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Guidelines for Reporting Rarities and Submission of Annual Records
Detailed records of nationally or locally rare species (guidance on these is
here) should be sent to the County Recorder Eddie Hunter (
goweros23@gmail.com) as soon as possible after the sighting. An appropriate description should be provided of the species, your previous experience of it (and similar species), the circumstances and weather conditions in which the sighting occurred and any other pertinent information (such as photos). He will then circulate to the local or national records committee as relevant.
Day to day observations, including of nest sites, flocks of birds and species of local interest, should be collated in the Annual Record Form and sent to Eddie as an email attachment following each calendar year. Receiving these by the end of January is ideal as an early start can then be made on compiling the annual report.
PLEASE NOTE
Please could we ask that detailed locational information that may lead to the disturbance of the nest sites of species listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981) is omitted from any posts. This may otherwise lead to an offence being committed.
Schedule 1 species that regularly breed in the recording area are Dartford warbler, chough, honey buzzard, crossbill, goshawk, kingfisher, hobby, red kite, barn owl, peregrine, little ringed plover and Cetti’s warbler.
2 Dartford warblers together feeding between Langland and caswell – maybe feasting on all the red berries that are plentiful? Think they do have berries in autumn – plus black redstart at bottom of dunns lane – similar time of year to previous sightings in this part of oystermouth in recent years
Firecrest (male) trapped and ringed on Southward Lane this morning.
Dipper and marsh tit in the Ilston Valley yesterday
2 Ring-necked Parakeet in Morriston Park this morning. One local dog walker said he often sees around 8 together, and another said he thought there were about 14 breeding pairs in the area. Down on Aberavon, c.100 Sanderling along the beach and 15 Turnstone on the breakwater.
An amazing murmuration of several thousand starlings over Oxwich Marsh last night. Was in progress by 16:30 when I arrived and went on for at least half an hour. Flock was harassed by a sparrowhawk for sustained periods. Worth going to have a look at.
Around the Loughor bridge area , 26 Greenfinch , 18 Chaffinch, 36 Goldfinch , Couple of Reed bunting and Linnet . 1 Brambling . the bushes alongside the edge of the marsh and railway track as well as seed washed up along the high tide line seem to be good feeding areas for finches / buntings . As the hedges have mostly been flailed already , these areas are great habitat .
biggest surprise for me and a bit of patch gold was a Guillemot floating up river with the incoming tide at Castell Du
Went to see the Murton Hooded Crow at South Gower RFC before walking out to Whiteford Point where there were a minimums of 22 Eider, 2 RB Merganser, 125 Brent Geese and a summer plumage RT Diver. Single Swallow seen near Reynoldston.
Female Black Redstart briefly in Townhill this afternoon