Recent sightings from 29 October to 04 November 2018
The Baird’s sandpiper still attracted birdwatchers from afar to the Goldcliff lagoons where it showed itself nicely for the second week running. It also still got the attention from a Peregrine which chased it away on more than one occasion. Water pipit and Greenshank were other highlights of the week at Goldcliff. On the reserve the Starlings have taken over centre stage. The numbers are still on the rise and, on some days, they have already shown a great aerial display much to the delight of the visitors. Where there are a big number of Starlings you can also expect birds of prey as well and a Sparrowhawk, a Peregrine and three Marsh harriers showed interest in them. While the Water rails around the visitor centre have been still very vocal, the Bittern continued to show itself much more regular again as well and on Tuesday even two of them were recorded. There were some lovely close-up views of the Wigeons, Gadwalls and Shovelers from the viewing screens that showed them in all their glory and beauty. Some Redwings have been on the move, but their numbers have still been fairly small. Stonechats were still prominent in the reed beds and the mudflats held again a good number of Curlews and Shelducks with some Dunlins, Lapwings and Redshanks mixed in between.
Avocet, Bairds sandpiper, Bittern, Blackbird, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Greater black-backed gull, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey heron, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Merlin, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Redshank, Redstart, Redwing, Reed bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted duck, Water pipit, Water rail, Wigeon, Wood pigeon 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: Starlings with Marsh harriers by Jeremy White