Sightings

Main sighting: Spoonbills and juvenile Whinchats

Dawn – mid morning visit: Hide one – blackcap in full song, 1 chiffchaff, family group of whitethroats, blackbirds, crows, herring gulls, Canada geese, 32 greylags, mallards, 3 stock doves, family group of stonechats, sparrows along the fence line right of the hide had 3 juvenile whinchats mixed in and 2 juv yellow wagtails feeding amongst the cows. Hide two – 78 lapwing, 21 redshanks, 18 dunlin, spotted redshank, fem marsh harrier, pied wagtails, meadow pipits, 11 black-tailed godwits only, moorhens, black headed gulls (including juvs), 5 swallows, 5 ringed plovers, woodpigeons and green sandpiper. Snipe platform – 4 great white egrets, coot, 3 little grebes, female tufted with 7 young, 5 little egrets, reed warblers, 2 herons, linnets, water rail calling, 82 sand martins, 2nd family group of whitethroats. Hide three – pair of spoonbills dropped in 0615hrs, 16 teal, oystercatchers, reed buntings and 9 swans.

Main sighting: FLEDGED Curlew chick

Absolutely thrilled to find our first fledged Curlew chick this morning. Only one but every. single. one. matters.

Main sighting: Green finch

Green woodpecker great spotted woodpecker s tonechat winners bullfinch

Main sighting: Pectoral Sandpiper

A fine adult Pectoral Sandpiper which has been here since Saturday when it was seen for the first time close to the Spotted Redshank. Currently on the side of the island closes to the Curlew hide or the partially dismantled Redshank platform.

Main sighting: Mandarin Duck

17 birds – none in male breeding plumage and seemed to include well grown juveniles, all on the same stretch of river (though arguably a Gloucestershire record). Kingfisher heard up the river (from the Boat Inn), a number of Blackcaps still singing but only one Garden Warbler doing so. Pied Wagtail feeding juvenile and 2 Grey Wagtails on river bank plus 1 Bullfinch and 1 Marsh Tit near the pub. 2 lots of Mute Swan cygnets.

Main sighting: Curlew returns

Dawn – 0900 visit. Hide one – wren, crows, greylags, mallards, blackcap, skylarks, pheasant, moorhen and a pair of stonechats. Hide two – common whitethroat family group, 35 curlew (flew off over seawall at 0502), 5 oystercatchers, 11 shelduck, 33 redshanks, woodpigeons, Canada geese, herring gulls, ls black-backed gulls, 61 lapwing, 6 lt egrets, reed warbler, 4 gt white egrets, 309 black-tailed godwits, 19 sand martins, 18 dunlin, 1 swift, blackbirds, chiffchaff, gt tits, starling, 3 ringed plovers, juv pied wagtail and a spotted redshank. Snipe platform – coot, 3 lt grebes, sedge and reed warblers (1 each), linnets and goldfinches. Seawall – gt black-backed gull. Hide three – water rail calling, 7 teal, pair tufteds, 1 cormorant, 2 ravens, 2 lt ringed plovers, magpies, fem marsh harrier and yellow wagtail. Other: Many gatekeepers, meadow browns, 1 green-veined white, 1 peacock, large whites.

Main sighting: Goldcrest

Family recently fledged (nested in tall conifers) edge of town.

Main sighting: Disturbance

There will be some disturbance today at Goldcliff Lagoons, between approx. 12.45pm and 2pm. when we carry out our monthly monitoring of salinities and water levels. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Main sighting: Little Egrets

A gathering of between 50 – 60 egrets sighted from the M48 as we returned from Goldcliff.

Main sighting: Lapwing

Retrospective report. Pair seen and heard in maize crop for several weeks including display and injury feigning (reports from locals) so likely to have bred though no nest or juveniles seen. No calls heard today so breeding activity seems to have finished. This species not at all common in this part of the county.

Main sighting: Sparrowhawk

Juvenile sparrowhawk, male redstart, 2 male stonechats, 3 skylarks, 5 meadow pipits, 3 ravens.

Main sighting: Yellow Wagtail

Highlights of todays WeBS count: Little Egret 43 GWE 1 Common Gull 3 Redshank 40 Black-tailed Godwit 99 Bar-tailed Godwit 3 Little Ringed Plover 6 Dunlin 18 Knot 6 Spotted Redshank 1 Black-headed Gull 325 Yellow wagtail 2 Pied wagtail 10
Other: Marbled White 1 Large White 8 Green Veined White 4 Red Admiral 3 Gate Keeper 20
Meadow Brown + Comma 1
Black-tailed Skimmer 1 Ruddy Darter 6 Emerald Damselfly 1 Azure Blue Damselfly 10