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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.
On riverside path between RTB bridge and Ffendrod. 2 small flocks of Siskins and Long Tailed Tits feeding on alder. Goldfinches. Bullfinch pair. 2 Redwing.
Hen harrier (female) hunting the marsh at Oxwich this morning. Put up numerous snipe. Appeared to drop onto prey and disappeared for some time. Mobbed by male sparrowhawk.
Otherwise quiet, with small flocks of siskin and a few bullfinch noted, but none of the chiffchaff or goldcrests seen yesterday. Kingfisher on the channel.
Rob Taylor reported 6 red-throated diver in the bay
27 Dec Oxwich Point: 2 great northern divers close inshore in the fog, 2 great crested grebes, 52 oystercatchers, 1 curlew, 1 female kestrel, 2 great black backed gulls.
There was a diver off the cliffs between Caswell and Langland at around 3pm today. I’m fairly certain it was a juvenile Great Northern but it dived every time I got it in my bins and moved gradually further from shore into the fog.
We had a noticable influx of Bullfich in our Clydach garden today.Small parties of 4 to 10 birds at a time kept dropping in for a few hours feeding on phesant berry(Leycesteria formosa)
Oxwich Marsh: 3 chiffchaff and a flyover brambling (with siskins)
Also a recapture of a snipe just over 6 years after initial ringing
Great spotted Woodpecker drumming in Clyne Gardens at 13.30 today as well as a song thrush “tuning up”. Also 42 curlew at Blackpill at 4pm
Is this a Glossy Ibis? Either it flew over twice or there were 2 of them, heading from Sunny Bank, Crofty towards Selwyn’s Cockle Factory this very misty morning.
Yes it is Derek. Very good record for West Glam. Please submit the record to Eddie Hunter / make sure he has got it. There were no records in 2023, but quite a few in 2022. The first record for the recording area was in 2020. The increase of late reflects the increased range and abundance of the species in the UK.
Thanks Owain. Will do.
On the quay at south end of Aberavon beach over hide tide 3 Purple Sandpiper were with 6 Turnstone and 3 Rock Pipit. 5 Sanderling feeding on the beach nearby.
A Snow Bunting was present at Cefn Bryn, yesterday. The bird has reportedly been present since 22nd Dec and seems to favour the path and adjacent area just before Red Pool which is 150m west of King Arthur’s Stone car park. (SS48779012). The bird has a metal ring on its right leg but the photos I took are not sharp enough to read all the details. Hopefully, it’ll stick around and someone can get better photos showing the ring code.
Water pipit at llanrhidian near floods toward cattle grid ( llanrhidian end)
600 oystercatcher at Blackpill at noon today as well as 10 bar tailed godwit, 9 sanderling and 7 redshank. Also, there were around another 400 oystercatcher further west towards West Cross as well as at least 6 curlew.
Marsh Harrier at the Llanrhidian end of the marsh road mid day in rainy conditions Photos by Derek Jones
Female Marsh Harrier hunting over Llanrhidian marsh. Hundreds of Lapwing out on the Green
The wintering Blackcaps are back in the garden, today had 2 male and 2 female. Ringtail on Llanrhidian Marsh today as well as hundreds of Lapwing and about 20 Greylag Geese
One of the roosting Treecreepers embedded into a local Giant Sequoia tree. Remarkable feathering on the back to give extra camouflage and insulation.
There were 3 Hen Harriers hunting at Llanrhidian Marsh today (video link below) and at Dalton’s Point, 5 Spoonbills were feeding in the closet pill. Nice to see the sun briefly! https://photos.app.goo.gl/W8DJvUsfmGuAD5u38
19th Brunel dock area a red kite being mobbed by the local gulls
Marsh Road, Crofty to Llanrhidian quiet except on return passing Berthlwyd Chapel when suddenly a Red Kite overhead followed by a subadult male Hen Harrier flying past at close range.
Also hundreds of Lapwing out on the Green
Female Marsh Harrier hunting over Llanrhidian Marsh this morning
Gower Birds has gone to the printers and will be sent out / hand delivered to our members as soon as we have it.
If you would like to join GOS it is £12 for a single membership and £15 for a joint membership. In addition to the report you get email reminders about walks and talks, information about the other activities GOS gets involved in (influencing and sponsoring local conservation initiatives) and the knowledge that you are contributing to bird recording and conservation in Swansea, Gower and Neath Port Talbot. To join visit our website here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/members/
2 of a small flock of 7 goldfinches that have been feeding on the seeds on Crofty Marsh during the past few days.
15th male and female goosander on the river by cadaxton salt marsh ,viewable from the viewing platform by Morrison’s.