Any birder worth his salt will tell you that to do the best bit of birding you have to literally get up with the larks! I haven’t had an early morning at the Newport Wetlands foreshore for a couple of years now, so I decided to put that right last week. I decided to make the most of the sunshine and roll out of bed and into my car. I was there by 8am, and had the whole reserve to myself it seemed. Fortuitously I had timed my visit with a Spring High tide, with the sea right up to the sea wall. There were plenty of Shelducks and Geese swimming by, and two Oystercatchers sat nicely for photographic purposes on a convenient boulder!
The reed beds were alive with short bursts of songs from our returning warblers. Now is a good time to spot some of the more elusive species, as they are all re-fuelling after their incredible migration. It wasn’t long before I had seen my first Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, and a wonderfully displaying Sedge Warbler of 2013. I had then had an unexpected bonus; one of the most distinctive songs that can come from a reed bed is that of the Grasshopper Warbler. Even if you are as rubbish at bird song as I am, the chirring of the Grasshopper Warbler is an easy one to put to a species! One of the best things about visiting Newport Wetlands is patience can be rewarded. Once I located the rough location of the singing bird, it was a matter of just standing very still. Eventually I got my reward when the Grasshopper Warbler flew to another part of the reed bed.
I heard several Bearded Tits.
I saw two Bearded Tits.
I photographed no Bearded Tits!
By now the tide was receding and it was time to see if anything was feeding on the mudflats. The Canadian Geese had flown back onto the lagoons, but a number of Shelduck were feeding away. A small flock of Curlew were using their long beaks to probe for tasty morsels near the surface of the mud. One bird I had been hoping to see this year that has remained off my life list until now was a Whimbrel. It is very similar to the Curlew, but has a more distinct eye stripe and a much shorter bill. Luckily there was a bird club visiting the reserve, and they very kindly pointed out where the Whimbrels were feeding.
More summer migrants were singing from the scrubby edges of the sea wall. Whitethroats are a photographers dream; they love nothing more than singing from a conspicuous spot! One was holding a territory from all comers on a beam of one of the electricity pylons. I watched him fend of several usurpers over a ten minute or so period. Willow Warbler and Chiffchaffs were handily singing to help separate this most difficult of species to identify. The onomatopoeic “chiff-chaff chiff-chaff” is ever so useful whilst watching the little olive green birds dance around tree branches.
I moved to the hide to see what was on the lagoons. They were fairly well populated with a number of wildfowl including Great Crested and Little Grebes, Pochards and Tufted Ducks. I then had a wonderful example of how birders never look up... I sat in the hide compiling my Bird Track list. There wasn't a lot going on outside. I happened to look up as a Peregrine Falcon flew over the hide. It flew over the reeds trying to flush some birds, and then followed the path up the lighthouse. There were a number of people looking out to sea... not one of them saw it as far as I could tell!
It was now time to go home. I headed through the copse behind the hide and stopped to watch a couple of singing Blackcaps that have been resident on that part of the reserve for a couple of weeks now. Another resident bird, the Little Owl, was sat sun bathing on his usual spot as I brought the morning’s fantastic bird watching to a close. I ended up with a record breaking (for me at least) 51 species seen. The next time you wake up early and wonder what you’re going to do rather than lie in bed at silly o’clock waiting for the alarm to sound, why not get up, and head to your local reserve, you never know, you might just be in for a treat.
The Species List - Compiled using the wonderful Bird Track App.
NEWPORT WETLANDS SIGHTINGS FOR Friday, 26 April, 2013
Bearded Tit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti's Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Grasshopper Warbler, Great Crested Grebe, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Little Owl, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pochard, Raven, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Robin, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Snipe, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Whinchat, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Willow Tit, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
© All Images – Anthony Walton (taken on the day of the visit.)