Recent sightings from 07 to 13 January 2019
Whilst the reedbeds and the lagoons were relatively quiet, the highlights were some sightings of a Marsh harrier and Stonechats which are still around in quite good numbers, it was much livelier on the mudflats. There were lots of Curlew, Lapwing and Dunlin and amongst them were also Oystercatchers, Black-tailed godwits, Redshanks and on Sunday some Grey plovers. Shelducks, Wigeons and Shovelers, the latter two often right on the edge of the sea, added to the number of birds on the sea shore. The Little owl was once again regularly seen on its favourite tree and remained a main attraction for the visitors. It was an interesting week at Goldcliff lagoons. Wednesday brought a Merlin alongside an Avocet and a Pintail, and Thursday a Turnstone. In amongst the usual Canada geese and Greylag geese there were also some rarer visitors. Up to five White-fronted geese were present from Wednesday to Friday and there were also two Barnacle geese recorded on Wednesday and Thursday. There are still flocks of Redwing around at the wetlands and the Snipes remained truthful to their favourite spot at the far end of the scrape in front of the café.
Avocet, Barnacle goose, Blackbird, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Green woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Grey plover, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House sparrow, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Little egret, Little grebe, Little owl, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Merlin, Mistle thrush, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Raven, Redshank, Redwing, Reed bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tufted duck, Turnstone, Water rail, White-fronted goose, 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: Barnacle geese in amongst Canada geese by Jeremy White