The Wildlife Oculus

Just why is Goldcliff called Goldcliff? Is it because of the magnificent golden sunsets you can see?
But where are the cliffs? this is something I often think to myself when I am on the reserve.

Well according to Wikipedia Goldcliff gets its name because of the siliceous limestone rock on the coast at Hill Farm (near the sea wall) that catches the light and has a glittering appearance. Additionally an ancient scholar Gilraldis Cambrensis visited Wales in 1188 an is said to have described the area as "Gouldclyffe". Transcribed in Latin meaning -"glittering with a wonderful brightness".

 So you learn something every day don't you ;)

Thursday evenings visit at high tide turned out to be quite eventful. It was very windy and the sky's were quite stormy with the occasional shower of rain and then the sun would break through and some lovely rainbows appeared.

Lagoon 1 had quite a "herd" of Curlews. I counted over 20. The individual with the broken leg …

With the change in the weather and the autumn passage of migrating birds gathering pace I was really looking forward to visiting my now regular birding patch at Goldcliff Lagoons. The last time I spent some time at the lagoons they were becoming akin to Death Valley with Lagoon 2 completely dried out and the other lagoons looking shockingly low. Despite this though the lagoons had been busy with lots of birds to see.
The local farmer was on the lagoons early on but there was not that many birds around for him to disturb if I am honest. I think the wildlife is probably quite used to him.

My first impression this morning was that the lagoons are looking a little better. Water levels on Lagoon 1 and 3 are improving. Lagoon 2 has some puddles but remains baked dry. If we get some more rain this weekend then hopefully the water levels will return to normal. You may think that with the water returning the lagoons would be full of waders. Not the case today even at high tide.
I suspect the w…

This post marks a year of blogging for me. The Wildlife Oculus blog started as a bit of an experiment but soon became a little weekly indulgence for me. Whilst its covered some locations outside Gwent it has given me the opportunity to document and showcase some of the fantastic wildlife we have in the "Gwent area".

So, whilst I am on the subject of fantastic wildlife I am going to blog about my latest visit to what has become my favourite location in Gwent - Goldcliff Lagoons. I cant spend enough time on the reserve. I always find it a real drag when I have to leave.
Tuesday evening I escaped from a days work and got to the lagoons in a hurry. The weather was pretty good when I arrived. It was getting warmer and dryer again after a few days rain. The lagoons remained very dry and only two of the lagoons now had any water in them.
After a walk towards the seawall hide the weather began to turn and I thought it was going to rain. Clouds swept in from the estuary and it went q…