New Passage and Pilning Wetlands 13th October 2025
Nine people met on a grey drizzly morning at New Passage. Before we had all got out of our cars a sparrow hawk was spotted, and the call of a curlew heard. A few wood pigeons were perched in a distant bush. We walked straight ahead to the shore where a pair of wigeon were swimming. A skein of geese flew overhead in a beautiful V formation heading for the grassy area. A flock of little cheeping birds followed probably chaffinch. A solitary cormorant flew into the pill. At the pill entrance were lots of small waders, difficult to identify in the poor light. With the aid of the ‘scope we identified teal, oyster catcher, redshank, black headed gulls and then amongst them a sandwich tern. In the far distance were curlew and a solitary heron. The dazzling white of a little egret flew over the marsh and into the pill.
We walked inland towards the scrapes, seeing plenty of teal swimming in the pill. At the sluice gate a kestrel posed for us in a dead tree giving us excellent views. The workmen were busy putting in new fencing prior to planting a new hedge. The scrapes had many resting ducks including shoveler, teal, and mallard. Hidden in the reeds seen only through the scope was a snipe and on the far bank a ringed plover, and tufted duck. Pied wagtails hopped about.
The herd of cows attracted numerous small birds, invisible until they moved, lots of meadow pipits, pied wagtails, starlings and a flock of linnets.
After a brief coffee stop we moved on to the far scrapes where we saw tufted duck and a little grebe, diving in the slightly deeper water. Coot and moorhens swam amongst the reeds. We moved further on to the footpath that goes around the back of the scrapes. This gave us a better view of lapwing, godwits, and herring gulls. In the bushes a chiffchaff was briefly seen, black bird heard and a wren was glimpsed.
Returning to our cars a robin was spotted singing in bush behind the houses. An excellent morning’s bird watching.
Birds seen
Sparrow hawk Curlew Black headed gull Wigeon
Chaffinch Magpie Canada Geese Cormorant
Mallard Teal Oyster catcher Redshank
Sandwich Tern Little Egret Carrion crow Kestrel
Snipe Shoveller Ringed Plover Shelduck
Tufted duck Pied Wagtail Lapwing Coot
Moorhen Little Grebe Meadow Pipit Linnet
Starling Chiffchaff Herring gull Collard Dove
Robin Wood pigeon Black bird
35 species
CF