To add a sighting, simply leave a reply below. Enter the details of your sighting and upload an image or video clip if possible. You will need to be registered and logged-in to post updates or leave replies.
NB: Maximum size for video clips is 30Mb…
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.
Port Eynon this morning offshore: 5 Scoter, 3 GN Diver, 1 Guillemot, 1 GC Grebe, 3 Shag. Sedgers Bank: 31 Ringed Plover, 40 Turnstone, 15 Purple Sandpiper Pennard: 1 Dartford Warbler, 20 Fieldfare Penclawdd: 2 Grey Plover, 1 male Hen Harrier, 1 Red Kite, 1 Merlin, 1 Green Woodpecker, 5 Skylark At Crofty this evening the Siberian Chiffchaff was present along with two typical Chiffchaff. Also 32 Meadow Pipit, 1 Water Pipit, 9 Pied Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail and 18 Linnet feeding around the dung pile. Also 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Marsh Harrier over the marsh, and possibly the Pallid… Read more »
There was a Siberian Chiffchaff with two nominate birds, feeding on the dung heap at Crofty triangular Marsh today. Also Grey Wagtail, Bullfinch, 2 Stonechats, 3 Reed Bunting, 4 Meadow Pipits and a Green Sandpiper
Yesterday afternoon (24th Jan) there were 13 Great Crested Grebes in Swansea Bay near to Blackpill.
Swansea vale ,3 large berry trees on millstream way lots of redwings, a few blackbirds and song thrushes, worth keeping tabs
On ideal for waxwings
Swansea vale , on heol fenrod pool 2 mute swan,6 Canada geese ,2 tufteds,31 mallard,and 4 morhen,
Tesco neath Abbey car park 200est jackdaw and 45 carrion crows .
A summary of the Gower RG Ringing Year is here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/the-ringing-year-2023-gower-ringing-group/
This morning a great northern diver off Oxwich Point (with good numbers of great crested grebe) and a mixed roosting flock of rook and carrion crow numbering 100+ leaving Oxwich Wood at dawn. Snipe back in the marsh following a clear out during the cold weather.
51 black headed gulls on baglan hospital pool ,also common gull,and 4 herring gull 2 o clock
Yesterday morning at Penclawdd: 3 Snipe, 4 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 6 Spoonbill, 1 Rock Pipit, 2 Common Gull, 2 Fieldfare, 1 Kestrel
Dalton’s Point: 30 Knot, 4 Dunlin, 49 Barwits, 180 Brant, and a selection of other waterfowl
Crofty: 380 Brent, 1 Snipe, 5 Green Sandpiper
This afternoon: 4 Pink-footed Geese from Penclawdd along with 5 Brent, 35 Greylag and 30 Canada. Also 3 Snipe and a Water Pipit further west, closer to Dalton’s Point.
Short video clip of the distant Pinks here https://photos.app.goo.gl/FQ1bP225fbSQByUK9
4 Pink-footed Geese were at Penclawdd today, found by Mark Hipkin
Red kites over Britton ferry friday ,and over Tesco neath Abbey today Sunday ,and yesterday in Briton ferry 20+ redwings
Up to 30 house sparrows in my garden this week and 40 + starlings together around the estate
4 Chiffchaff together on Horse bedding waste in a field w side of Crofty Industrial Estate. 1 Green Sandpiper. 1 first winter Spoonbill in pill nearby.
2 Common Sandpiper Penclawdd Pill
you beat me to it ! i didn’t get to see any Avocet late morning , but a distant flock on the water got my looking with 17 Coot . bit on the surreal side , hope they got a bit of grub!
6 snipe at Penclawdd pill the only other icy exposed birds i saw . temps rising , so feeding should get easier
Chris,
Yesterday theAvocet moved round the back of the salt marsh and dissappeared as the tide rose.
There was just a single Avocet at Loughor Bridge late morning when I looked at HT. But just as exciting was a flock of 16 Coots, which were intimidating a flock of around 900 Herring Gulls mid-channel. I can’t recall EVER seeing a Coot in the main estuary channel in over 30 years of looking! These and 3 others a little further down channel presumably had been displaced from the wetland centre, so should be back onto freshwater tomorrow, now the temperature’s shooting up.
Avocet
Barry,
Some years ago I had a Coot flying west Port Eynon whilst sea watching, I was even more surprised!
Almost as exciting as my first ever coot on the Margam Abbey Pond this week…
55 sanderling, 4 turnstone and 2 dunlin on the foreshore south of the Footgolf Course just after high tide this afternoon. Also at least 450 oystercatcher at Blackpill (with maybe 700 there just before high tide). Also 3 mistle thrush at Ashleigh Road playing fields.
I checked a location in Pennard to see whether Dart Warblers are surviving the cold nights, and found two, either two females or female and immature male. Still a lot of winter to go.
A few observations during a mid-day outing: At Berthlwyd 127 Greylag, 129 Canadas, 287 Wigeon, 3 Goldeneye & 3 Kites. At Dalton’s Point 2 Water Pipits, 1 Rock Pipit, 1 Spoonbill & 1 Spotted Redshank. At Crofty 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Spoonbills, 1 Kingfisher, 27 Linnet & 1 Water Pipit. https://photos.app.goo.gl/83x1z1z6YycfHN6W8
2 Cattle Egrets flew low over my garden on Pennard Cliffs this morning, flying in an eastward direction. It was the first sighting of this species from the garden.
Loughor Bridge on the run up this morning. Redshank 57, Dunlin 37, Goldeneye 2 fem types, Wigeon 15, Pintail 10, Canada Goose 12, Teal 19, GC Grebe 3, Ringed Plover 2, Avocet 4, again roosting with Oystercatchers, Spoonbill 1, later roosted on the salt marsh, Bar t Godwit 42, Greenshank 1, Brent 13, Marsh Harrier 1 fem type, later flew over the church and whilst driving home I saw it heading NE inland over Gorseinon, WaterPipit 2. I also saw what I think was the Pallid Harrier heading south across the estuary but the distance and poor seeing made it… Read more »
Cwm Ivy, marsh 39 shelduck, Cwm Ivy Woods 1 woodcock. Track to Whiteford Point ; female merlin suddenly appeared from dunes, just missing a reed bunting drinking at a pool, going on to harry and screech at a carrion crow before veering off down a muddy creek in hot pursuit of a redshank; thirty seconds of aerial madness.
Loughor Bridge on the HT this morning
Avocet 4 roosting with Oystercatchers (my first Gower record since I found one at Blackpill back in the 80s), Bar t Godwit 95, Teal 7, Wigeon 21, Goldeneye 1 female type, Oystercatcher 58, Redshank 16, GC Grebe 3.
This afternoon.
Dalton’s Point.
Knot 7, Dunlin 923, Bar t Godwit 11
Broughton Bay
Wigeon 49, Common Scoter5, GC Grebe 2
Penclawdd
Brent Goose 5, Canada Goose 114, Greenshank 1, Snipe1
This morning 2 pairs goosander on river tawe just downstream from liberty stadium
Black Pill this morning on falling tide
Curlew 16, Oystercatcher 50, Black-headed Gull 50, Common Gull 5, Lesser Black- backed Gull 2, Dunlin 200, Ringed Plover 50, Bar-tailed Godwit 20, Sanderling 1, Cormorant 2, Redshank 4, Herring Gull 5, Pied Wagtail 3 and usual covids. One Black-headed gull in summer plumage.