Please do not post reports of nesting birds or sightings of rare or Schedule 1 breeders. Sightings which might lead to disturbance will be removed.

Sightings

iain crawford

Monmouth, Usk

Sun 17th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Various

At Monmouth boys’s school playing fields, 200+ common gulls. Llanbadoc church, a great spotted woodpecker, 3 greenfinch, fieldfare, 2 redwing, mistle thrush, goldfinch. At Cefn Ila, stock dove, green woodpecker, buzzard. At Llandegfedd resr, 37 Canada geese, 90 mallards, 25 cormorants, a grey heron, 2 great blackbacked gulls

Neville Davies

Goldcliff Lagoons

Fri 15th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Weekly roundup / Common Gull

En-route to hides: pheasant, crows, starlings, herring gulls, Canada geese, kestrel, chaffinch, heron, woodpigeons, magpie, lt egret, robin and goldcrest. Hide one – 10 avocet, 51 curlew, 205 lapwing, 11 redshank, moorhen, 235 lapwing, 6 teal and 2 buzzards (including the light morph one). Hide two – blackbirds, wren, 6 gadwall and 2 shoveler. Snipe platform – long tailed duck showing well, redwings and fieldfares (lower numbers), meadow pipits, coot, 51 wigeon, raven, greylag, and in the field behind, 2 more lt egrets with another heron, 1 black headed and 1 common gull. Hide three – cettis, pair stonechats, 3 male and 2 female tufteds, mallards, 128 wigeon, another 241 teal, another 18 shoveler, 4 swans, lt grebe, peregrine harassing the lapwings and 2 song thrushes.

Chris Le Clare

Newport

Wed 13th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Crossbill

Four birds flew over Handpost area of town.

Geoff North

Llanishen Reservoir, Cardiff

Mon 11th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Juvenile Northern Diver

Juvenile Northern Diver

Bob Potter

Nedern Brook

Sat 9th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Black Swan

3pm, after a short walk around Caldicot Castle grounds, I saw a lone Black Swan on a large flooded meadow off the Nedern Brook, not far from the entrance car park.

Neville Davies

Goldcliff Lagoons

Fri 8th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Hen Harrier / Bittern

En-route to hides – blue tits, crows, magpies, sparrows, starlings, collard dove, blackbirds, chaffinch and woodpigeons. Today redwings far outnumbered fieldfares. Hide one – teal numbers well up currently at 245, 330 lapwing, Canada geese, 6 redshanks, 3 swans, 40 greylags, , 222 wigeon, 46 shoveler, pair of peregrines calling and chasing each other and a distant female marsh harrier. Hide two – bittern showed at 0900, flew off from in front of hide at 0924 towards Red Barn, cettis, ravens, 6 gadwall, 5 shelduck, and meadow pipits. Marsh platform – 1 male and 3 female tufteds and coot. Seawall – 1 oystercatcher only, 24 curlew, 5 grey plover wiht 2 dunlin mixed in. Hide three – long-tailed duck still showing, 21 more shoveler, 15 more wigeon, 2 cormorants, barnacle goose, male pintail, mallards, stonechats, wren, kestrel and the highlight of the morning – a male hen harrier that passed right in front of the hide and headed across towards the Point. Back at hide two – 1 black-tailed godwit

Verity Picken

Llangybi

Wed 6th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Greenfinch

At least nine Greenfinches and a Reed Bunting in the garden this morning.

Andrew Baker

Goldcliff Lagoons- sea wall hide

Tue 5th Dec 2023

Main sighting: Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck. In left water body, behind the Island

Verity Picken

Llangybi

Sat 2nd Dec 2023

Main sighting: Linnet

A 250-strong flock of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and c.150 Linnet in the seed crop and garden this morning; c.20 Linnet skating on the pond (water available nearby), Brambling under the feeders and a few Reed Buntings in the hedge.

Neville Davies

Goldlcifff lagoons

Fri 1st Dec 2023

Main sighting: Species round-up

En-route to hides – little egret, numerous blackbirds, woodpigeons, magpies, crows, house sparrows, ravens, goldfinches, starlings, buzzard, and high numbers of fieldfares at least 500 – 600 with around 200 redwings at least. Hide one – the female merlin was perched on the fence to the right of the hide. All lagoons frozen, 120 teal huddled in the right hand corner. Hide two – 21 greylags, 176 lapwing with 107 dunlin grouped in the center, later joined by 61 black-tailed godwits, Canada geese, 12 curlew over, moorhen, 7 gadwall, 1 shelduck, pair of cettis in the brambles, 2 mute swans, 12 long tailed tits in the hedge line and a pheasant calling. Seawall – stonechat pair, 2 skylarks, meadow pipits, 49 wigeon. 3 more little egrets, mallards and 23 more curlew. Hide three – the female merlin was sat on the concrete post opposite the hide affording great views, 4 shoveler, raven, 2 oystercatchers, robin, dunnock and blue tits. Back at hide two – 2 snipe and female kestrel. Back at hide one – 7 song thrush feeding together and 2 more pairs of stonechats. Notes re the merlin – she frequents the lagoons and just over the sea wall, then heads off in the direction of the seawall tea rooms, reappears around a hour and half later, hunts along the right side from hide 1 to hide 3 then goes back over towards the cafe area. Hope this helps.

Chris Le Clare

High Cross

Mon 27th Nov 2023

Main sighting: Crossbill

Two birds flew over (notable regular occurrences of crossbills, up to several at a time flying over High Cross and Rogerstone through the autumn).

Nicholas Beswick

Parc Nant-y-Waun

Sun 26th Nov 2023

Main sighting: Mandarin Duck

A male Mandarin on Machine Pond was a surprise on a dismal murky afternoon. The first I’ve seen on any of the Heads of the Valleys ponds.