Recent sightings from 12 to 18 August 2019
There was a fair share of rainy and windy days this week which resulted in birds, butterflies and dragonflies seeking shelter wherever possible. Painted ladies were, however, still around this week and in the woodlands a big number of speckled wood filled the air. These medium sized butterflies might not be the most colourful ones but with their delicate pattern they are very pretty indeed. Gatekeeper, meadow brown, small copper, large and small white were other butterflies spotted. The windy weather made birdwatching in the reedbeds a difficult challenge and mostly there wasn’t much more to be seen than a glimpse here and there of one of the warblers or a reed bunting. A stonechat and a bearded reedling were briefly heard on Saturday and on Sunday a female bearded reedling was seen. The mudflats held a good number of individuals with black-headed gulls and shelduck being the most abundant species. As in the last few weeks, there was once again a good number of curlew to be seen and in amongst them was the one or the other whimbrel as well, back from their breeding grounds further north. Little egrets added some more white to the scenery as did herring, lesser and great black-backed gulls. A little egret was also a regular sight at the scrape in the front of the café to the delight of our visitors. Two snipe flying over the saltmarsh in their typical zig-zag flight didn’t get unnoticed either. On Friday morning, two kestrel fought bravely against the elements and on Saturday a marsh harrier was spotted over the reedbeds. Talking of white beauties, the great white egret was at Goldcliff lagoons once again on Monday and on Thursday. It seems that we get more regular sightings of this heron. The glossy ibis was recorded at Goldcliff on Tuesday. Flocks of dunlin and ringed plover were regulars and some wigeon were seen on Thursday. Saturday brought three yellow wagtails, a grey plover, black-tailed godwits and a juvenile common gull to Goldcliff. It was well worth having a stroll through Perry Lane. Not only could you see goldcrest and blackcap but also get some real close-up views of a chiffchaff which apparently hasn’t had any bad experiences with humans yet. Long may this continue…!
We are over half way through the summer holidays now, but there is still plenty going on. Why not come along this week to our event Mr Birds Restaurant and learn more about our feathered friends. Kids can find out why different beak shapes are good for different food, can build their own bird feeder and can have a go at building their own nest. Wild Woods will be on the programme for the last summer holiday week. Events run from Mondays to Thursdays and on Fridays there will be special events for toddlers. At the end of the month we offer an insight in the secret world of bats and moths on our Bat & Moth Walk which takes place in the evening on 24th and 30th 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/
Bearded reedling, Black swan, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared dove, Common gull, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great black-backed gull, Great tit, Great white egret, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Grey plover, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House martin, House sparrow, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Lesser whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tufted duck, Whimbrel, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren and Yellow wagtail.
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: Little egret by Jeremy White