2023 SIGHTINGS
Another year with some of the recording area hotspots being closed or difficult to access for most of the year including Aust Warth, Northwick Warth salt marsh and the area south of Severn Beach including Chittening Warth. No new species were added to the Severnside list.
A new record 189 species were reported and once again Avocets, Little Ringed Plovers and Lapwings attempted to breed with the latter two being successful. Tufted Duck and Gadwall also produced ducklings this year.
Highlights included Red-throated Divers and Great Northern Divers, Bewick’s Swans, Whooper Swans, White-fronted Geese, Barnacle Geese (record flock of 61), Pink-footed Goose and Egyptian Geese, Garganey, Goosanders, Mandarin, Scaup, Grey Phalarope, Purple Sandpiper, Woodcock, Temminck’s Stint, Curlew Sandpipers, Spotted Redshanks, Wood Sandpipers, a Sabine’s Gull, Black Terns and Little Terns, record numbers of Little Gulls, 6 Cranes, Glossy Ibis, 5+ Spoonbills, 15 Cattle Egrets (including a record flock of 9), multiple Great White Egrets, a Cory’s Shearwater, a “ Blue” Fulmar, a record flock of 1000+ Manx Shearwaters, Storm Petrels, Leach’s Petrels, 5 Ospreys, Hen Harrier, multiple Marsh Harriers and 18+ Red Kites, Short-eared, Tawny, Barn, and Lttle Owl, Pied Flycatchers, Black Redstart, Ring Ouzel, “Siberian” Chiffchaff, Firecrests, Wood Warblers, Bearded Tit, Nuthatch (1st record for 3 years), Woodlark, Hawfinches, Crossbills, Twite and Lapland Bunting.
Disappointments included the lack of any Pomarine Skua, Eider, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Shag or Snow Bunting.
Click on the Calendar pictures below for detailed daily sightings and pictures for each month....
