Sightings

Main sighting: Waders

Yellow Wag – Ring plover – Dunlin – (probable Sanderling) – Yellow leg gull Ad – Grey wagtail

Main sighting: Curlews again

Big tide again this morning, with following wind. About 205 Curlews came to roost on first lagoon, sitting very conveniently in shallow water so that their legs were showing and could be checked for rings. But, very strangely, there were extremely few rings – none at all from the big catch of 2015/16, so where have they gone?? Only ring read was an interesting one however, one of the headstarted birds raised and released at Slimbridge in 2019, White 49, which was at Goldcliff in September 2023. Also 5 Oystercatchers, 1 Grey Plover, about 75 Ringed Plovers, 1 Lapwing, 125 Dunlins, 4 Knot, 3 Whimbrels, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits.

Main sighting: Hen Harrier

Ringtail Hen Harrier hunting briefly over the moor to the east of the old Brynmawr reservoir before heading west over Hafod Farm into the strong breeze. Also a Whinchat, my first patch record this year, and three Wheatears. Things are on the move!

Main sighting: red kite

1130 hrs – Red Kite overhead drifting towards Devauden, call suggest a juvenile bird.

Main sighting: Curlews, of course

Visit on very high spring tide with following wind, as it dropped, in the hope of finding colour-ringed Curlews. Small high tide roost of Oystercatchers and Black-headed Gulls. Some small waders came in as the tide dropped.

14 Oystercatchers, 7 Ringed Plovers, 18 Dunlins, 6 Knot, 1 Sanderling, 45 Curlews (roosting in the long grass at the top of the beach; about 14 went to feed on the mudflats as the tide dropped, the others flew downstream towards Peterstone),150 Black-headed Gulls, 1 adult Mediterranean Gull.

Main sighting: Yellow-legged Gull

Adult yellow-legged gull still with the gull flock. Also a common sandpiper, juv shelduck, kingfisher.

Main sighting: Great White Egret

En-route to hides: woodpigeons, collard dove, crows, pheasant, gt tit and chiffchaff. Hide 1 – herring gulls, Canada geese (including 2 dead young birds on the edge of the island) and 3 curlew feeding on the island. En-route to hide 2 – green woodpecker and moorhen. Hide 2 – 5 lt egrets, 2 herons, pied wagtails, reed warbler, 6 teal, 4 greylags, mallards and raven. Snipe platform – 2 more lt egrets, 1 great white egret, lt grebes, coot, 14 swans, female tufted, 8 gadwall, 6 shoveler, 34 swallows aerial feeding over the field behind and 3 black-headed gulls. En-route to seawall – starlings and magpies. Seawall – 1 whimbrel, juv peregrine, 11 oystercatchers, 18 curlew, 286 shelduck, 1 gt black-backed gull, 38 ringed plovers, 11 dunlin, cettis calling and ls black-backed gull. Hide 3 – stock dove, 2 adults and 1 juvenile yellow wagtails, male stonechat, cormorant, 1 more heron and11 meadow pipits. Hide 2 – 5 house martins and 2 sand martins over the lagoon. Other: 3 emperor dragonflies, 1 male darter, large whites, meadow and hedge browns and 1 speckled wood butterfly.

Main sighting: Greenshank

Greenshank (1 feeding in the Gout)
Black-Tailed Godwit (1)
Knot (1)
Whimbrel (2)
Turnstone (10)
Curlew (12)
Lapwing (1)
Dunlin (200)
Redshank (300)
Oystercatcher (15)
Ringed Plover (70)
Little Egret (1 in the Gout)

Main sighting: Bittern

Bittern flew over Becs lagoon c.1pm.

Main sighting: Wood Sandpiper

En-route to hide 2 – magpies, woodpigeons, wren, crows, swallows, herring gulls, starlings, chiffchaff, blue tit, 1 stock dove, curlew overhead, mallards, moorhen and goldfinches. Hide 2 – 60 lapwing, 16 teal, 2 herons, 3 swans flying past, Canada geese (and a carcass) and a snipe calling. Snipe platform – 26 black-tailed godwits up high heading south/east at 0633 followed by 10 knot also up high and heading south/east at 0639, coot, lt grebes, male wigeon, 18 more teal, 8 more mute swans, pair gadwall, reed warbler singing and 6 shoveler. Seawall – female kestrel hunting, 1 gt black-backed gull, black headed gulls, 7 curlew, good count of 310 shelduck and 11 oystercatchers. Hide 3 – ls black-backed gulls, 6 lt egrets, male stonechat, female wheatear on the island, pied wagtails, juvenile wood sandpiper around the dry-mud area close to the bank, flew off and not relocated, linnets, 30 ringed plovers, 2nd snipe and juvenile female kestrel on the fence line. Back at hide 2 – marsh harrier, 62 dunlin (including 4 pale possibly juvenile birds)?, 1 turnstone, 1 knot, 2 buzzards, raven, greylags and 2 black-tailed godwits. Back at the car park – lesser whitethroat contact call (later seen), female sparrowhawk and 30+ house martins aerial feeding and congregating on the wires.

Main sighting: Whinchats

Juvenile and adult male on fence by entrance of solar plant.

Main sighting: Swifts

Whilst leading a guided ‘birdwatching for beginners’ walk, bit quiet on the bird front, but species seen included pheasant, gt spotted woodpecker, crows, woodpigeons, 53 house martins aerial feeding, herring gulls, jackdaws, group of 7 swifts and 3 more later on (nice surprise to see these), 5 chiffchaffs (contact calls), gt tit, buzzard, cettis, blue tits, mute swans, mallards, coot, lt grebes (2 pairs), 1 heron only (no lt egrets in the trees by the pond), moorhen, wren, swallows (4), rook, ls black-backed gulls and surprisingly a willow warbler in full song. Other: Emperor and southern hawker dragonflies, azure damselflies, meadow and hedge browns and large whites.