Recent sightings from 29 April to 05 May 2019
The week started off in style with the sighting of a spoonbill at Goldcliff lagoons on Monday and a grasshopper warbler at the wetlands on Tuesday. Most visitors were hoping to catch a glimpse of a cuckoo or a bearded reedling. Cuckoos still were rather active all over the reserve and could be heard and seen on a daily basis and fortunately there have also been a number of records for the bearded reedling. On Friday, two great white egrets were first seen flying over Goldcliff before they headed further towards the wetlands and were spotted there once again. The number of whimbrels on the mudflats was on the rise and our otter was spotted once again on Saturday, whilst a water vole made an appearance on Wednesday. The air was filled with song all over the reserve which could also be witnessed on our Family Bird Song walk on Saturday. The hedgerows were full of blackcaps and chiffchaffs and the reed warblers, Cetti’s warblers and sedge warblers filled the reedbeds with life. Lesser whitethroats greeted us at the car park every morning, but the most prominent bird this week was without any doubt the common whitethroat which seemed to be everywhere and often perched on top of a tree or on the pylons to make itself heard. Whilst the marsh harrier and the bittern were still regulars at the wetlands, Goldcliff lagoons remained a stronghold for wading birds and avocets, lapwings, ringed plovers and little ringed plovers were all spotted looking after their young ones. The glossy ibis was still present at Goldcliff as well and allowed nice views. With more young ones to be expected in and off the nests pretty soon, the next few weeks are sure to be full of excitement and new life as well!
On Saturday 11th May our Bearded Reedling and Breakfast Walk will take place from 7.30am – 10.30am and there are only a few more spaces available for this. Kids can get their hands muddy during our Mud Magic! which will be on from 27th till 31st May. 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, Bearded reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared dove, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Glossy ibis, Goldfinch, Grasshopper warbler, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Great white egret, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House martin, House sparrow, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Lesser whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little ringed plover, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Mistle thrush, Moorhen, Mute swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Sand martin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Spoonbill, Spotted redshank, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tufted duck, Whimbrel, 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: Common whitethroat by Jeremy White