Margam Moors Field Trip
2024-05-12 08:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | Heol Caer Bont, nr. Port Talbot Steelworks, Margam, Neath Port Talbot, SA13 2NS, United Kingdom
A three hour (estimated) walk around Margam Moors starting at 08:00 and covering 3-4 miles.
Target species will be reed, sedge, grasshopper and Cetti’s warblers, whitethroat, reed bunting, cuckoo and water rail, as well as common waterfowl. We will cover grazing marsh, estuarine and inshore marine habitats.
Please bring wellies, water and snacks. There are no toilets.
Your leader will be Eddie Hunter.
The parking location / meeting point for Margam Moors is:

Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SS 78799 85421
What3Words: rise.paces.overdone.

Photo by Walter Brunner on Unsplash

Nightjar Walk, Resolven
2024-06-15 20:30 - 22:30
A gentle walk into the forestry 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.

Swift walk: Mount Pleasant
2024-07-01 20:00 - 21:30 | Primrose Hill, Mount Pleasant, Swansea
As part of Wales Nature Week Swansea City Council and Gower Ornithological Society are running a number of swift walks in areas of town which are local hotspots for the species. Attendance is free. Please come along.

CANCELLED Swift Walk: Gorseinon
2024-07-04 20:00 - 21:30 | Bryn-Amlwg Road, Gorseinon
Unfortunately the weather has forced the cancellation of tonight’s swift survey in Gorseinon
As part of Wales Nature Week Swansea City Council and Gower Ornithological Society are running a number of swift walks in areas of town which are local hotspots for the species. Attendance is free. Please come along.

Swift walk: Plasmarl
2024-07-08 20:00 - 21:30 | Davis Street, Plasmarl

Swift walk: Sketty
2024-07-10 20:00 - 21:30 | Queens Road, Sketty

Long-eared Owls in our Recording Area
2024-10-18 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Parish Hall, De la Beche Road, Swansea, SA2 9AR, United Kingdom
Mike Shewring will talk to us about one of our most enigmatic species, the long-eared owl. Mike has planned and undertaken a survey of the species in suitable habitat in the eastern part of our recording area, and will talk us through the results (which also include some fascinating observations of other species).
We will meet again in the rooms at St Paul’s Church, off De La Beche Road, Sketty. There is ample parking. It is £1 on the door to cover room hire.
Photo by Phil Robson on Unsplash

GOS Annual General Meeting (AGM) and a Summary of 10 Years of Ringing at Oxwich
2024-11-15 19:15 - 21:00
Our AGM will provide members with information on GOS’s activities over the past year, our financial status and current membership. We will also confirm / reappoint committee members (and would welcome hearing from anyone who would like to join the committee).
Following the AGM, Owain Gabb will provide a summary of ten years of ringing at Natural Resources Wales’s Oxwich Marsh National Nature Reserve. During this period almost 50,000 birds have been caught at the marsh by Gower Ringing Group, providing a huge amount of information on seasonal patterns of use, timing of local migration and site fidelity in both breeding and wintering birds. The occasional rarity and local scarcity has been captured, including (memorably) a little bunting, two wrynecks and currently a total of 26 yellow-browed warblers.
We will meet again in the rooms at St Paul’s Church, off De La Beche Road, Sketty. There is ample parking. It is £1 on the door to cover room hire.

Wildlife Crime in the GOS Recording Area
2024-12-13 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Parish Hall, De la Beche Road, Swansea, SA2 9AR, United Kingdom
Police Constables Simon Chadwick and Andrew Brown, who are members of the Rural / Wildlife Crime team covering Swansea, Gower and Neath Port Talbot will talk to us at St Paul’s Church hall, Sketty. The focus of the talk will be birds, but it will also touch on other local wildlife crime, providing us with a very different insight into pressures on birds and wildlife.
PC Simon Chadwick – Neighbourhood beat manager for Gower and rural and wildlife crime officer.
PCSO Andrew Brown – Police community support officer for Gower and rural and wildlife crime officer.

Margaret Price Memorial Quiz
2025-01-17 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Parish Hall, De la Beche Road, Swansea, SA2 9AR, United Kingdom
This year’s quiz will be hosted by Josh Greatorex-Davies, last year’s winner, at St Paul’s Parish Church hall. The content will be varied (but all bird-related) and should cater for members with a range of experience.
It will be £1 on the door to cover room hire.

Baglan Bay Winter Bird Walk (January)
2025-01-25 13:30 - 15:30 | SA12 7PH
Time & Location
25 Jan 2025, 13:30 – 15:30
Scarlet Avenue Car Park, Scarlet Ave, Port Talbot SA12 7PH, UK
About the event
As part of the Coastal Connections project, we will join the Neath Port Talbot Wildlife team for a winter bird walk at Baglan Bay.
Species present are likely to include:
– Waders including sanderling, oystercatcher, ringed plover, dunlin and curlew
– Waterfowl including shelduck, great crested grebe, little egret, grey heron, common scoter, red-throated diver
– Birds of prey including peregrine falcon and kestrel
Registration
There are limited places available, so please ensure you register here: Baglan Bay Winter Bird Walk (January) | NPT LNP
There will be a second walk planned for February if you can’t make this one.
Photo
Great Crested Grebe Photo by Andreas Weilguny on Unsplash

Understanding and Conserving Gower's Birds
2025-02-21 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Parish Hall, De la Beche Road, Swansea, SA2 9AR, United Kingdom
Gethin Jenkins-Jones, Development and Engagement Co-ordinator at BTO Cymru, will talk to us about how data collected as a result of BTO’s flagship Wetland Bird Survey, Breeding Bird Survey and ringing initiatives have assisted us in understanding the conservation value of our recording area, and the data we need to collect in order to effectively conserve our bird populations going forward.
We will meet again in the rooms at St Paul’s Church, off De La Beche Road, Sketty. There is ample parking. It is £1 on the door to cover room hire.
Photo by Anastasiya Dragun on Unsplash

Kidwelly Quay Field Trip
2025-02-22 08:00 - 11:30
We will meet at 08:00 at the carpark on Kidwelly Quay.
Location is OS Grid Reference SN 39796 06391
What3Words:thanks.unloading.dripped
Nearest postcode SA17 4UW
The location is excellent for waders, wildfowl, herons / egret and gulls. We may also see kingfisher and we will look for passerines in nearby trees and scrub.
Your leader will be Rob Taylor.
Please do get in touch to let us know you are coming, and if there is an opportunity to car share with you / you would like to travel with someone else do feel free to offer / we will see what we can do.

The Osprey
2025-03-05 19:30 - 21:00
Dr Tim Mackrill will talk to us about the Osprey via Zoom.
Tim is a nature conservationist who leads the work of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation in England. This includes the reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles and Ospreys. Tim managed the Rutland Osprey Project for more than ten years, having first got involved as a volunteer when he was 15 years old. He is passionate about inspiring and enabling young conservation leaders. He has a PhD on Osprey migration and is the author of books including “The Rutland Water Ospreys” and “The Osprey” in the Poyser series.
Tim’s talk will have a Welsh twist, reflecting the the growing osprey population in Wales. Members will be aware that osprey are not infrequently seen on the Burry Inlet during passage periods, and on a more occasional basis over our inland reservoirs and rivers.
Join here: Https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86837875988?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 868 3787 5988
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Photo by Keith Luke on Unsplash

Where the Wrynecks sing: three years of nature conservation in Poland
2025-03-21 19:15 - 21:00 | 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.

Rhossili Field Trip
2025-09-20 08:00 - 12:30
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, wheatear and yellow wagtail being frequently recorded along with the occasional rarer species. The Mewslade Valley is good for smaller warblers, that might include firecrest or an early yellow-browed warbler among the chiffchaffs, goldcrests and blackcaps. The open cliffs and sheep-grazed coastal slopes have choughs, ravens and sometimes ring ouzel, and the coastal gorse yellowhammer and Dartford warbler. Offshore there should be auks and 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.

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

Port Eynon Field Trip
2025-10-18 14:30 - 17:00 | Port Eynon, SA3 1NN
Please meet at the Salthouse at 14:30. 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.

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/

GOS AGM and the results of the 2025 Gower Chough Survey
2025-11-21 19:15 - 21:00 | St Paul’s Church Hall, De la Beche Road, Sketty
Our Annual General Meeting. We will reflect on the year and report back to members on activities, membership, financials and bird recording and will elect / re-elect committee members for the next 12 months.
After the AGM there will be a short talk by Dr Mike Shewring on the results of his Gower chough survey 2025, which GOS provided financial support to. Josh Greatorex-Davies and Owain Gabb will then provide short updates on other projects GOS is involved in concerning swift and barn owl conservation respectively.
