Sightings

Main sighting: Clouded yellow butterfly

Clouded yellow, painted lady and small copper between Peterstone and St Brides. Common sandpipers 3, turnstones 33, dunlin & ringed plover (flock of 200 combined), oystercatchers 25, curlew 2, redshanks, F pintails, teal, mallard, shelduck; M kestrel; F sparrowhawk; many herons; BHGs; whitethroat; wheatears on the wall.

Main sighting: Baird'sandpiper

Further to the posting by Chris Foster Brown. We saw the bird late evening. At fiest the sunlight was too bright to see much detail however even them the very long primary projection was evident. Later we had better views although at a distance of 250 metres. We agree with Chris that it looks good for Baird’s. Black legs, dark upper breast, gleaming white underparts even white scalloping to upper sides. Beak dark medium small. Head marking difficult at this range.

Main sighting: Migration

Large flock of house martins headed south over house in Llanyrafon this evening . Up to 400 mixed House Martin and Swallow just north of Usk this afternoon but being predated by a nearby hobby family and a juv peregrine falcon on a regular basis ..Hobby have done fairly well across 5 of my licensed sites and also a kingfisher with regularity on the Afon Llwyd due to clear water and low levels at Llanyrafon .

Main sighting: Black Kite

Adult Black Kite circled over Goldcliff Point area at 13.20, seen from the sea wall. Showed well in good light. Last seen circling over my head as I tried to log in to BirdGuides (which seems to have crashed!) So I didn’t see which direction (or if) it departed unfortunately. Couldn’t relocate it after a couple of hours trying.

Main sighting: Curlew Sandpiper

3-Curlew Sandpipers in the company of 2-Ruff and 1-Little Stint.Also,150+Black’wits,2-Avocets and 9-Knot.11h45-13h30

Main sighting: Whinchat

2-Whinchats,also 1-Common Whitethroat,1-Lesser Whitethroat in the same area.1m-Marsh Harrier and a Clouded Yellow,female butterfly,first of the year for me.10h00-11h30.

Main sighting: Unusual little stint

Couple of hours at Goldcliff before high tide today. Single greenshank, single green sandpiper, single avocet (juvenile) and two ruff from marsh screen. Also, what was almost certainly a little stint at the back of the lagoon here, associated with a ringed plover. This looked surprisingly elongated, and from the front, the primaries projected a long way behind the bird, to such an extent that they crossed over. It’s a long shot but it looked rather like Baird’s sandpiper. Probably not and too distant to get decent views. Also around were one yellow wagtail, at least 4 whinchat from furthest hide and single wheatear from there. Good numbers of black-tailed godwit and a smattering of knot. Two pintail from furthest hide. Sparrowhawk perched on hedge. I’d be interested to know what others make of the ‘stint’.

Main sighting: unusual stint

I haven’t seen this bird and it might be a Bairds. I have however been in the hides/platforms at Goldcliff and on three separate occasions over a number of years and seen excellent birders look at “long winged” Little Stints and call them as Bairds. It took a little while to persuade them they were Little Stints, Little Stints can look very sleek and long-winged, particularly in hot weather. I suspect it is a form of temperature control???

Main sighting: Wigeon

Two Wigeon on Dunlop Semtex Pond – first of autumn – along with a notable 130 Coot, single Little and Great Crested Grebes plus eight House Martins. Yesterday a female Wood Duck on Machine Pond – not seen today – probably one from the flock at the Festival Park lakes.

Main sighting: Garganey

Just the highlights of a long vigil at Goldcliff today: juvenile Garganey, Little Stint, 2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 1 Ruff, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 25 Pintail, 3 Great Egret, 3 Whinchat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher.

Main sighting: White Wagtail

4-White Wagtails in the field leading to the coast at a cattle feeding spot.Also,at Peterstone Gout 6-adult male Wigeons in eclipse plumage,one was showing its orange forehead coming through.
11h30-13h00.

Main sighting: Kingfisher

Kingfisher, 3 little egrets, grey wagtail