Here’s the recent sightings from last week. 69 bird species and 2 others!
Avocet, Bearded tit, Black tailed godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Canada goose + 6 goslings, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Grasshopper warbler, Great crested grebe, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Hobby, House martin, House sparrow, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little owl, Little ringed plover, Long tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Marsh warbler (unconfirmed!), Meadow pipit, Moorhen, Mute swan + 6 cygnets, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Raven, Red breasted merganser, Redstart, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted duck, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Also: toad, grass snake.
Here's a brilliant picture of the cygnets on the scrape:
Mute swan and 1 day old cygnets by Andy Wattson
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!
We’ve had some new arrivals on the reserve in the last few days! There are both avocet and lapwing chicks down at Goldcliff, easy to see from the hides. The Canada geese have hatched 6 fluffy little bundles of joy, and they spent yesterday wandering around the environs and showing off in front of the visitor centre. So cute!
Canada Goose and goslings (and window reflection!)
We’re eagerly awaiting the cygnets from the mute swan which has been nesting right by the visitor centre. They should hatch any day now, so we’re keeping a keen eye on the nest. It’s easy to see from the shop so come and have a look – maybe you’ll be lucky enough to see the eggs hatch! Expect an update here as soon as the cygnets appear.
Have you had any new arrivals in your gardens? Are you expecting some soon?
Three Goslings
Avocet, Bearded tit, Black tailed godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue tit, Canada goose, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common gull, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Grasshopper warbler, Great crested grebe, Great tit, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Herring gull, Hobby, House martin, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little ringed plover, Mallard, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Red breasted merganser, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted duck, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Willow warbler, Wood pigeon, Wren.
Unfortunately no live bats seen on the bat walk as we had miserable weather, but during the talk we did get to see some bat poo!
To see pictures by john_l_uk of the Red breasted merganser have a look on the forum here.
As we can now upload photos again, I thought I’d share with you the pictures of our two Name The Tiger competition winners!
The first winner was Lewis (in the middle) who is 6, and named his tiger Bernard the Death Eater! Amazing – a Harry Potter fan perhaps?
Lewis (6) and friends
Iris, aged 5, was also a winner with her tiger named Stripes, and here she is collecting her lovely fluffy tiger prize:
Iris (5)
Well done to both our winners, and thank you to everyone else who entered!
Keep your eyes peeled for our next competition, and in the mean time there’s plenty to do as a family when you visit Newport Wetlands! There are free Bird Bingo sheets for you to borrow, where you tick off what you see as you walk around.
We also have our incredible Wildlife Explorer backpacks which you can see behind Iris in the second photo. These are absolutely brilliant – inside is a pair of binoculars, a bug pot with magnifying lens, and a Detective Challenge (like a scavenger hunt without the scavenging). To help you identify all the wildlife there’s also a bird book, a bug ID chart, and another chart which changes depending on the season. I’ve just put in the Butterflies of Britain chart since we’re starting to see a few lovely butterflies around!
The Wildlife Explorer backpacks are £3.50 to hire for the day for non-members, and they are free to hire for RSPB members! Just the thing to help you make the most of your day out at the Wetlands!
Here's the weekly sightings:
Avocet, Bar tailed godwit, Bearded tit, Black tailed godwit, Blackcap, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Common sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Goosander, Grasshopper warbler, Great crested grebe, Great tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey heron, Hobby, House martin, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little owl, Little ringed plover, Magpie, Mallard, Merlin, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pochard, Raven, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Spotted redshank, Stock dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tufted duck, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Wood pigeon, Wood warbler, Wren.
Also, a stoat, and two otters seen early morning on two occasions!
Reed Bunting by Robbie Morgan age 9