Recent sightings from 19 to 25 November 2018

In the hedgerows, you could still find big flocks of Redwings feasting on the remaining berries and with some colder weather coming in there was also an increased activity on our bird feeders which were full of Great tits, Blue tits, Goldfinches, Greenfinches and House sparrows. The Great spotted woodpecker was also a regular visitor. Wednesday brought a female scaup to the lagoons, but things really got exciting on Thursday. While watching the “Dawn Explosion” of the Starlings there were also two Barn owls present and a Spoonbill flying along the coast. Approaching lunchtime there was a very late Osprey spotted flying over the reedbeds. Well and truly a great sighting for the 22nd November! On the mudflats, there were huge flocks of Dunlin in addition to the Curlews and Shelducks, and a Water rail was feeding out in the open for quite a while which could nicely be seen from the “wobbly bridge” towards the lighthouse. After a quiet Black Friday, Saturday brought the first sighting of a Hen harrier this winter when a female flew past the hide. Grey plovers and Greenshanks were spotted on the mudflats. The highlight on Sunday was a Woodcock which flew off when our “Dawn Explosion” visitor group approached. At Goldcliff lagoons the Peregrine remained a common sight and Water pipits could still be found as well as some Spotted redshanks.

Barn owl, Bittern, Blackbird, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit,  Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Coal tit, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall,  Goldfinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Greater black-backed gull, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Greenshank,  Grey heron, Grey plover, Hen harrier, Herring gull, House sparrow, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Mistle thrush, Moorhen, Mute swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Redshank, Redwing, Reed bunting, Robin, Scaup, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Spoonbill, Spotted redshank, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted duck, Water pipit, Water rail, Wigeon, Wood pigeon, Woodcock 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: "Dawn Explosion" by Jeremy White