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.