Sightings

Main sighting: Little Stint

Wader roost.
100 + Dunlin, 1 x Little Stint, 1 x Turnstone.

Other sightings
4 x Pintail Ducks, 50 + Shelduck, 10 + Wigeon , 10 x Gadwall , 4 x Shoveler, 2 x Common Sandpiper, 2 x Cormorant, 30 + Redshank. 1 x grey heron, 1 x Little Egret.
20 x Canada Geese, Cetti Warbler heard. 1 x Kingfisher.

Main sighting: Willow Warbler

En-route to hides – Canada geese, jackdaws, raven, herring gulls, pheasants, moorhens, chiffchaff, crows, heron, woodpigeons, starlings, chaffinch, 2 swans (in reen), 3 little egrets overhead and blackbirds. Hide 1 – cettis, 90 restless black-tailed godwits flying out over sea wall, 1 gadwall and mallards. En-route hide 2 – magpies, blue tit, 2nd chiffchaff, buzzard, linnets, great white egret flying towards The Point and 2 snipe overhead. Hide 2 – grey wagtail, 32 teal, 52 lapwing, skylark, 2nd buzzard and robins. Snipe platform – male stonechat, rooks, wren, 30 swans, 56 more gadwall, coot, female marsh harrier and 4 house martins. Song thrush on the way to the seawall. Seawall – 6 swallows, shelduck, wigeon, black headed gulls, another little egret, 1 curlew only and shoveler. Hide 3 – 28 meadow pipits, pair stonechats, 51 swallows in small groups, water rail calling, 34 greylag geese, single ruff, 1 cormorant and goldfinches. Back by snipe platform 11 skylarks overhead calling and 4 snipe overhead. Back at hide 1 pair of redshanks briefly feeding before flying off. Back by the car park roving flock included 1 willow warbler, 3 chiffchaffs, long tailed tits, dunnock, wren, blue and great tits. Other: 2 commas, 1 red admiral, 2 large whites and migrant hawkers.

Main sighting: Great White Egret

Late morning / dinner time, single GWE flying through the Machen gap from the direction of Caerphilly (possibly been at the castle moat)? Following the river but high up heading towards the coast (possibly the Gwent Levels). Early afternoon a male goshawk drifted over.

Main sighting: Black Tern

A Black Tern feeding on Lisvane has been there a few days, also Common Sandpiper.

Main sighting: house martins

small passage of martins heading south at midday – 200 plus birds over 10 minute period

Main sighting: Redwing

30+ Redwing flying over heading East

Main sighting: White-tailed Eagle

One of the released birds from the Isle of Wight dropped in at the reservoir this afternoon and caused quite a stir among the local wildfowl. It lingered for a good 15 minutes.

Main sighting: Sightings roundup

Sadly (and for reasons unknown) but the thick bushes between snipe and marsh platform that were a valuable haven for wildlife have been ripped out. Water levels higher so very few waders. En-route to hides: robins (at least 6 singing birds on the reserve), crows, 65 greylag and115 Canada’s making their way out at dawn, jackdaws, herring gulls, blackbird and wrens. Hide one: 2 curlew only. En-route to hide 2: cettis, 2 chiffchaffs, pheasant and moorhen. Hide two: 3 black-tailed godwits, mallard and 10 teal. Snipe platform: 33 swans, 1 heron, linnets, 86 wigeon only, 2 snipe, 3 shoveler and 7 gadwall. Seawall: 25 meadow pipits, 19 more curlew, oystercatchers, shelduck, 20 more black-tailed godwits, black headed gulls, chaffinch, goldfinches, skylarks and raven. Hide 3 lagoon devoid of birds. Back at hide one: 24 lapwing and 1 little egret. Bridge by entrance: light-morph buzzard on a telegraph pole, 3 swallows, starlings, great spotted woodpecker and 4 more chiffchaffs.

Main sighting: Skylark movement

Moorhen, robins, long tailed tit, woodpigeons, great tits, magpies, jays, blue tits, greenfinch, mallards, cettis, crows, lesser black-backed gulls and 3 reed buntings (females). Seawall – 21 skylarks overhead calling, greylags, Canada geese, herring gulls, black headed gulls, 18 wigeon, 1 cormorant, 1 little egret, 25 curlew, 6 black-tailed godwits, 7 redshanks, starlings, goldfinches, meadow pipits, linnets, chiffchaff that dropped into a bramble bush, rooks, 2 lapwing, 1 oystercatcher and a chaffinch. Other: 2 large whites, 1 speckled wood and red underwing moth.

Main sighting: Thrush influx

A loose flock of 25-30 thrushes in the garden this morning. Mostly Blackbirds but several Song and Mistle Thrushes too. No Redwing yet!

Main sighting: Waders

At the end of the day 400 Black Tailed Godwits the the mouth of the Usk river(mid – day), 4 hours after high tide!

Main sighting: Avocet

Highlight of WeBS count today. Despite the atrocious weather torrential rain there was a good selection of waders Avocet 3 Whimbrel 4 Curlew 55 Bar-tailed Godwit 4 Black-tailed Godwit 13 Turnstone 4 Ruff1 Ringed Plover 11 Snipe 10 Lapwing 91 Redshank 12 Knot 1 Teal 224 Gadwall 41 We found a lens cap for a Canon camera and placed it on the Reserve sign board.
In the seawall hide the sills and seats were wet through, as all the viewing slats were left open. Please remember when you leave a hide to close up after you.