July is another quiet month on Severnside with only 144 species having been recorded. It does have a more optimistic feeling to it than June, with the appearance of returning waders and in recent years the regular appearance of Little Egret, Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Herring Gulls (usually towards the end of the month). Unusual species seen have included dispersing Crossbill, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Goshawk and a Stone Curlew (1999). A good July gale has yet to happen but could produce some real seabird goodies....
July 2004
July 31st
A dramatic fall in the small wader numbers at Severn Beach with just 2 Ringed Plovers, 2 Whimbrel and a Little Egret seen there this morning. The adult Mediterranean Gull roosted on Northwick Warth and nearby there were 43 Turnstones, 4 Common Sandpipers, single Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher and 2 Garden Warblers at New Passage. A Wheatear, Green Sandpiper and a Whimbrel were seen at Chittening Warth and another 6 Common Sandpipers were in Cake Pill, Aust Warth. There was little improvement to the wader numbers on the evening tide with just 9 Dunlin at Severn Beach, 6 Ringed Plovers and a Whimbrel at New Passage.
Common Sandpiper, New Passage 31.7.4
July 30th
Almost a repeat of yesterday; Severn Beach produced 2 Little Egrets, 320+ Dunlin, 30 Ringed Plovers and 2 Whimbrel There were 2 Garden Warblers in the hawthorn scrub along the railway line here. The adult Mediterranean Gull, a Common Tern, another 2 Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper, 24 Turnstones and another Garden Warbler were seen at New Passage. There were 2 Sedge Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Hobby at the Grebe Pond on Northwick Warth.
July 29th
A warm humid day produced 2 Little Egrets, 5 Whimbrel, 420 Dunlin, 40 Ringed Plovers, 3 Sanderling and a Wheatear at Severn Beach. The adult Mediterranean Gull remained at New Passage where 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Redshank and 2 Common Sandpipers were also seen this morning, a Little Egret roosted here this evening in a tall Hawthorn hedge.
July 28th
The “small” wader numbers at Severn Beach increased to 400 Dunlin, 5 Sanderling, 17 Ringed Plovers and 2 Common Sandpipers. Other birds here included 3 Little Egrets, a Wheatear and a Lesser Whitethroat. The adult Mediterranean Gull was still at New Passage with 9 Redshank, 24 Turnstones , 2 Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper and a Hobby also seen here today. Migrants on Northwick Warth included 2 Whimbrel and a Garden Warbler. Another 6 Common Sandpipers and 2 Lesser Whitethroats were seen at Aust Warth.
July 27th
The moulting adult Mediterranean Gull continues its long stay at New Passage where 24 Turnstones, 4 Common Sandpipers, 9 Redshank and 8 Dunlin were seen. The first large wader flock of the autumn arrived at Severn Beach with 320 Dunlin and 30 Ringed Plover present just after high tide. A mobile Little Egret was seen in several places today around Severn Beach, commuting between the estuary and the Orchard Pools.
July 26th
An adult and a juvenile Mediterranean Gulls were seen at New Passage this morning where there was a small influx of waders; 6 Sanderling, a summer plumage Knot, 1 Whimbrel, 45 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plovers and 16 Turnstones. Waders seen elsewhere included 7 Common Sandpipers at Aust Warth, 30 Dunlin and a Whimbrel at Severn Beach, 3 Ringed Plovers at Chittening Warth where 2 Common Terns were also seen. A Little Egret flew north over Severn Beach village at 9.10 pm.
July 25th
The Little Egret and adult Mediterranean Gull showed well at New Passage this morning. A Kingfisher and a Common Sandpiper were in the pill here and 24 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plovers and 9 Turnstones were on the shoreline. A Whimbrel was seen on Northwick Warth. There was very little seen at Severn Beach in windy conditions other than another Whimbrel, a Redshank and 2 Dunlin. The juvenile Redstart reappeared in a Severn Beach garden at dusk.
Little Egret, New Passage 25.7.4
July 24th
A Little Egret was found on the morning tide at Severn Beach but eventually it flew off inland. The adult Mediterranean Gull was seen at New Passage this afternoon, where 9 Turnstones, 4 Ringed Plovers, Redshank, 2 Common Sandpiper, a Hobby and a juvenile Whinchat were also present. A Kingfisher and a Common Sandpiper were seen at Chittening Warth and a juvenile Redstart was surprise visitor to a Severn Beach garden.
Juvenile Whinchat, New Passage 24.7.4
July 23rd
The adult Mediterranean Gull was still present at New Passage. Other birds here included 9 Dunlin, 2 Whimbrel, single Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Kingfisher, Lesser Whitethroat and Hobby. A Black-tailed Godwit and another Common Sandpiper were seen at Chittening Warth.
July 22nd
A good variety of birds were present today. The moulting adult and the juvenile Mediterranean Gulls were seen together at New Passage. There were 17 Dunlin, 10 Redshank, 2 Turnstones, 3 Whimbrel, 2 Common Sandpipers, single Ringed Plover and Hobby at Northwick Warth. Waders seen elsewhere included 3 Common Sandpipers, 5 Dunlin and a Ringed Plover at Severn Beach and another 2 Common Sandpipers at Chittening Warth. A Little Egret was found at the Orchard Pools, Severn Beach.
July 21st
The adult Mediterranean Gull was seen at New Passage until 2 pm, when it flew south towards Severn Beach. A juvenile Wheatear was also present here. There were 3 Common Sandpipers and just 5 Dunlin at Northwick Warth. This evening a juvenile Mediterranean Gull was found at New Passage and a Tawny Owl was seen in a tree at Severn Beach.
July 20th
At New Passage; a Hobby was seen chasing the local Swallows, the adult Mediterranean Gull was present early afternoon before flying off to hawk insects and 9 Dunlin were seen with 4 Turnstones.
July 19th
A warm settled day with a few migrants; waders included 2 Common Sandpipers, 140 Curlew, 12 Redshank, 4 Turnstones and 25 Dunlin at Northwick Warth and another Lesser Whitethroat in the rifle range hedge. A Yellow Wagtail “dropped” in at New Passage and the Mediterranean Gull was present in the evening but not earlier in the day. Waders at Severn Beach included 17 Dunlin, 4 Whimbrel, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Ringed Plover.
Mediterranean Gull, New Passage 19.7.4
July 18th
The adult Mediterranean Gull remained settled with Black-headed Gulls, best viewed from New Passage where a Black Tern was also present. Waders on Northwick Warth included 12 Dunlin, 60 Curlew, a Common Sandpiper and 7 Redshank. The hedgerow along Northwick Warth produced 2 Lesser Whitethroats and like yesterday there was small passage of Sand Martins. At Severn Beach, a Little Egret flew north over the village this evening and there were just 3 Dunlin on the beach at high tide.
July 17th
There were some more migrants early today at Severn Beach with 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler in the railway scrub. This morning at least 10 Sand Martins were seen heading south at New Passage where 16 Common Scoter were watched floating down river. Waders here included 10 Redshank, 3 Common Sandpipers single Sanderling and Dunlin. The Mediterranean Gull was seen at New Passage again this evening amongst 700 Black-headed Gulls. Another 2 Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper were seen at Chittening Warth and 160 Curlew, 15 Oystercatchers and a Whimbrel were present at Severn Beach.
July 16th
The adult Mediterranean Gull was still at New Passage amongst 200 Black-headed Gulls. There were 5 Common Sandpipers, 8 Redshank and 5 Dunlin there late afternoon. A Little Egret was seen flying north east over Severn Beach village late evening.
July 15th
The Mediterranean Gull was still at New Passage and a small flock of 15 Dunlin were seen at Chittening Warth. An evening visit to Northwick Warth produced roosting flocks of 300 Black-headed Gulls and 160 Curlew. At Severn Beach, a Little Egret was seen flying south west and a Tawny Owl was a rare sighting near the Orchard Pools at dusk.
July 14th
The adult Mediterranean Gull was relocated at New Passage where 4 Redshank and a Common Sandpiper were also seen. At least 2 Green Sandpipers and 2 Whimbrel were present at Chittening Warth and a Peregrine was roosting on Northwick Warth.
July 13th
An adult Mediterranean Gull, a juvenile Little Egret and the first juvenile Wheatear of the autumn were seen at Chittening Warth. One Black-tailed Godwit was still at Northwick Warth. Waders remain scarce at Severn Beach with just single Whimbrel and Redshank. An evening visit to New Passage produced 7 Dunlin, juvenile Lesser Whitethroat and a Kingfisher.
July 12th
Three more Little Egrets were seen today, 2 adults were roosting on the shingle island off Severn Beach and a juvenile was seen at Stupp Pill, Chittening Warth. A small flock of 18 Dunlin were also present at Chittening Warth. An adult Mediterranean Gull was seen again at New Passage along with 11 Dunlin, 8 Common Redshank and a Common Sandpiper. There were 3 Black-tailed Godwits and a Whimbrel at Northwick Warth, another Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel were present at Aust Warth.
July 11th
A Little Egret flew North up Northwick Warth where 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Dunlin and hundreds of Black-headed Gulls were also seen. There were 2 Common Sandpipers and 2 Redshank at New Passage.
July 10th
This morning there were 2 Greenshank at New Passage and 2 Black-tailed Godwits at Northwick Warth. There were 30 Dunlin at Chittening Warth where the surprise bird was an early returning Redstart. An adult Mediterranean Gull (unringed) was present with other Gulls at New Passage late afternoon.
Mediterranean Gull, New Passage 10.7.4
July 9th
An adult Mediterranean Gull was seen again at Severn Beach with 47 Dunlin and a Redshank. The Greenshank remained in the pill at New Passage and the Black-tailed Godwit was seen again on Northwick Warth.
July 8th
Following a night of north east gales and torrential rain, the only notable birds this morning were 32 Dunlin with a Redshank on Severn Beach. A new brood of 10 Shelduck were found at Chittening Warth. The strong wind had veered to the north west by the evening when a Greenshank was seen in the pill at New Passage.
July 7th
The adult Mediterranean Gull was seen again on Severn Beach, 12 Dunlin and a summer plumage Knot flew past here and 4 Shoveler were present at the Orchard Pools. The summer plumage Black-tailed Godwit remained at Northwick Warth.
July 6th
A fine dry morning with a light north east wind produced some interesting birds. The first Spotted Redshank of the year flew up river past Northwick Warth where a summer plumage Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Redshank were also seen. A Common Sandpiper was seen in Cake Pill at Aust Warth. A Hobby was watched hunting Swallows around the houses at New Passage. An adult summer plumage Mediterranean Gull (with a Green colour ring on left leg) was found roosting with Black-headed Gulls and a single Dunlin on Severn Beach. A Green Sandpiper was present at Chittening Warth. An evening visit to Northwick Warth between torrential rain, thunder and lightning, produced 55 Curlew and 2 Dunlin.
Mediterranean Gull, Severn Beach 6.7.4
July 5th
Migrants at Northwick Warth included a Common Sandpiper, 3 Redshank, 40 Curlew and 9 juvenile Black-headed Gulls. Another 100+ Curlew, a female Ruddy Shelduck and a Hobby were seen at Chittening Warth. The most extraordinary record was an adult Gannet that floated up to Severn Beach on the tide, climbed out onto the concrete sea defences for over an hour, eventually jumping back onto the outgoing tide. The picture below was taken using a mobile telephone camera.
Gannet, Severn Beach 5.7.4 © R.F.Reader
July 4th
There were 6 Common Sandpipers at New Passage this morning.
July 3rd
Yet another windy morning producing at least 300 Manx Shearwaters, 11 Gannets, 1 Fulmar and a dark phase Arctic Skua off Severn Beach between 06.00 and 09.30. Some of the local House Martin nests and broods have fallen in the recent bad weather. One almost flightless individual was taken into care and was happily taking many Flies provided for it. An evening sea watch produced no birds despite the continued windy weather.
Gannet, Severn Beach 3.7.4
July 2nd
After a night and a morning of gusty south west wind, a Razorbill, 70 Manx Shearwaters and 3 Gannets were seen from Chittening Warth over the falling tide. The only seabirds seen at Severn Beach on the evening tide were 2 Fulmar.
Kingfisher, New Passage 1.7.4 Grey Wagtail, New Passage 1.7.4
July 1st
Three Common Terns were seen at New Passage before they flew off South East. Other birds there this evening included a Kingfisher, 2 Grey Wagtails, 4 Pied Wagtails and a Rock Pipit. A flock of 80 Curlew were roosting on Northwick Warth.
