Gower Ornithological Society

Where the Wrynecks sing: three years of nature conservation in Poland
2025-03-21 19:15 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
Jim Ashton is a naturalist with a broad knowledge of the ecology of European plant and animal species. He has spent his entire professional career creating sanctuaries for wildlife in the UK and abroad – designing, building and managing spaces for nature, from small gardens to large nature reserves, working for or alongside organisations including the Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and the RSPB. He has been an ambassador for Butterfly Conservation, Bat Conservation Trust and the British Dragonfly Society. Jim has also given lectures and talks to large organisations and nature groups and has run practical workshops for the Wildlife Trusts, alongside personally undertaking management works on some of their nature reserves. He has written extensively on wildlife habitat creation in gardens, on nature reserves and on the topic of rewilding.
Jim will talk about the experience of living in Poland amongst an abundance of Wildlife, species now extinct or declining in the UK, his efforts to protect and support them over there and how this links into his conservation work in Wales.
It will be £1 on the door to cover room hire

Field Trip to Cwm Du Glen, Pontardawe
2025-05-17 09:00 - 13:00
A walk through Cwm Du Glen taking in a lovely sample of Celtic rainforest in a dramatic gorge along the Upper Clydach River.
Dippers are a common attraction along the river and often nest under an overhanging section of river side cliff. The woodland is damp and attracts a lot of tree hole nesting woodland species. We’ll also take in the remnants of Glanrhyd Plantation, the grounds of the former great house. Migrant and resident species typical of the site include wood warbler, chiffchaff, spotted flycatcher, dipper, grey heron, woodpeckers, treecreepers and nuthatch.
The meeting point is the Local Nature Reserve entrance (marked by a big sign) next to the crossroads in Pontardawe (what 3 words: ///fashion.firepower.respected, Grid Reference SN 72041 04020, Lat/Long 51.720259 , -3.853818
The best free parking is next to Farm Foods ///feeds.pairings.testy, from where you can take the underpass in the corner, follow the path along the canal then turn left at Herbert Street and head up to crossroads (only a couple of minutes walk).
The walk will include some steep steps but we’ll take them slowly. Although mostly on reasonable paths, the track can be very wet in places so proper footwear is essential.
Your leader with be Becky Sharpe.

Swift Walk: Sketty
2025-06-23 20:30 - 21:30
Our first swift walk of the year – in Sketty
Details on flyer

Swift Walk: Gowerton
2025-06-26 20:30 - 21:30
Our second swift walk of the year – in Gowerton
For details see flyer

Swift Walk: Clydach
2025-07-03 20:30 - 21:30
Our penultimate swift walk of the year – in Clydach
See the flyer for details

Morriston Swift Survey
2025-07-04 20:30 - 21:30
Our final swift walk of the year – in Morriston
See the flyer for details

Bioblitz at the National Botanical Gardens
2025-07-19 10:00 - 2025-07-20 17:00 | National Botanical Gardens of Wales, Carmarthen
GOS will be attending the Bioblitz at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales on 19 and 20 July.
We will have a stall on both days.
For further details see: https://botanicgarden.wales/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/BioBlitz-Schedule-subject-to-change.pdf
and: https://botanicgarden.wales/visit/whats-on/event/bioblitz-festival/

Pontardawe Swift Walk
2025-07-22 19:30 - 21:30 | Pontardawe Library, Holly Street
There will be a swift walk starting at Pontardawe Library, Holly Street (SA8 4ET) on 22 July. The purpose will be to look for and learn about swifts.
The walk is a joint initiative between our friends in the Neath Port Talbot Local Nature Partnership and at NPT Wildlife.
No unaccompanied children please.
To sign up please visit: What’s On | Neath Port Talbot Nature | NPT LNP

Bird Ringing Demonstration: Oxwich Marsh
2025-07-26 08:00 - 11:30
Join Gower Ringing Group at Oxwich Marsh. The timing of the field trip should ensure that fledgling willow, sedge, reed, Cetti’s and grasshopper warbler are likely, along with tits, finches, reed buntings and a variety of other species. Previous attendees have seen species such as kingfisher and hawfinch.
Owain Gabb will talk you through the features of the species captured, including how you identify and age them, and the biometric data the group takes on behalf of the BTO.
The meeting point is in the large field on the marsh road. You will be met and greeted, and we will then assemble at a discreet distance from the ringing area, allowing birds to be brought across to us once they have been processed by the team. Please bring appropriate clothing for the weather, food and drink and a fold out chair, as there will be time spent waiting for birds to be brought to us.
The event will be called off if there is significant rain or wind forecast. Please contact the event organiser (below) if you are interested in attending.
The gate to the field in which we will meet is at:

Grid Reference SS 50282 87259
X (Easting) , Y (Northing) 250282 , 187259
Latitude , Longitude (degs, mins, secs) 51°33′51″N , 004°09′41″W
What3Words: firebird.liked.bucket
The address is given as: Penrice, Oxwich, Swansea, Wales, SA3 1LS, United Kingdom (but please don’t rely on the post code for your SatNav).

See below

Whiteford Field Trip
2025-08-31 09:00 - 13:30
Meet at Cwm Ivy car park just before 09:00 so that we can head off promptly.
Note that the car park is now pay and display. The cost is £5.
The ground is likely to be muddy and uneven in places, and the walked element will take 3-4 hours. Please being a packed lunch. We will stop regularly to scan and chat.
Whiteford is good for a wide variety of species. These may include include dispersing raptors including hen and marsh harrier, osprey and peregrine, passage waders including curlew sandpiper, little stint, ringed plover and grey plover, waterfowl including a variety of ducks (year round eider), grebes and divers. Anything is possible as a red-rumped swallow during one previous field trip, a party of snow buntings during another and not one but two male golden orioles there this spring has taught us.

Grid Reference (6 figure) SS439935
X (Easting) , Y (Northing) 243986 , 193506
Latitude , Longitude (degs, mins, secs) 51°37′07″N , 004°15′18″W
What3Words :rise.defected.awakes
The nearest address is: Frog Lane, Llangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton, Llanmadoc, Swansea, Wales, SA3 1DB (please do not rely on this post code for your Sat Nav)

Cover photo: eider by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash
See the map below. Cwm Ivy car park is marked with the yellow pin.

Farming and Curlew
2025-09-24 19:30 - 21:00
Sam Kenyon, the Curlew and People Officer for the South Clwyd Mountains and the Dee Valley will talk to us about the Curlew Connections Wales Project, which involves working with landowners, farmers and local communities across Wales to help the species avoid extinction.
Photo by Bob Brewer on Unsplash
To join the videoconference, please follow this LINK. Should a password be requested, it is m7ft2yt2
The organisers will join at 19:15. Please could all other attendees join slightly before 19:30.

Seals in Gower
2025-10-17 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
Gareth Richards of the Gower Seal Group will talk to us about seal ecology and dispersal. Grey seal occurs commonly around the Gower coast with well known haul outs at Limeslade and on the Worm. What is less well known is that animals range widely, which we know from analysis of the unique markings on the coats of different individuals. A rare non-bird focussed talk.
Photo by Ray Harrington on Unsplash

Welsh Ornithological Society Conference 2025
2025-10-25 09:30 - 17:00 | Aberystwyth University, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3DD, United Kingdom
The Welsh Ornithological Society (WOS) Conference, which will be held at Aberystwyth University on Saturday 25 October.The conference theme will be ‘Making your Birding Count’, and it will focus on the importance of recording and its value in supporting bird conservation..
The conference will open with coffee at 0930, and finish by 1700.
The cost for WOS members / non-members is expected to be around c.£40/£50.
There will be a good contingent going from Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, so please get in touch if you would like to lift share.
For more information, see: https://birdsin.wales/2025-annual-conference-hear-it-see-it-record-it-making-your-birding-count/

Ringing at Oxwich Marsh: 50,000 birds and counting
2025-11-28 19:00 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
GOS chairman Owain Gabb will talk to the Gower Society about the long term ringing project at Oxwich. GOS members are welcome to attend.
The Gower Ringing Group has been active at Oxwich Marsh since 2013. In this time over 50,000 bird captures have been made with data for all of these submitted to the British Trust for Ornithology. The result is a very detailed understanding of the passerine community of the marsh. A wide variety of birds including a number of scarce and rare species have been captured, and the site has become a hub for training of many aspiring ornithologists. The Welsh Ringing Course is held annually, drawing in ringers from throughout Wales and helping to build relationships between groups. The Gower Society has provided grant funding to the project for the last 10 years.

Form and function of feathers and moult
2026-01-14 19:15 - 21:00
Mark Grantham, Licensing and Engagement Officer at the British Trust for Ornithology will talk to us about the form and function of feathers and moult.
Mark has been ringing for over 35 years and has been a ringing Trainer since 2003. He was ringer in charge at Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory for many years and has more recently set up West Cornwall Ringing Group, focusing on monitoring seabirds, barn owl and wintering warblers at sewage works.
Image: greenfinch (Rob Taylor)
To join the videoconference, please follow this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86817963389?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 868 1796 3389
Passcode: [REDACTED]
The organisers will be online from 19.00. Please could all other attendees join slightly before 19.15

The storm-petrel
2026-02-20 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
Dr Rob Thomas, author of a recent book on storm-petrels in the Poyser series, and a leading authority on European storm-petrel which he has studied for many years, will address us on the ecology of the species.

To Antarctica and back with Arctic Terns
2026-03-11 19:15 - 21:00
Dr Chris Redfern will talk to us about Arctic terns.
Arctic terns are renowned for the global scale of their migration. The routes taken by individuals can be determined using small electronic ‘geolocators’ attached to a leg ring. These devices have been fitted to Arctic terns breeding on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, and need to be recaptured the following year to download data. A particular characteristic of the Farne Islands population has led to a high return rate of data which have given amazing insights into the annual migration of Farne Islands Arctic terns and how this differs from Arctic terns breeding further north in the North Atlantic. After breeding, most birds from North Atlantic populations migrate directly south through the Atlantic to the Weddell Sea of Antarctica. In contrast, birds from the Farne Islands turned east at the tip of South Africa and crossed the Southern Indian Ocean before dropping south to East Antarctica. This may be a migration strategy retained since the last ice age. In coastal Antarctica, krill associated with fragmenting sea ice is an important resource sustaining their lifestyle and annual moult. Reductions in sea ice as a result of climate change threats the long-term future of Arctic terns. Northward spring migration through the Atlantic is rapid and likely timed to utilise foraging resources in the Antarctic and along the way to ensure arrival at the colony at the appropriate time and condition for breeding.
Log in details are as follows:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84292407132?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 842 9240 7132
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash

Birds of the Pembrokeshire Islands
2026-03-13 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
Dave Astins will talk to us about the birds of the Pembrokeshire Islands.
The Pembrokeshire Islands and the waters around them are important for a wide range of seabirds. Internationally important populations of gannet, storm-petrel, Manx shearwater, puffin and lesser black-backed gull occur. The islands are also of international importance for their populations of breeding short-eared owl and chough. The supporting cast includes colonial cliff-nesting species – guillemot, razorbill and kittiwake.
In addition to their importance to breeding birds, they are also migration hotspots, with regular falls of migrant passerines and a list of rare birds that is the envy of the rest of Wales.
Dave runs West Coast Birding, which offers guided trips to many of the best sites in Pembrokeshire for seeing birds, and is a veteran of numerous trips to Skomer in particular.
£1 on the door to cover room hire.
Photo by Phil Botha on Unsplash

Kenfig NNR and Sker Point Field Trip
2026-03-14 08:00 - 12:00
Join us for a walk around Kenfig and Sker. High tide is around 07:30, so please arrive and be ready to head off by 08:00. Bring warm clothing, a thermos and whatever food you will need. We will be out for the morning.
Our target species will be waders, wildfowl, seabirds and early-arriving warblers, as well as lingering wintering raptors and resident passerines.
Your leader will be Ed Hunter.
Parking is at Kenfig Nature Reserve car park. The cost is £4.00 for the day.

OS Grid Reference SS 793817
What3Words: ///gears.caskets.iteration
The post code is CF33 4PS

Pant y Sais Fen Field Trip
2026-04-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Heil yr Ysgol, Jersey Marine
Join us at Pant y Sais Fen, Jersey Marine, for an evening walk focussed on reed bed species including reed, sedge, Cetti’s and grasshopper warblers, cuckoo and common waterfowl. We also expect species such as willow warbler and whitethroat around the fringes of the reedbed.
Bob Tallack will lead. The meeting point will be on Heil yr Yrsgol, Jersey Marine, Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SS71172 93893
What3Words: FUND.CARPENTER.CRUSHER

Brecon and Llangorse Field Trip
2026-05-24 09:00
A trip up to Storey Arms, near Brecon to look for curlew, snipe, wheatear and ring ouzel before moving on to Talybont on Usk for osprey and Llangorse Lake for species including goshawk. Other species are likely to include redstart and tree pipit. The location and scenery will be fantastic.
Our first meeting point will be at Craig Cerrig Gleisiad on the A470 between Merthyr and Brecon. Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SN 97135 22233 (just over 1 m beyond the Storey Arms Centre – in the direction of Brecon).
There will be four meeting points during the day; if you are in charge of navigation for your group, please print this out for reference:

Craig Cerrig Gleisiad / A470 ///briefing.artist.unpacked SN97135 22233
Curlew/Snipe Walk: ///city.gent.wreck SN95997 25912
Henderson Hall, Talybont-on-Usk LD3 7YQ ///idealist.finishers.conjured SN11262 22887
Llangasty-Tal-y-Llyn LD3 7PX ///bulk.dumps.giggle SN13276 26083

Please make sure to register your intention to attend with Jeremy (jeremy@douglas-jones.biz ). He will try and suggest some car sharing options for anyone going.
Your leader will be Eddie Hunter.

Nightjar field trip: Resolven
2026-06-19 20:00 - 22:30
A walk into the forestry at Abergarwed, Resolven, to watch and listen for nightjar. Other species that have the potential to be present include goshawk, crossbill, lesser redpoll, siskin, grasshopper warbler and a range of more widespread species.
The event will be led by Eddie Hunter, and will be a couple of hours duration.
Please bring midge repellent, snacks / drink and ensure you wear appropriate footwear for the rough tracks that we will be walking on.
Park off B4242 south of Abergarwed at Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SN 81343 02218, What3Words ///ants.tortoises.director
Please register with Jeremy Douglas-Jones in case we need to refine arrangements.

Oxwich Marsh Ringing Demonstration
2026-07-18 08:00 - 11:00
Join Gower Ringing Group at Oxwich Marsh. The timing of the field trip should ensure that fledgling willow, sedge, reed, Cetti’s and grasshopper warbler are likely, along with tits, finches, reed buntings and a variety of other species. Previous attendees have seen species such as kingfisher and hawfinch.
Owain Gabb will talk you through the features of the species captured, including how you identify and age them, and the biometric data the group takes on behalf of the BTO.
The meeting point is in the large field on the marsh road. You will be met and greeted, and we will then assemble at a discreet distance from the ringing area, allowing birds to be brought across to us once they have been processed by the team. Please bring appropriate clothing for the weather, food and drink and a fold out chair, as there will be time spent waiting for birds to be brought to us.
The event will be called off if there is significant rain or wind forecast.
The gate to the field in which we will meet is at:

Grid Reference SS 50282 87259
X (Easting) , Y (Northing) 250282 , 187259
Latitude , Longitude (degs, mins, secs) 51°33′51″N , 004°09′41″W
What3Words: firebird.liked.bucket
The address is given as: Penrice, Oxwich, Swansea, Wales, SA3 1LS, United Kingdom (but please don’t rely on the post code for your SatNav).

See below

GOS Pelagic Trip 1
2026-08-26 09:30 - 13:30
Our first GOS pelagic trip.
The purpose will be to travel a few miles out of Swansea off the south Gower coast in order to see if a bit of chumming (putting out some smelly fish-based oily bait) can result in some shearwaters and petrels that are not commonly seen in our recording area being attracted in. We have chartered a boat that is normally used for recreational fishing.
Please express an interest to Jeremy early, as the boat will be restricted to 10-12 passengers. The cost is likely to be around £45 ppn. This event is open to GOS members only, given the limited place availability.
If it proves successful and well subscribed we will seek to run it in future years.
Departure point is the fuelling pontoon at Swansea Marina ///sums.divide.hangs

GOS Pelagic Trip 2
2026-09-02 12:00 - 16:30
Our second GOS pelagic trip (and the last for 2026).
The purpose will be to travel a few miles out of Swansea off the south Gower coast in order to see if a bit of chumming (putting out some smelly fish-based oily bait) can result in some shearwaters and petrels that are not commonly seen in our recording area being attracted in. We have chartered a boat that is normally used for recreational fishing.
Please express an interest to Jeremy early, as the boat will be restricted to 10-12 passengers. The cost is likely to be around £45 ppn. This event is open to GOS members only, given the limited place availability.
If it proves successful and well subscribed we will seek to run it in future years.
Departure point is the fuelling pontoon at Swansea Marina ///sums.divide.hangs

Conservation of Birds that cross Continents and Cultures
2026-09-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Online
Professor Juliet Vickery, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the British Trust for Ornithology and former Head of International Conservation Science at RSPB will address us in an online talk.
The challenges facing migratory birds are considerable. Changing climatic conditions and land use on their wintering and breeding grounds and in staging areas may be the principal drivers or contributing factors to declines and pose real conservation challenges to address. The talk will explore these issues and challenges using examples of species which we are familiar with.

Rhossili Field Trip
2026-09-12 10:00 - 14:00
A gentle walk down the Vile to Kitchen Corner, then around to Mewslade (albeit the direction / order may depend on wind direction and speed and where the migrants are likely to be).
Rhossili is a good area for flocks of wintering farmland and coastal birds such as skylark, meadow pipit and linnet, and the network of fields and location result in a variety of migrants including whinchat, tree pipit and yellow wagtail being frequently recorded along with the occasional rarer species and a range of raptors. The Mewslade Valley is good for smaller warblers, that might include firecrest or maybe something scarcer among the commoner migrants. The open cliffs and sheep-grazed coastal slopes have choughs, ravens and wheatears, and the coastal gorse yellowhammer and Dartford warbler. Offshore there should be auks, scoter and potentially divers.
Your leader will be Eddie Hunter.
The meeting point will be outside the National Trust shop. Parking is available at either the church or the National Trust car park. There are toilets at the car park. A reasonable walk so bring refreshments, walking boots and clothing appropriate to the weather.
Image: kestrel (Peter Douglas-Jones)

Darwin Tree of Life project: Bird Genome Sequencing
2026-10-14 19:30 - 21:00 | Online
Dr Ava Jenkins will address us.
Ava is a Wildlife Veterinarian and Research Associate at the Institute of Zoology, and is working with the Darwin Tree of Life project. The project aims to sequence the genomes of 30,000 species in Britain and Ireland. It is a collaboration between biodiversity, genomics and analysis partners that is transforming the way we do biology, conservation and biotechnology.
In this role, Ava organises and collects blood and tissue samples from our native wildlife species by collaborating with the British Trust for Ornithology and their Ringing Scheme, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and wildlife hospitals across the UK. Ava spends a lot of time out in the field with bird ringers and wildlife experts.
Genomic data helps us understand the evolution of the diversity of life, explore the biology of organisms and ecosystems, aids conservation efforts and provides new tools for medicine and biotechnology. The Darwin Tree of Life Project is one of several initiatives across the globe working towards the ultimate goal of sequencing all complex life on Earth, in a venture known as the Earth BioGenome Project. The Tree of Life project is focussing on the organisms that live in and around Britain and Ireland because they constitute what is probably the best known and most deeply studied biota in the world, explored during centuries of observation and research.

Swifts in our Recording Area
2026-10-23 19:30 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
In the last five years we have found out a lot more about swifts in our recording area. This has been through the work of two groups, Swansea Swifts and Neath Port Talbot Swifts, who have set out to understand the distribution of the species locally. Both groups have been well supported by local authority ecologists, who have made funds available to install swift boxes and been strong advocates for swift conservation.
In this talk, which will be held in Sketty, Josh Greatorex-Davies who has been instrumental in everything Swansea Swifts has achieved to date, will provide us with an overview of the progress that has been made in understanding swift distribution and abundance, talk about aspects of the ecology of the species and outline local conservation progress.
£1 on the door to cover room hire please.

Port Eynon Field Trip
2026-10-24 08:30 - 12:00
Please meet at the Salthouse at 08:30. Location: Grid Reference SS 46914 84649 What3Words: headrest.imprinted.incurring
This is a short walk out towards the point via a roughly surfaced track, then a tarmac track (permissive path) along the
seaward side of the caravan park.
Parking is at the council car park. Grid Reference SS 46739 85145 What3Words: cherubs.entrusted.fault
This is Pay & Display. You should be able to pay with cash, card or using the MiPermit app. There are toilets at the car park and a pub and shops in the village that should be open around the time of the end of the walk.
The site is good for small waders (including turnstone, dunlin and ringed plover), gulls, terns and other seabirds. A variety of migrant passerines can be seen in the scrub and woodland on the leeward side of the point, rock pipit on the shore and chough are frequent on the sheep-grazed slopes
The leader will be Rob Taylor.
Image: Turnstones by Bob Brewer on Unsplash
