SEVERNSIDE BIRDS






























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Following two of the quietest months of the year, August can be an interesting month with a total of 165 species having been recorded during this month. The numbers and variety of waders increase, as do the numbers of migrating warblers, Whinchat and Wheatears. Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls are expected. Rarities in August have included Slavonian Grebe (1996), Red Crested Pochard (1998), Goshawk, Osprey, Sabine’s Gull, Kentish Plover, White-rumped Sandpiper (1995, 2001), Wryneck (1976,1984 and 2003) and Red-backed Shrike (2003).


August 2004



August 31st
A quiet end to the month. There were 400 Dunlin, 100 Ringed Plovers and 15 Knot in the Severn Beach wader roost this morning plus 5 Sanderling there this evening. Of interest, the leucistic Dunlin was seen again this morning, having been away to the south at Portbury Warth for the weekend. The Turnstone flock at New Passage increased to 90 birds. There were 200 Curlews, 40 Knot, a Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Wheatears on Northwick Warth. Another Wheatear, 3 Lesser Whitethroats and a Kingfisher were seen at Severn Beach.

August 30th
A flock of 40 Knot were seen early morning at Severn Beach. Other waders here included 600 Dunlin, 140 Ringed Plovers, 30 Turnstones, 3 Sanderling and a Whimbrel. Another 70 Turnstones and 2 Common Sandpipers were seen at New Passage. A pair of Peregrines and 10 Yellow Wagtails were present at Northwick Warth. A Tree Pipit and 3 Wheatears were seen along the Severn Way, south of Severn Beach.

August 29th
The flighty wader roost at Severn Beach this evening contained 170 Knot, at least 7 Sanderling, 700 Dunlin, 300 Ringed Plovers and 30 Turnstones. There were 2 Wheatears here near the pipes. At Northwick Warth there were 12 Yellow Wagtails, another Wheatear and a Raven.

August 28th
The wader roost at Severn Beach increased in size, producing a mixed flock of 2000 Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, 105 Knot, 9 Sanderling, 40 Turnstones, single Whimbrel and Black-tailed Godwit. Other birds here included a Tree Pipit flying south along the seawall, a Wheatear and Little Egret were seen near “the pipes”. There were still at least 14 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Wheatears on Northwick Warth. An adult Mediterranean Gull and a Common Sandpiper were present at New Passage this evening, a juvenile Whinchat was below Aust Cliff.

August 27th
A morning of persistent rain made finding birds difficult. A group of 27 Yellow Wagtails and 7 Wheatears remained on Northwick Warth, 4 Common Sandpipers were still in the Pill at New Passage. The afternoon was brighter and dry, producing 2 Spotted Flycatchers in scrub south of Severn Beach. The late afternoon wader roost  at Severn Beach contained an impressive 85 Knot, at least 400 Dunlin (including a Leucistic/Albino individual), 300 Ringed Plovers, 50 Turnstones and 8 Sanderling.

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                                                                  Leucistic Dunlin, Severn Beach 27.8.4

August 26th
After a dry and clear night, some birds seem to have moved on with just 20 Yellow Wagtails and 4 Wheatears remaining on Northwick Warth, 4 Common Sandpipers in the Pill at New Passage. Another 2 Wheatears and a small number of Common Whitethroats and Blackcaps at Severn Beach. The late afternoon high tide produced a mixed flock of at least 900 Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, 50 Knot, 4 Sanderling and 2 Whimbrel.

August 25th
At  least 40 Yellow Wagtails and 10 Wheatears remained on Northwick Warth. Two Peregrines were seen to make a successful wader kill here early morning and a Raven flew east. There were 2 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 20 Redshanks and 2 Grey Wagtails in or near the pill at New Passage. Single Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher were seen near “The Glen” here. The wader flock at Severn Beach remained almost the same with 500 Dunlin, 300 Ringed Plovers, 40 Knot, 5 Sanderling and 2 Whimbrel. There were fewer migrants along the sea wall today with just 6 Wheatears being seen. Raptors at Severn Beach included a Hobby and 2 Sparrowhawks.

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                                                                                        Sparrowhawk, Severn Beach 25.8.4

August 24th
A mainly dry day with occasional blustery showers. Interesting birds at New Passage this morning included single juvenile Mediterranean Gull and Black Tern. Waders here included 25 Redshanks, 50 Turnstones and 2 Common Sandpipers. A Bar-tailed Godwit was seen with the Curlew flock on Northwick Warth. An impressive 50 Yellow Wagtails, 15 Pied Wagtails, 2 White Wagtails and 10 Wheatears were seen around the Cattle here and 2 Lesser Whitethroats were found in a hedge here near the Grebe Pond. The wader roost at Severn Beach still contained 550 Dunlin, 300 Ringed Plovers, 5 Sanderling  and a high count of 52 Knot. Migrants seen here along the Severn Way included 6 Wheatears, single Lesser Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler. A Common Tern, another 3 Wheatears, 2 Common Sandpipers and a Whinchat were seen at Chittening Warth. The South West wind strengthened mid afternoon producing 10 Fulmars off Severn Beach.

August 23rd
A dry start with thunder storms and torrential rain by early afternoon. A moulting adult Curlew Sandpiper was present at New Passage this morning with a Common Sandpiper, 50 Turnstones and a small number of Dunlin and Ringed Plovers. Nearby there were 20 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Wheatears and 2 Lesser Whitethroats at Northwick Warth. A party of 6 Common Terns flew inland over Severn Beach, the Curlew Sandpiper was relocated here in the high tide roost with 20 Knot, 4 Sanderling, at least 550 Dunlin and 320 Ringed Plovers. A Redstart, 2 Garden Warblers, 5 Wheatears and a Lesser Whitethroat were seen along the Severn Way south of Severn Beach.

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                                                                                      Curlew Sandpiper, New Passage 23.8.4

August 22nd
The high tide wader roost at Severn Beach contained at least 500 Dunlin, 300 Ringed Plovers and 2 Knot. A late Swift was seen here early morning. The adult Mediterranean Gull, a Little Egret, another 7 Knot and 4 Common Sandpipers  were seen at New Passage. There were 23 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Wheatears and Whinchat around the Cattle on Northwick Warth and 2 Lesser Whitethroats were seen in a hedge here.

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                                                                                     Ringed Plovers, Severn Beach 22.8.4

August 21st
Overnight rain followed by settled weather produced a few migrants. At Severn Beach, a minimum of 20 Common Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 10 Blackcaps, 5 Wheatears, single Common Redstart, Sedge Warbler and Whinchat were seen along the sea wall south of the railway station. The Wader roost here contained 400 Dunlin, 220 Ringed Plovers, 16 Knot and a Sanderling. A Little Egret and 2 Black-tailed Godwits flew past here. A Spotted Flycatcher was found at the Sea Bank  pools, Chittening Warth. Another 11 Wheatears, at least 6 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Pied Wagtails, 6 White Wagtails and a Whinchat  were  feeding around the Cattle herd on Northwick Warth. There were 3 Knot present with a small flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plovers at New Passage this evening.

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                                                                                      Yellow Wagtails, Northwick Warth 21.8.4

August 20th
An early morning visit to New Passage produced 4 Little Terns (3 adults & a juvenile) roosting with Black-headed Gulls before they flew off south towards Severn Beach. Other birds seen here later in the day included 40 Ringed Plovers, 50 Dunlin, single Knot and Common Sandpiper. Waders at Severn Beach included 400 Dunlin, 180 Ringed Plovers, 7 Knot and 3 Sanderling. A Little Egret flew south from here. Notable birds on Northwick Warth included 5 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Wheatears, a Whinchat and a Green Sandpiper.

August 19th
A few less birds today in windy conditions. At Severn Beach there were 150 Ringed Plovers, 120 Dunlin, 8 Knot, 4 Sanderling, a Whimbrel and 2 Common Gulls. New Passage produced another 35 Ringed Plovers, 30 Dunlin, 5 Sanderling, single Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper. There were just 7 Wheatears on Northwick Warth. A Little Egret and another 2 Common Sandpipers were seen at Chittening Warth.

August 18th
A similar number of birds at Severn Beach this morning; 300 Ringed Plovers, 300 Dunlin, 15 Knot on the beach and 2 Common Sandpipers at the Orchard Pools. A Peregrine was seen attacking the wader roost on the evening tide. Another 35 Ringed Plovers, 30 Dunlin, 2 Knot and several Sand Martins were seen at New Passage. Nearby at Northwick Warth, there were 4 Common Sandpipers, 2 Common Terns (adult & juvenile) roosting with Black-headed Gulls, single Little Egret, Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit, 21 Wheatears and 2 Yellow Wagtails. Another 2 Common Sandpipers and a Wheatear were present at Chittening Warth.

August 17th
The wader numbers at Severn Beach increased to 300 Ringed Plovers, 300 Dunlin, 19 Knot, 2 Sanderling, single Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel. A Wheatear was also present here. There were 5 Yellow Wagtails, single Black-tailed Godwit and Common Sandpiper, 2 Sand Martins and another 15 Wheatears at Northwick Warth. Nearby, there were 65 Turnstones and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits at New Passage.

August 16th
The Severn Beach wader roost contained 250 Ringed Plovers, 300 Dunlin, 6 Knot, a Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper. There were 2 Green Sandpipers and 2 Common Sandpipers at Chittening Warth, 8 Wheatears, 2 Yellow Wagtails and the first Wigeon of the autumn at Northwick Warth.

August 15th
A warm day with occasional heavy rain. At Severn Beach, the wader numbers increased to 250 Ringed Plovers, 300 Dunlin, 9 Knot, single Ruff, Greenshank, Sanderling and Common Sandpiper. Other notable migrants here included 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, single Yellow Wagtail and Swift. Further up the estuary at Northwick Warth, waders included 80 Curlew, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Common Sandpipers, single Green Sandpiper, Snipe and Sanderling. There were 6 Wheatears, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Ravens and a Hobby also present here. The usual 50 Turnstones were on the rocky beach at New Passage, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, another 2 Swifts, a Hobby and a Tree Pipit were seen near “The Glen” here. Another 6 Common Sandpipers were seen in Cake Pill, Aust Warth. A Tawny Owl was calling again near Severn Beach railway station at 10.25 pm.

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                                                                                                   Knot, Severn Beach 15.8.4

August 14th
A hot sunny day and a good variety of birds. The evening wader roost at Severn Beach contained 120 Ringed Plovers, 70 Dunlin, 2 Sanderling,  20 Turnstones, 3 Knot and a Whimbrel. The sea wall and railway scrub here, produced a “fly over” Green Sandpiper, 20 Common Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Wheatear. There were 3 Tree Pipits and 2 Spotted Flycatchers nearby at the Orchard Pools. At Northwick Warth, there were 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Whimbrel, 60 Curlew, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Wheatears. Notable birds at New Passage included single Black Tern, juvenile Mediterranean Gull, Hobby, Green Sandpiper, Tree Pipit, 3 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Garden Warblers. A Tawny Owl was heard calling near Severn Beach railway station at 10.30 pm.

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                                                                                     Lesser Whitethroat, New Passage 14.8.4

August 13th
A good selection of birds at Severn Beach included 80 Dunlin, 45 Ringed Plovers, 7 Sanderling, 2 Knot, single summer plumage Grey Plover, Little Egret and Common Tern. At Northwick Warth there were 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 15 Dunlin, 8 Ringed Plovers, 13 Redshanks, single Bar-tailed Godwit and Wheatear. A Whimbrel and 50 Turnstones were present at New Passage. There were 8 Common Sandpipers in Cake Pill, Aust Warth.

August 12th
A day of thunder storms produced some interesting birds. An exceptional flock of 34 Greenshank were seen at Chittening Warth where a Common Sandpiper was also present. There were 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and 6 Black-tailed Godwits at New Passage with 17 Redshanks, 6 Dunlin and a Common Sandpiper. Other notable birds here included 3 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Garden Warblers. It was quiet elsewhere with 4 Wheatears and a Peregrine at Northwick Warth, just 10 Ringed Plovers and 5 Dunlin at Severn Beach.

August 11th
The Mediterranean Gull was still at New Passage with 14 Redshanks, 2 Common Sandpipers and a Wheatear also present here. Nearby, 25 Pied Wagtails, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Wheatears and 2 Whinchats were seen on Northwick Warth. Severn Beach produced a Little Egret, 12 Dunlin and 10 Ringed Plovers. Another 2 Common Sandpipers were found at Chittening Warth.

August 10th
The adult Mediterranean Gull reappeared at New Passage where the only other notable birds were 55 Turnstones, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, single Garden Warbler and Kingfisher. There were 3 Wheatears and another Common Sandpiper on Northwick Warth. A Little Egret, just 10 Ringed Plovers and 4 Dunlin were seen at Severn Beach.

August 9th
A nice find at New Passage, were 2 moulting adult Curlew Sandpipers with a flock of 84 Redshanks before they all flew off south. Other birds here included the usual 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Wheatears, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a Kingfisher and a Garden Warbler. There were 2 Little Egrets at Severn Beach, wader numbers were low  here with just 12 Ringed Plovers, 10 Dunlin and 2 Common Sandpipers. Two Wheatears were seen here and another at Chittening Warth.

August 8th
The moulting adult Mediterranean Gull was still at New Passage along with 48 Turnstones, 20 Ringed Plovers, 6 Dunlin and a Common Swift. There were 2 Wheatears, a Yellow Wagtail and a Lesser Whitethroat at Northwick Warth. Waders here included 2 Black-tailed Godwits, a Whimbrel and the first Common Snipe of the autumn. A Little Egret was seen at Severn Beach but wader numbers remained low with just 20 Ringed Plovers and 16 Dunlin.

August 7th
A dawn start at Severn Beach once again produced 6 Lesser Whitethroats and 2 Garden Warblers in the “railway bushes”, a Little Egret was feeding around the shingle island. A good fall of warblers was found at New Passage with 5 Garden Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler together in an Elderberry bush. Other birds seen here later in the day included the moulting adult Mediterranean Gull, single Common Tern, Black-tailed Godwit and Common Sandpiper. A Whimbrel was seen off Northwick Warth and a Yellow Wagtail was present here with 16 Pied Wagtails. A small number of waders on Severn Beach included 17 Ringed Plovers and 12 Dunlin.

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                                                                                           Sedge Warbler, New Passage 7.8.4

August 6th
An early morning visit to Severn Beach produced a good number of migrant Warblers; at least 20 Common Whitethroats, 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Garden Warblers and 6 Blackcaps. The high tide wader roost here consisted of 28 Dunlin, 16 Ringed Plovers and a Sanderling. A third summer Yellow-legged Gull floated off Shore and 2 Little Egrets were found roosting in an Oak tree at the Orchard Pools. At New Passage, the moulting adult Mediterranean Gull appeared on the falling tide and another winter plumaged adult appeared there in the evening. The usual 40 Turnstones, a Whimbrel and 4 Common Sandpipers were also seen here along with 2 Wheatears, 14 Pied Wagtails, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler. A Hobby was seen perched several times on Northwick Warth.

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                                         Hobby, Northwick Warth 6.8.4                                       Juvenile Wheatear, New Passage 6.8.4


August 5th
After a foggy start, birds of interest today included 2 Golden Plovers, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Wheatear at Northwick Warth, the adult Mediterranean Gull, 3 Common Sandpipers, just 4 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plovers, 6 Redshanks and 3 Lesser Whitethroats at New Passage. The wader roost at Severn Beach contained just 22 Ringed Plovers and 8 Dunlin. There were another 2 Common Sandpipers in Cake Pill, Aust Warth and another 2 at Chittening Warth.

August 4th
A surprise sighting at New Passage early afternoon involved 2 Arctic Skuas (1 pale &1 dark morph) that flew south close to the sea wall. The adult Mediterranean Gull reappeared here, 7 Common Sandpipers were present in the pill and 2 Lesser Whitethroats were seen in “The Glen” garden. The flock of 40 Turnstones and Wheatear remained on Northwick Warth. Another 2 Common Sandpipers were seen at Chittening Warth and a single at the Orchard Pools, Severn Beach. An evening visit to New Passage produced 2 Sanderling, 8 Dunlin and a Ringed Plover.

August 3rd
A juvenile Mediterranean Gull, 6 Common Sandpipers, 11 Dunlin, 40 Turnstones, 12 Redshanks, 120 Curlews, single Whimbrel and Ringed Plover were seen from  New Passage today. Nearby a Wheatear was present on Northwick Warth. At Severn Beach, single Little Egret and Green Sandpiper were seen at the Orchard Pools and a third summer Yellow-legged Gull was on the shingle island off the beach. There were another 3 Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper and a Peregrine at Chittening Warth.

August 2nd
The “small” wader numbers remain low at Northwick Warth with just 40 Dunlin, 9 Redshanks, 2 Common Sandpipers but a high count of 300 Curlews this evening. Other notable birds here included 2 juvenile Wheatears, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler. There were 8 Teal, 2 adult Common Gulls, 24 Turnstones and a Whimbrel at New Passage this morning and a nice surprise this evening were 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls, but no sightings of the adult there today. The Orchard Pools at Severn Beach produced 2 Little Egrets and first 4 Shovelers of the autumn.

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                                                                                  Juvenile Mediterranean Gulls, New Passage 2.8.4

August 1st
A very warm (29°c) but quiet start to the month. There were no waders on the morning high tide at Severn Beach  but at least 40 Turnstones, 12 Redshanks, 70 Curlews and 2 Common Sandpipers roosted on Northwick Warth where the adult Mediterranean Gull was seen amongst several hundred Black-headed Gulls. Other notable birds here included a Peregrine, juvenile Wheatear, Garden Warbler and 2 Lesser Whitethroats. A third summer Yellow-legged Gull, a Common Gull and 7 Great Black-backed Gulls were seen on the shingle island off  Severn Beach. There were at least 2 very mobile Little Egrets with sightings here and at Chittening Warth.