Since our April update, we continue to welcome new summer visitors to our reserve.
The Grasshopper Warbler can be heard singing it’s remarkable insect-like trill that can be sustained for several minutes without a break. It’s song has been likened to the mechanical sound made by an angler’s reel or to the sound made by a grasshopper (hence the name!) The song, reported by many of our visitors recently, can be heard during the day and at night and especially at dawn and dusk.
Image credit: Jeff Hall
A Dartford warbler has been reported on the reserve on two separate occasions but we haven't had any confirmed sightings of it yet. We have had Dartford warblers residing at Goldcliff Lagoons overwinter now for a couple of years but no sightings of them at Newport so this is exciting news.
As well as the Common Whitethroats recorded in our previous update, Lesser Whitethroats have also made an appearance recently. They are a little smaller than a Common Whitethroat with more uniform grey wings and slightly shorter grey tail. It is the call or song that generally attracts our visitors’ attention as it is usually delivered from within dense cover. The song is a dry ‘rattle’ on the same note and is similar to the start of a Yellowhammer’s. Reed warblers and Sedge warblers are out in full force. Have you learnt the difference between their songs?
Image credit: Ieuan Evans
A rare sighting for our reserve since our last update has been the Great White Egret. A very impressive bird, standing at over a metre tall, it has a longer neck than a Grey Heron and is much larger and taller than it’s smaller cousin, the Little Egret. Great White Egrets first bred in Britain in 2012 in Somerset at Shapwick Heath and since then in the Avalon Marshes. It is likely that they will continue to expand their breeding areas and hopefully a pair may make Newport wetlands their summer home.
Image credit: Kirsty Lindsay
Sitting in our kiosk on 6th May, 2 staff members were treated to the song of a male cuckoo singing just 50 metres down Perry Lane towards the reserve. At least 2 males can be heard frequently with the first deciding to make his appearance 2 days before our first Cuckoo and Bittern walk of the year last month! Also on Coronation Day, a booming Bittern was heard by our staff from the kiosk. This bird was probably at least a mile away and just shows how this species calls to maintain a territory and attract females to his reedbed home. We believe the bitterns are currently doing feeding flights as long flights across the reserve are being seen from visitors and staff.
Gwen, our Canada Goose dame, continues to be a very busy mum after 4 goslings hatched on 11/05/23. She will continue to brood the young birds while they are small and they can fly after 40 – 48 days. The young birds will then stay with their parents until next breeding season and breed when 3 years old. We will continue to monitor their progress.
More butterflies are emerging by the day with Small Copper and Large Whites being recently recorded. The migratory Painted Lady butterfly has also been seen after it’s mammoth migration from north Africa. One of the highlights from a Saturday morning moth event was the attraction and netting of an absolutely stunning male Emperor Moth.
Image credit: Kevin Hewitt
We look forward to welcoming you to our amazing reserve again soon.
Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Bearded Reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared dove, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Grasshopper Warbler, Great Black-backed gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Greenfinch, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Black-backed gull, Lesser Redpoll, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Little Owl, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine Falcon, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Red Kite, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Ringed Plover, Robin, Rock Pipit, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Short-eared Owl, Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tree Creeper, Tree Pipit, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Wimbrel, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat,
Bank vole, Grey squirrel, Mink, Otter, Rabbit, Stoat, Weasel.