Sightings and news to week ending 25 January 2026
Sunday 25 January
Tack Piece
Really busy with Lapwing, Dunlin, Wigeon and Teal. At least 17 Ruff with c40 Redshank and c30 Black-tailed Godwit.
Estuary Tower
Fifteen Tundra Bean Geese and an adult Pink-footed Goose on the Dumbles among the Greylag Geese, and with the Barnacle Goose flock, a Ross's, a Snow x Bar-headed and Canada x Barnacle hybrids. 100 Russian White-fronted Geese on the Dumbles close to the tower mid to late morning with accompanying un-ringed Barnacle Goose, worth keeping an eye on this one, it could have arrived with the wild Russian White-fronted Geese. Plus at least 9 Cranes.
A total count of 3850 Lapwing over high tide included Dumbles, Tack Piece, Ox Piece (and Rushy), no other fields held any. Also 1730 Golden Plover over the same area. 355 Dunlin were on the Dumbles with around 400 across the other floods. A single Sanderling and two Little Stint were among them.
Decoy/Pondzone
A few Redpoll in the birches and Firecrest seen again a couple of times near Peng Observatory
Top New Piece
Great Egret, c40 Wigeon, a few Shoveler, 200 Teal and 2 Crane.
South Lake
A drake Goldeneye, 78 Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Cormorant, Pochard and Tufted Duck.
Saturday 24 January
Rushy Hide
38 Bewicks Swans (5 juvenile), 88 Shelduck, 16 Pintail, 20 Pochard (3f), 160 Lapwing, 120 Tufted Duck, 5 Mute Swan, 1 Kestrel, 1 Grey Heron
South Lake
93 Black-tailed Godwit, 94 Avocet, 259 Lapwing, 178 Teal,125 Tufted Duck, 9 Shelduck, 37 Gadwall, 89 Shoveler, 63 Pochard , 2 Grey Heron, 10 Cormorant, 6 Dunlin, 344 Black-Headed Gull
Dumbles
41 Wigeon, 15 Shoveler, 22 Teal, 15 Crane, 12 Tundra Bean Goose, Ross’s Goose in Barnacle flock, Peregrine Falcon
Tack Piece
4 Little Stint, 4 Bewick Swans, 2000+ Wigeon, 1500+ Teal, 23 Shoveler, 7 Pintail, 4 Tufted Duck, 4 White-fronted Goose, 4000+ Lapwing, 1500+ Golden Plover, 50+ Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Redshank, 15 Ruff, singles of Snipe and Pheasant
Zeiss Hide
665 Teal, 31 Wigeon, 24 Canadas, 29 Greylags, 60 Shelduck
South finger Walkway
Treecreeper, Fieldfare above
Tin Shed Ground
28 Greylag.
Kingfisher Hide
16 Teal, 2 Little Grebe, 1 Water Rail, Great Spotted Woodpecker and flocks of Siskins and Long-Tailed Tits
Four Score
89 Greylags, 6 Roe Deer.
Bottom New Piece
3 Roe Deer
Friday 23 January
South Lake
137 Teal, 92 Lapwing, single Black Tailed Godwit, 73 Avocet. 23 Tufted, 48 Pochard (41,7), 120c BHG, 5 Herring Gull, 1 Lesser Black Back Gull, 1 Common Gull
Zeiss Hide
731 Teal sheltering at south end, 52 Wigeon, 2 Tufted Ducks, 10 Shelduck
South Finger
Two Song Thrush, 5 Fieldfare and 10 Chaffinch.
Kingfisher Hide
Young Male Goshawk in tree on Bottom New Piece
Pillbox Pool
21 Wigeon, 4 Tufted Duck, 6 Teal.
Long Ground Pool - 62 Tufted Duck, 33 Shoveler, 9 Teal, 5 Gadwall, 1 Cormorant
Tack Piece
41 Redshank, 11 Ruff, 38 Bewick Swans, 20+ Shoveler plus hundreds of Lapwing, Wigeon and Teal with Pintail Pochard and Tufted Duck in the flock
Seen from Estuary Tower
59 White Fronts on Ox Piece
Saltmarsh Scrape - 273 Wigeon, 130 Teal, 13 Shoveler,.
Dumbles - Sanderling, Cranes Oakie & Sherbert plus 5 unidentified birds, 175 Barnacles, Ross’s and hybrids, 8 Bean Geese plus hundreds of Greylag and Canadas.
Thursday 22 January
South Lake
Returning territorial Oystercatcher, 13 Crane flew south in fields between canal and the lake, 72 Avocet and c30 Black-tailed Godwit, c400 Lapwing and few Dunlin with them, 28 drake and four duck Pochard, 114 Tufted Duck, 32 Shoveler, c10 Gadwall and more.
Rushy Hide/Peng Observatory
143 Tufted Duck, 77 drake and 14 duck Pochard, female Mandarin, 100 Shelduck, c30 Pintail, 90 Bewick's Swans between here and Tack Piece.
Tack Piece
A few counts from this morning- the Goshawk was in the large oaks on North side for a period, 38 Shoveler among 1000s Teal and Wigeon, 33 Redshank, 24 Ruff, 100 Golden Plover, 1000+ Lapwing, 300 Dunlin.
Estuary Tower
Twelve Tundra Bean Geese with the Canada Geese + 171 Barnacle, Ross's, Snow x Bar-headed and a Pink-footed Goose. Looks like the 100+ Russian White-fronted Goose flock is settling in the Stall House Ground, look three fields to the NE.
Wednesday 21 January
Perfect conditions for large gatherings of waterbirds, the heavy rainfall has flooded the reserve area attracting large flocks, especially over high tide. Good counts of 4292 Lapwing, 2205 Wigeon (1240 floating on the Severn, flushed from the floods by raptors) 2717 Teal from the hides this morning.
South Lake
33 Black-tailed Godwit, 67 Avocet, 400 Lapwing, 21 Cormorant, 57 Pochard, 43 Tufted Duck.
Kingfisher Hide
Two Little Grebe, pair of Gadwall, pair of Shoveler and 14 Teal.
Tack Piece
Around 3000 birds feeding/roosting here this morning.
c30 Black-tailed Godwits, 12 Ruff, 39 Redshank, c 20 Curlew, 899 Wigeon, 560 Teal, Bewick's Swans, c30 Shoveler, 19 Pintail, c40 Dunlin, c240 Golden Plover.
Estuary Tower
Around 7000 birds viewable on the Dumbles/Estuary over high tide. Pink-footed Goose with Canada Geese, c360 Golden Plover, 539 Dunlin, c100 Curlew, 2607 Lapwing and flocks of Wigeon Teal and Pintail on the Severn. A couple of Marsh Harrier about.
Tuesday 20 January
South Finger
Single Shoveler, 4 Gadwall, 4 Mallard, 13 Teal, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker. 74 Greylag Geese on Four Score Ground. Seen from Kingfisher Hide
Bottom New Piece
1 juvenile Goshawk, 10 Canada Geese, 153 White Fronted Geese, 2 Mute Swans, 4 Shelduck, 3 Roe Deer seen from Kingfisher Hide
Top New Piece
57 Greylag Geese, Four Gadwall, 43 Wigeon, 474 Teal, Two Tufted Ducks, 4 Moorhens, 25 shelduck, 400 Lapwing, 200 Dunlin seen from Van De Bovenkamp Hide
South Lake
49 Avocet, 21 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Shelduck, 13 Gadwall, Five Herring, One Lesser Black-backed, 2 Common Gulls with the Black Headed Gull flock, 42 Pochard (3 female) 117 Teal, 25 Shoveler, 13 Cormorants seen from Discovery Hide
Pillbox Pool
35 Wigeon, 29 Teal, 2 Coot, 2 Shoveler.
Peng Observatory/Rushy Hide
Two Blackcap feeding on the 'ivy walls'.
Estuary Tower/Dumbles
Six Linnet, 6 Skylark, 173 Barnacle Geese, eight Russian White-fronted Geese, 16 Tundra Bean Geese, 126 Curlew, 13 Cranes plus 1000s of ducks on the high tide this morning. Pink-footed Goose with the Canada Geese on Lower Dumbles. Ross', Barnacle x Canada hybrid, white Canada and Snow x Bar-headed Goose hybrid. Wren and Robin below the hide
Tack Piece
82 Bewick's Swans at dawn (+two in the Rushy), two Pied Wagtail, 100s Wigeon and Teal, Marsh Harrier, Raven and Peregrine Falcon. 300 Golden Plover, 1500+ Lapwing, Little Stint, 12+ Ruff, 30+ Redshank, 200 Dunlin.
Monday 19 January
Another misty/foggy start to the day with poor visibility hampering the morning rounds/counts.
Rushy Hide/Peng Observatory
57 Bewicks's Swans at dawn (another 30 'swans' on Tack Piece in the dark)
Top New Piece
Much busier this morning, lots of ducks present in the fog.
Grounds
Fieldfares and Redwing raiding the berries in the matrix. Eight Redpoll and c30 Siskins roaming with Goldfinches.
South Finger
A couple of Water Rail feeding on the rides in the reedbed, two Goldcrest in the hedge along the track.
At least six Russian White-fronted Geese among the Canada Geese on the Bottom New Piece.
Spinney Wood
Treecreeper.
