Visit Report 19/4/11

Gloriously sunny day yesterday, so I headed down to Newport Wetlands for a full day birding with the camera!

The weather wasn't too photo friendly, as it was hazy and very bright sunshine, but I battled on. I noticed it was a Spring High Tide as I crossed the bridge on the M4 just after the Bryn Glas Tunnels, this always means there will be more "action".

I wasn't disappointed. For some reason the Canadian Geese were restless. They were flying from lagoon to lagoon when I got there, honking like mad. I walked along the front of the reserve to see what was out on the retreating tide. The answer was not a heck of a lot. Curlew, Shelducks, Mallards, a small flock of knots were all I could make out using binoculars, there were a number of unidentifiable blobs that were lost in the reflected sun off the mud, but without a scope I could not tell you.

I walked through the copse and had a look in the hide, now fitted with seats ... horray! I chilled out in there for half hour whilst waiting for my brother and his family to arrive, and a twitter friend of mine, Jerry. There was plenty on the lakes, all the usual grebes and ducks. I really think that hide is going to become a major asset when the Hobbies arrive!

I began to walk back to the visitor centre as my brother had arrived, stopped to look for the never present whilst I am there Little Owls .. not to be seen! But then I noticed a small bird flitting from out of the hawthorns catching flies. My first thought it was a Pied Flycatcher. It turned out to be a Whitethroat (I think), which inbetween stuffing his chops, kept on giving out bursts of delightful song. I managed to get some cracking shots of him, hopefully someone can confirm my ID.

My brother had turned up at this point, and as we moved on, back towards the hide, he spotted movement under the pylons, on the gravel. We first thought it was a wagtail, again, when we got the binoculars on there, it was a male and female pair of Wheatears. They were a bit far away for a really good shot, but I did manage one.

The woods were full of various butterflies, and me and Jerry saw the first dragonfly of the year for us in the afternoon. We also caught sight or a Bar Headed Goose, although there was some debate back in the visitor centre whether it was an escaped captive or not. It's a tick for me until someone tells me otherwise! ;o) We heard a cuckoo calling from the woods by the copse area, the same place I heard them last year.

To compound the missing Little Owls, I just missed a family of Bearded Tits on the route back. And the birding gods laughed at me, when Bad Bob the Swan decided to have a bite of me during lunch. I am sporting a birding badge of honour on the back of my arm ... if they ever make a bird version of Broadwalk Empire, then Bad Bob can fill the role of Nucky Thompson quite well .. that picnic area is his and his alone! ;o)

Here is my species list for the day, sorry I don't do bird counts! ;o)

Chiffchaff
Reed Bunting
Canadian Goose
Pochard
Tufted Duck
House Martin
Coot
Moorhen
Reed Bunting
Cormorant
Shelducks
Mallard
Mute Swan
Dunnock
Lesser Blackback gull
Little Egret
Heron
Curlew
Black Headed gulls
Goldfinch
Magpie
Jackdaw
Great Crested Grebe
Wheatear
Whitethroat
Kestrel
Pheasant
Bar Headed Goose
Greenfinch
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Knot
Herring Gull
Cuckoo (calling)
Little Grebe
Common Gull
Buzzard

Ant