Recent sightings from 26 August to 1 September 2019

The week started off very promising with sightings of three curlew sandpipers, a hen harrier and a glossy ibis at Goldcliff Lagoons. The curlew sandpipers remained at the lagoons for the rest of the week and were joined by large flocks of knot and black-tailed godwit, some whimbrels, ruffs, greenshanks and bar-tailed godwits and by a little stint and three turnstones on Saturday. Yellow wagtails remained a regular sight at Goldcliff and wheatear and sand martin were recorded as well. Fortunately, we also got some recordings from the bearded reedling this week at Newport Wetlands reserve. It was heard “pinging” Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and a male was seeing flying over the bridge leading towards the lighthouse on Sunday morning. The reedbeds started getting a bit busier again in general with Cetti’s warblers singing more frequently and reed buntings showing nicely. In the lagoons at Newport Wetlands the number of gadwall is on the rise, keeping the little grebes company. A green sandpiper on Monday was another great find in the lagoons. The same day a peregrine could be seen chasing away a kestrel which obviously got a bit too close to its territory. Marsh harriers and sparrowhawk were spotted as well. Small flocks of starlings (about 50) gave a first taster of things to come later in the year when hopefully thousands of them will once again use the reedbeds for roosting. On the mudflats and salt marshes curlews were once again present in good numbers as were shelducks. A kingfisher delighted visitors on Saturday and was first seen flying over the reedbeds and later flew over the scrape in front of the café. There was also still a good number of dragonflies and butterflies on the wing. Some painted ladies were seen, most of them quite faded, and migrant hawker and ruddy darter were seen regularly showing off their aerial acrobatics. This week also two species were seen which probably are around us all the time but just hide away from the public eye most of the times: a treecreeper was spotted in the woodlands on Monday and a water rail was seen out in the open on the picknick area on Friday. Let’s hope September will bring many more great moments and exciting sightings!

On Saturday 14th September you once again have the chance to join us on a guided morning walk to find the sought after bearded reedling. Don’t miss out and book your spot on our Bearded Reedling and Breakfast Walk. On our Bird Feeder Day one week later (not only) kids can get hands on and make some delicious treats such as lard cakes and cheerio feeders to keep the garden birds happy. Details of all our events can be found on our website: https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/newport-wetlands/

Bar-tailed godwit, Bearded reedling, Black swan, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared dove, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Goldfinch, Great tit, Green sandpiper, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey heron, Greylag goose, Hen harrier, Herring gull, House martin, House sparrow, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Little egret, Little grebe, Little ringed plover, Little stint, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Raven, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Ruff, Sand martin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Treecreeper, Turnstone, Water rail, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Willow warbler, 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: Green sandpiper by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)