sky above Llanwenarth this evening chased by Jackdaws.

Main sighting: House Martins

Monmouth between 8 and 10 a.m. – there was a N–S passage of hirundines over the River Wye. The majority were House Martins (c. 150) with lesser numbers of Sand Martins (c. 25) and Swallows (c. 15).

Main sighting: House Martins

Perched on power lines – 310

Main sighting: Common Sandpiper

Monmouth below the Wye Bridge at 8 a.m.: 3 Common Sandpipers and 3 Greater Black-backed Gulls, 2 adults and a juvenile.

Main sighting: Migration

On way into reserve: starlings (numbers building up), blackbird, robin, crows, magpies, wren, swallows (migrating through in large continual flocks), woodpigeons, blue tits, goldfinches and a pheasant. Hide 1: lesser black-backed gulls, heron, 2 curlew, 2 buzzards, distant pintail flying and jackdaws. En-route hide 2: jackdaws, ravens, moorhen and 3 chiffchaffs. Hide 2: 2nd heron, Canada geese, cettis calling, male kestrel mobbed by 2 crows, 15 lapwing perched up, highest count of 25 stock doves feeding along the scorched far bank (right of hide 3), 2 wheatears and 6 skylarks in flight. 2 juvenile willow warblers in bushes by snipe platform and house martins in smaller numbers with more swallows. Seawall: 6 yellow wagtails, 2 cormorants, herring gulls, male (juvenile) whinchat, shelduck, mallards, 1 little egret, 51 ringed plovers (on dried lagoon), hobby flew over and was joined by a 2nd bird heading towards Chapel Lane direction, black headed gulls, 1 whimbrel, pair passing pintail and Ceri Lloyd picked up an odd colour shelduck in with common shelduck – looks to be a cape shelduck (possible escapee) but very distant. Down the remains of hide 3 were 2 more whinchats, 5 more wheatear, several pied wagtails, meadow pipits. and 5 stonechats. Female sparrowhawk seen on way back to car park. Other: speckled woods, large whites, peacock.

Main sighting: Crossbill

approx – 8 Crossbill inc brick red male – but possibly 20+ birds flew off?

Main sighting: Glossy Ibis

Early morning visit.
Highlight – Glossy Ibis observed flying above the seawall from the Goldcliff Pill area. Flew over our heads whilst we stood on the wall and flew past the farm around to the point.
Otherbirds
10+ Wheatears. The vast majority were female birds. Lots of Meadow Pippits, Yellow Wagtails and Pied Wagtails near the wall and fence that leads down to the remains of the seawall hide. The whinchat was perched on the wires of the fence.
2 x Whimbrel and Curlew flock seen on the Foreshore.
Sparrowhawk had a go at a flock of Woodpigeons.
The lagoons remain bone dry 🙁
Chiffchaffs x 4, Stonechats x 2.
Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins remain in good numbers.