How to bird Goldcliff at dawn - an overview!

Water Rail

At this time of year, Goldcliff (Newport, South Wales) affords some good birding from first light. Personally, I like to be in hide 1 at this time of year by 0730, and listen to the calls and sounds of the geese and ducks as they slowly get ready to embrace the day ahead. By 8am it is just getting light, and those silhouettes out on the water begin to take on actual names - Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon and the ever noisy Canada Geese. Any Curlew or waders that have roosted on the 1st lagoon will stilll be present and preening, so you will have a chance of seeing them before they head off to the nearby Pill or saltmarsh. The Canada Geese will begin to move off in their groups but they will return later in the day. As they leave, Greylag Geese usually come in, and it is always worth checking through these for the off White-fronted or Barnacle Goose that may be mixed in. 

 Avocet

If there is little to see from the 1st hide I quickly move up to the Redshank platform, which has a good view over the 1st lagoon and the vegetation beyond. Usually the local male Peregrine will be perched up on the little rock on the island to the right, and if the Marsh Harrier is out hunting early then you have commanding views from this viewing platform. There are usually Shelduck and other ducks to see out on the water from here and it is always worth checking along the edge of the island, as any small waders present usually feed along here or towards the back where the sluice gate is (the water level can be lower around the sluice and can be good for feeding waders if present). 

Lapwing silhouettes at dusk

I tend to spend more time here but will eventually move on, missing out the 2nd hide and continuing on to the Snipe platform. This recently extended viewing area is generally where the most bird activity, and variety of species will be. In front of you is the 2nd lagoon with a thick line of Phragmities Reeds running horizontally between the two lagoons. Stonechats like to frequent these reeds as do the warblers in the summer months. Spend some time here as the variety of birds can be very good. The Glossy Ibis that has been frequenting the lagoons for almost a year now shows well from here, where it spends some time preening and feeding before occasionally flying off either to the salt marsh or to Magor - but it will return mid-late afternoon to roost here.

 Dunlin coming in to land

The banks along the right and left sides of the lagoons are ideal for Teal that huddle up on the edges, and Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon and other ducks are usually mixed in. Similarly, Moorhens, Coots Grey Herons and Little Egrets will be present, and any flocks of Common Redshanks will be tucked in along the bank edges with Common Snipe. Check through any redshank flocks for Knot, Spotted Redshank or Greenshank that regularly occur. The reeds along the top edge of the right hand lagoon hold waders and ducks tucked in close to the reed edges.

Dunlin feeding

Tufted Ducks, Common Pochards, Little Grebes and the current female Goldeneye will all be out in the open water, diving for food and showing well. Egret species tend to prefer this lagoon and this area is nearly always the most productive species wise. Moving on from here, you follow the electric fencing around where it straightens up for the stretch towards the sea wall. The thick hedge line to your left consisting of a mix of Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Dog Rose and Willow are ideal feeding spots for Goldcrest and overwintering Chiffchaffs, along with roving flocks of finches and tits. The resident Cettis Warbler is usually feeding and calling from this stretch. Similarly, the hedge line that runs up towards the sea wall (also on your left) can be a very good place for small birds to be lurking. If there are Black-tailed Godwits on the reserve, this is where they are most likely to be feeding (and showing well).

 Black-tailed Godwit

The field behind you is a regular place for feeding groups of Canada and Greylag Geese (and anything else mixed in), occasionally Curlew and very often large flocks of wintering Starlings. Sometimes the winter thrushes can be mixed in too.

Just before the sea wall itself is another viewing platform which is worth a scan from as it looks along the left side of the whole length of reeds you were viewing from the Snipe platform. Here look for Water Rail along the edges, and if the water level is lower, Meadow Pipits, Water Pipits (when present) and Pied Wagtails all show well from here. The hedge row and the thick copses beyond on the left hold Redwings and Fieldfares in the autumn and winter, where feeding flocks roam back and forth. 

 Drake Wigeon

The sea wall is worth spending some time at, but be warned, it can be very cold at times, and if a wind is blowing then cover your ears to prevent the wind causing some discomfort. From here the variety of birds can be very rewarding. First of all (as you are facing the sea), to your right is a large manure pile and some outbuildings, and short grass areas leading up to Hill Farm. If the wintering Black Redstart is present, this is where it will be. It seems to like this area of rough open ground and the buildings, often showing from the roof of the large house itself. Wagtails and finches can also be found around here.  Late summer here sees good numbers of Yellow Wagtails along the seawall itself.

The resident light-morph Buzzard 

Scanning out to sea (ideally with a telescope or good binoculars) will always give you a variety of gulls, with Manx Shearwater occasional from here. The mud flats below regularly have Turnstone, Oystercatchers, Common Redshanks and Mallards showing well, and further along where the mud enters the salt marshes, check carefully through the Curlew flocks as Knot, Dunlin, Grey Plover (occasionally Golden Plovers) and Avocet frequent this area. Wigeon are nearly always present here if not they will be on the sea itself. Occasionally, Little Egrets and the Glossy Ibis can be seen around here, and on rare occasions, a Short-eared Owl occasionally quarters the salt marsh.

Female Kestrel

Turning around will give you an elevated position to scan over the lagoons and across to the hides and platforms you have just visited. From here, you can descend from the sea wall and head down to hide 3 - also known as 'the seawall hide'. If it is a particularly cold day, this can be the warmer of the three hides to sit in as the wind direction is generally behind you.  Lagoon 3 holds a good variety of birds, and this is generally the best spot to scan the Wigeon and other ducks from.

 The stunning Kingfisher

The grazed area of grass to the left regularly has geese and Curlew feeding there, and check along the fence line for the resident Kestrel and the light-morph Buzzard that likes to sit on the fence posts here. Meadow Pipits and Linnets also like these fence posts (and autumn Wheatears and Whinchats). The fence posts directly in front of you will have the local Stonechats and Meadow Pipits frequenting them, and the little open area of water just down from the hide will sometimes see the resident Kingfisher fishing there, particularly after it rains and the rivers and water ways are faster flowing - here it can hunt out the Sticklebacks and Minnows to its heart content. 

So there you have it, a little overview of winter at Goldcliff. As the year progresses, there will be a good variety of butterflies and dragonflies to be seen along with some interesting plants and fungi too (see my other blog posts on these). I am of course available to take anyone around the reserve to point out the delights and various birds with a full explanation on how to identify them. 

The magnificent and eye catching Glossy Ibis