Recent sightings from 27 January to 02 February 2020
The week started off very promising on Monday morning. A really high tide brought around 160 wigeon and 70 teal close to the coast path, a flock of 18 grey plovers were flying along the water’s edge, a merlin was hunting over the foreshore and flocks of more than 300 lapwings and 1.000 dunlins alongside good numbers of curlew and shelduck completed a busy foreshore. A marsh harrier was patrolling the reedbeds from which two snipes flew off and an otter was once again spotted in the lagoons before a kingfisher was flying past. Not a bad result for a two-hour walk at the start of the week. Later in the day a bittern was spotted as well. The trio of kingfisher, marsh harrier and bittern were once again seen on Tuesday. A golden plover was recorded on Thursday before Friday was another busy day along the coast when black-tailed godwit and a sizeable flock of 248 knots joined the grey plovers, curlews, redshanks, dunlins and lapwings. In amongst the songbirds the song thrush lived up to its name and delighted us most mornings and evenings with its melodious tunes at the car park. Bullfinches remained regulars along Perry Lane and on Wednesday and Sunday the little goldcrest didn’t go unnoticed either. On the fields there was still a decent number of fieldfares and redwings around. The otter made further appearances in the lagoons on Tuesday and Wednesday and was also active during a very blustery weekend when it was seen from the hide on both days. On Sunday some visitors got a real treat when watching it porpoising (a special hunting technique which resembles the way porpoises dive) close to the hide for 40 minutes. There were further sightings of the small but no less spectacular merlin on the foreshore on Thursday and Friday morning. Marsh harriers remained a regular sighting both on the reserve and at Goldcliff lagoons all week long. There were some “good old friends” at Goldcliff this week: the peregrine kept on perching in front of the first hide and glossy ibis and black-necked grebe which have been around for over year (ibis) and since the 5th January (grebe) allowed some lovely close-up views. Other noteworthy sightings on the lagoons were two barnacle geese, some female goldeneyes and a pintail during the weekend which joined the shoveler, teal and wigeons. A spotted redshank on Thursday and some avocets on the coast from Goldcliff on Wednesday were further highlights of the week. On Sunday we had the return of another “good old friend” when for the first time in months a little grebe – which could regularly be seen on the lagoons throughout the winter – made an appearance on the scrape in front of the café. Let’s see what reunions will await us in the coming week.
The mudflats have been the busiest part of the reserve in the past few weeks and during our Wetland and Estuary Waders Guided Walk on 15th February we will get you a bit closer to some of the main characters such as lapwing, curlew and dunlin. During the February half term, you can build your own nest box and let the RSPB’s motto “giving nature a home” become reality. The Big Bird Box Build will take place on Monday 17th, Wednesday 19th and Friday 21st February. Pond dipping isn’t just fun for the kids, therefore we are offering a Pond Species ID Guided Workshop especially for adults on Sunday 8th March. If you want to get in the right mood for spring, then join us on our Spring Birdwatching Walk on 28th March. Details of all our events can be found on our website: https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/newport-wetlands/
Avocet, Barnacle goose, Bittern, Blackbird, Black-headed gull, Black-necked grebe, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Collared dove, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Goldcrest, Golden plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great black-backed gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Grey plover, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House sparrow, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Merlin, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Redshank, Redwing, Reed bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tufted duck, Water rail, Wigeon, 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 with curlews, wigeons and teal by Jeremy White