Recent sightings from 15 to 21 October 2018
The week not only brought plenty of sunshine, but also some birds that one would expect to be further on their journey to the south already. On Monday (some were even still around on Tuesday) Swallows passed through and there were around 20 Sand martins as well. One of the highlights of the week was a Black redstart which was spotted near the sea wall on Friday. Up to three Snipes could regularly be seen on the scrape right in front of the café and a Water rail was often heard and sometimes even spotted there as well. Saturday evening a Water vole showed itself briefly. The mudflats still were home to a good number of Shelduck and Curlew and smaller numbers of Oystercatcher, Whimbrel and Dunlin. A flock of around 60 Black-tailed godwits flew over on Saturday and Tuesday brought a Turnstone. The lagoons at Goldcliff were an interesting place for waders once again, too, with Little stint, Spotted redshank and up to three Greenshanks. There were huge flocks of Jackdaws and not least Woodpigeons to be seen from the reserve and in amongst them you could sometimes spot a Peregrine as well. Starling numbers start to build up and are expected to peak in November. The Bittern has been recorded four times this week and some were lucky enough to spot three Bearded reedlings.
Bearded reedling, Bittern, Black redstart, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, 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, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little stint, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Merlin, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Reed bunting, Ringed plover, Robin, Sand martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted redshank, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tufted duck, Turnstone,Water rail, Whimbrel, 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: Snipe by Jeremy White