Some More Gwent Year Ticks

Sites visited this weekend were Goldcliff Pools,Chew Valley Lake,Wentwood Forrest and a site near Usk that has seen a few Tree Sparrows.Two Artic Terns dropped in at goldcliff for a few seconds before flying off high inland.Were going to call them Commic Terns as i didn't get enough time to study them.Managed to get a few pictures so the decision of Artic were based on these.Grey looking underparts,no darker grey panel in the primaries therefore showing clean grey upperparts.A nice clean dark line on the primary tips and not smudgy.Bill was a deep red colour but seems to show a darker tip.Not always a clear cut identification factor for common as Artic can sometimes show this.Chew Valley Lake was next for the presumed American Herring Gull.What a huge bird and sometimes aggressive to the other gulls around it.It had a very large Strong thick looking bill that recalled a Yellow Legged Gull.Really mean looking eye and head.Very short thick legs pale pink in colour but at some angles showing a yellowish tinge.A w shaped mark on P5 which apparently not normally seen in European Herring Gull.Long grey tongues extending right into the black tipped with white.The call was very different to any Herring Gull I've heard as it seemed much deeper.Anyway that's enough of that.Picked up a Couple of Gwent Year Ticks in the form of Nightjar and Woodcock at Wentwood Forest.Also visited a site twice were a few Tree Sparrows have been seen a few weeks ago.No joy on both occasions.Highlights in the moth trap this week were 5 Elephant Hawkmoths,1 Blotched Emerald,1 White Ermine and a Ghost Moth.