Recent sightings from 3 to 9 June 2019
On Saturday our new bronze relief model of the Gwent Levels was finally revealed by TV presenter and RSPB President Miranda Krestovnikoff, but this was not the only highlight during what was at times a very windy and wet week. There was still plenty of new life to be welcomed. Two pochard females were looking after three ducklings, the reed warbler and the green woodpecker also had young ones, and when you looked closely you could see many birds, including blackcaps and common whitethroats, flying around with food in their bills. The Savi’s warbler was once again heard on Tuesday with its distinctive call as was the bittern on Tuesday and Wednesday. As expected, the windy weather conditions made it hard to get any glimpse of a bearded reedling and it was only seen on Thursday and Sunday this week whilst marsh harriers were seen more often. Wednesday brought a stonechat, with lesser whitethroats and bullfinches both having been spotted this week as well. Reed, sedge and Cetti’s warblers continued to dominate life in the reedbeds alongside the reed bunting which is probably the easiest to spot out of our reedbed specialists. On the mudflats there were a good number of shelduck, some oystercatchers, and in amongst several curlews there was still a whimbrel on Thursday. Humid and thunderstormy conditions on Friday brought an influx of swifts over the reedbeds and there is hardly anything that can beat the aerial ballet of swifts, the masters of the sky! If you see swifts near your place, please take part in the RSPB swift survey and submit your sightings on https://swiftsurvey.org/Rspb/Home/Index?utm_source=swift_action_webpage&utm_medium=header. The highlights at Goldcliff Lagoons included a grey plover in breeding plumage which was seen on Friday and Saturday. A spotted redshank was around during the beginning of the week, the glossy ibis was seen on Wednesday, and six bar-tailed godwits were spotted on Thursday. Let’s see what will be revealed next week in terms of wildlife…
On 15th June we will give you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of moths on our Moth Walk. If you can’t make it on the 15th, then just pop in to our Moth Morning on 16th June to see the variety of moths that are around us every day (or every night) but go mainly unnoticed by most of us. If you want to join us on the quest for the holy grail of the Newport Wetlands – the bearded reedling, then get up early and come with us on the Bearded Reedling and Breakfast Walk on 19th June. Details of all these events can be found on our website: https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/newport-wetlands/
Avocet, Bar-tailed godwit, Bearded reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal tit, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Glossy ibis, Goldfinch, Great black-backed gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Grey plover, Herring gull, House martin, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Lesser whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little ringed plover, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Savi's warbler, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Sparrowhawk, Spotted redshank, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Tufted duck, Water rail, Whimbrel, Wigeon, 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: Swift by Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)