Recent sightings from 18 to 24 November 2019
The otters were once again very much the star attraction at Newport Wetlands this week. Up to two otters could be seen fishing in the lagoons on a daily basis and on a rainy Friday two were feasting on apparently utterly delicious fish in front of the hide for no less than 45 minutes. Unsurprisingly the starlings were a big attraction as well and some nice murmuration of around 25.000 starlings could be seen just before sunset. Marsh harriers remained being very interested in them and, apart from two sparrowhawks, a merlin could also be seen within the starling flocks on Wednesday. There were some bigger flocks of winter thrushes this week as well with redwings still outnumbering fieldfares. Numbers of wintering wildfowl were still relatively low. Apart from quite a lot of shelducks and a decent amount of shovelers there were only some wigeon and the one or the other teal to be seen along the coast. On the rise were, however, the numbers of waders. Curlews and some oystercatchers were joined by around 50 black-tailed godwits and redshanks and several hundred dunlins. On Thursday 17 grey plovers were recorded and the next day their total rose to 29. Friday brought also a remarkable total of 28 snipes and 27 turnstones. Flocks of linnet and a merlin on Friday were further interesting sightings along the foreshore. The reedbeds remained relatively quiet. Some stonechats were seen hovering over the reeds and Tuesday brought the only sighting of a bearded reedling. More active was the bittern which could be spotted most days and on Friday even two of them were recorded. Goldcrest, treecreeper and green woodpecker were further nice sightings this week and the kingfisher continued to fish regularly on the scrape in front of the café to the delight of the visitors who enjoyed a warm brew on the one or the other cold rainy day. The peregrine was once again a regular guest on the island in front of the hide at Goldcliff Lagoons. An avocet on Tuesday and two spotted redshanks on Thursday were the highlights in terms of waders at Goldcliff. On Wednesday two barnacle geese and four late swallows were further interesting sightings there whilst the glossy ibis was spotted the same day from Redhouse Barn. One of the biggest surprises this week was a woodcock which flew past close to the visitor centre on Saturday at dusk when we were returning from our guided starling walk.
Our Soup & Starlings events are coming to an end with only three more events this Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Please give us a ring on 01633 636363 to check any late availabilities. Every weekend until the middle of December our Christmas Craft Workshop will take place for all the family. You can create a log reindeer, a wooden snowman ornament or some rustic Christmas tree decoration. It is a drop in event and you can pay on the day. On 11th December you can learn a bit more about waders and wildfowl on our Wildfowl and Waders guided walk. 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, Bearded reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Grey plover, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Merlin, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Raven, Redshank, Redwing, Reed bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Spotted redshank, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted duck, Turnstone, Water rail, Wigeon, Woodcock, 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: Otter by Joe Weston