Decided to go to Goldcliff Lagoons on the 17th April, I'd never been there before but having seen so many photographs and accounts of the birds from there it's a place I just had to visit.
I was given a lot of information about the place by fellow birder Blair Jones and his blog/website called the wildlife oculus.
There are three hides and four viewing platforms which are all up a banking that surrounds the lagoons. You have to get to these so you can see the birds as there is no access to watch the birds other than from the hides and platforms. There are steps to them and one has a wheelchair ramp. The Lagoons are surrounded by an electric fence which keep visitors and perhaps some predators at a safe distance. Quite a few birds especially the Geese fly on to the neighbouring farm fields to graze. There's a few trees and bushes about on the fringes of the lagoons where you can find quite a few passerine species.
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| one of the hides with wheelchair access |
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| looking over the lagoons from one of the hides |
As you can see from the pictures above there is quite a distance from the hides to the lagoons so a scope is a must when going there. My 400mm canon lens is very good but I did struggle for reach but still managed to photograph and see quite an array of different species.
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black tailed godwit
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| oystercatcher |
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| lapwing |
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| ringed plover and dunlin |
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| little ringed plover |
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| ringed plover |
There were some nice duck species there, I managed to get images of this male Tufted duck, Shoveler and Gadwall
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| avocets |
These birds here are Bar Tailed Godwits not so common as the Black Tailed and were quite a way off.
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| bar tailed godwit |
This spotted Redshank has been at the lagoons for a good few weeks it should be departing soon to breed in the high artic. As you can see it's moulting into it's breeding plumage.
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| spotted redshank |
As well as the more common Geese species Greylag and Canada Geese the lagoons have got two rarer species there at the moment with a single white fronted goose and Tundra Bean Goose.
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| greylag |
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| canada |
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| white fronted goose |
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| tundra bean goose |
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| both birds together |
Didn't see a Grey Heron there which I expected but this Little Egret gave a good showing.
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| little egret |
A first for me was this White Wagtail near the sea wall kindly pointed out to me by one of the birders in the hide.
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| white wagtail |
There were a pair of Starlings nesting in a gap on the corner of the hide.
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one of the starlings nesting in the hide by the sea wall
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My apologies for the length of this post but it was a great days birding in a great place on a beautiful spring morning and as it was my first visit there I thought I'd milk it a little. I will definitely be back there as the lagoons spring up a few surprises and some rarities you won't get chance to see anywhere else. Thanks to all who dropped in to visit my blog and I'll catch you all soon.
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