Sightings

Main sighting: Pair of Whooper Swans

Beautiful pair of swans near the road in a farm field.

Main sighting: Kestrel

Kestrel, buzzard, goldcrest, grey wagtail, 30 linnets.

Main sighting: Black Redstarts

Numerous Redwings and Fieldfares and a male Sparrowhawk hunting the hedge line. Kingfisher en-route to hide 1. Hide 1 – 157 Canada Geese with the juv White-fronted Goose mixed in as one group took off. The four Barnacle Geese are still present, 3 Snipe, 57 Curlew (no ringed birds), 2 Cormorants, 1 Grey Heron and Cettis Calling. Redshank Platform – 52 Lapwing, 88 teal, a Spotted Redshank feeding alone with 52 Common Redshanks close by, 7 Gadwall and Chiffchaff contact call. Seawall – this is where all the activity was a mix of 3 Song Thrushes, male Pied Wagtail and 31 Meadow Pipits feeding together in the short grass, with a pair of Black Redstarts feeding on the sea wall and down on the rocks with a pair of Stonechats and 3 Wrens. Male Peregrine came in and landed on the rocks just shy of the seawall with the Redstarts and Wrens feeding within 10ft of it. On the mudflats were 23 Avocet, 15 Grey Plovers, 178 Dunlin and a single Brent Goose following the edge of the water up towards the Pill. 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers seen on the way back to the car park.

Main sighting: Scaup

Juv Scaup with Tufted Duck, 15 Goosander

Main sighting: Woodcock

3 woodcock high over the coombe flying west toward Wentwood .probably disturbed by the guns and driven pheasant at Coombe Farm

Main sighting: Red breasted Merganser

Redhead off Watersport centre

Main sighting: Little Owl

Party of Goldcrests in the churchyard yews. Little Owl sunning itself in the gable end of the barn; GSW doing the same on top of a dead branch! 1 Little Egret, 2 Little Grebe, Dipper, Kingfisher etc etc plus one redhead Goosander

Main sighting: Kingfisher

2 Kingfishers. frequent visitors on this stretch of canal

Main sighting: Yellow-browed warbler

The yellow-browed warbler still present this morning, some 50 m back from the confluence of the Wye and Monnow (i.e. along the bank of the Monnow). The bird was very active in willows, but showing well. Also present were a treecreeper, bullfinch and a chiffchaff, this last with an odd splayed tail. Nearby was a kingfisher close to the footbridge over the Wye.

Main sighting: Disturbance at Goldcliff lagoons

There will be some distubance at Goldcliff Lagoons on Tuesday, between around 10.00hrs and 12:00hrs, when we check the salinties and water levels. We apologise for inconvenience caused.

Main sighting: Jack Snipe

Flushed a Jack Snipe on the moor

Main sighting: Black-tailed Godwit

Back-tailed Godwit 80 Dunlin 150 Redshank 70 Knot 1 Pintail 3 Shoveler 20 Teal 20 Mallard 12 Wigeon 12 Shelduck 30 Stonechat 1. Meadow Pipit 2 also, hundreds of Black-headed Gulls and 2 Common Gull There were very few passerines as we arrived a Falconer was leaving the site with his Lanner type bird flying around the hedgerows.