Recent sightings from 22 to 28 July 2019
The green woodpecker made several appearances close to the visitor centre this week and could be seen regularly in the mornings. Surprisingly busy were the mudflats. Not only were there a good selection of gulls (including great black-backed gulls) and a good number of shelduck, but also a variety of wading birds. Up to 100 curlews were seen probing the mud with their distinctively shaped bills. Moreover, there were oystercatchers, redshanks, small flocks of dunlins and on Friday some knot in between them. Two other highlights on the mudflats were a glossy ibis on Wednesday and a spoonbill on Friday, two more species with a very special bill shape. The lagoons hosted a big number of moulting mallards and there were also some pochards, gadwalls and a tufted duck with two ducklings as well as a little grebe with two young ones. After quite a long while without any recordings a bittern was recorded on Saturday. Once again there were plenty of butterflies all over the reserve with gatekeeper, red admiral and comma the most numerous ones. A grass snake could be spotted on Wednesday and one day later a weasel ran over the path. A badger on Sunday was another rare sighting. The most exciting day at Goldcliff lagoons was Friday. Not only was the glossy ibis present on the coast, but there were also two spoonbills at the lagoons alongside a selection of waders. Whilst lapwing and redshank are regulars, there were also two knots around, a flock of black-tailed godwits and of dunlins and a greenshank as well as a green sandpiper. These are clear signs that the migration period has already begun which should promise quite a few interesting sightings over the next few weeks.
In the second week of the summer holidays it is all about the butterflies. Our event Flutterby Butterfly Ball offers a variety of activities around these winged beauties. In the next few weeks other themes are Dino Dig, Mr Birds Restaurant and Wild Woods. Events run from Mondays to Thursdays and on Fridays there will be special events for toddlers. The Big Wild Sleepout will take place on 17th August. Details of all our events can be found on our website: https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/newport-wetlands/
Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Goldfinch, Great black-backed gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Green sandpiper, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey heron, Herring gull, House martin, House sparrow, Jay, Kestrel, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Little egret, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Sand martin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Spoonbill, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tufted duck, Woodpigeon and Wren.
Please note that we take our recent sightings list from the visitor sightings board that anyone can contribute to. This is great as everyone can get involved, but obviously can lead to potential errors too as they aren’t always verified! We try to keep this list as accurate as possible but if you see something unusual feel free to comment here!
Photo credit: Glossy ibis by Jeremy White