Recent sightings from 25 to 31 March 2019
It was another exciting week at Newport Wetlands. Spring is well and truly on its way now with an array of butterflies in the air and with Chiffchaffs singing everywhere on the reserve competing with the Cetti’s warblers for the crown of the most vocal bird. One of our nicest singers, the Blackcap, is spreading joy with its melodious yet slightly melancholic song. Swallows and Sand martins have become more regular sights now (especially on Sunday the sky over the reedbeds was full of Sand martins) and a Willow warbler was around once again on Thursday. Whilst Bearded reedlings remained rather elusive, there were at least two sightings of them this week, one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. “Our” Glossy ibis which showed itself several times has become a celebrity in its own right and attracted visitors from as far as Stoke-on-Trent. The mudflats were still host to a really good number of Shelducks and Curlews, and on Wednesday and Thursday there was also a flock of around 200 Black-tailed godwits which didn’t avoid the attention of a Peregrine. On Wednesday, a Merlin brought a bit of magic to the salt marshes and was perching nicely on a post for at least 20 minutes. There was another sighting of a Merlin from Goldcliff on Saturday. It was definitely a good week for spotting some rare visitors at the wetlands. A Great white egret was seen flying over on Tuesday, and Saturday brought not only Common crossbills but also Red-legged partridges near the site of the Little owl which was seen several times too. The main attraction at Goldcliff lagoons were – apart from the Glossy ibis – a good selection of waders. Apart from Avocets, Curlew, Black-tailed godwits, Lapwings, Redshanks and Ringed Plovers there were also sightings of Spotted redshank, Little ringed plover, Knot and Ruff. Just in time for the new BBC series “Wales: Land of the Wild” which will start next week, two of the most iconic species of Wales made an appearance at the Wetlands as well. On Thursday, a Red kite was spotted once again and our family of Otters were giving visitors a magical experience of an encounter with an exciting animal in the wild. True magic is all around us, we just have to go out to find it.
Avocet, Bearded reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Common crossbill, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Golden plover, Goldfinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Great white egret, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Little grebe, Little owl, Little ringed plover, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Merlin, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Red kite, Red-legged partridge, Redshank, Reed bunting, Ringed plover, Robin, Ruff, Sand martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted redshank, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tufted duck, Wheatear, Wigeon, Willow warbler, 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: Chiffchaff by Jeremy White