The trees and hedgerows of Perry Lane are crammed with redwings and fieldfare feeding, a water pipit appears to have taken up residence in the reedbeds and the starlings are still treating us to spectacular displays – winter is well and truly here.
It’s impossible to visit Newport Wetlands at the moment without seeing our winter visiting thrushes feeding themselves up. Very few pairs of redwing and fieldfare breed in the UK, but around one million and 720,000 birds respectively winter here each year – and it seems as if most of them are down at the wetlands!
A beautiful bird to see at this time of year is the short-eared owl. There have been several sightings over the last few weeks. The most recent sighting was only yesterday, so there’s a good chance of seeing one during a visit as they tend to hunt during the day, especially at dawn and dusk.
The water pipit is a real rarity that has been up in the reedbeds for about three weeks. They breed at high altitudes in southern Europe and Asia Minor and only about 100 individuals come to Britain in the winter and one has managed to find its way to the part of the reserve where the reeds have been cut back, by the first set of screens. They love marshes and wet places above coastal saltmarsh so Newport Wetlands is perfect for them.
The starlings put on one of their best displays yet last night, creating breathtaking patterns in the air for around 20 minutes with around 60,000 birds in flight. They seem to prefer the western end of the reedbeds towards the power station this year, so make sure you come down for around 4pm for a chance to see this natural spectacle as they won’t be displaying for much longer.
Other recent notable sightings include peregrine, marsh harrier, bearded tit, merlin, sparrowhawk, reed bunting, goldcrest, teal, redpoll, pintail, bullfinch and kingfisher – proof that despite the cold and dark, winter really is a great time to see some of our most colourful birds at the time of year when they are most visible.