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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.
Redstart singing on Langland Golf course this morning. Also greenfinch, whitethroat and fledgling stonechats. Small elephant hawk-moth in the grass on the edge of the golf course.
Family party of linnets on Newton Cliff, Caswell.
The only (assumedly) breeding meadow pipit I am aware of between Caswell and Limeslade is still displaying on the edge of the Golf Course
Scarlet tiger moths on the wing between Langland and Rotherslade
Yesterday’s 68mm of rain (source: Radio 4 at 0658 today) had the result that our sunflower hearts were depleted by only a quarter of the daily norm. Whether this affected nestlings I don’t know. Perhaps the adults eat sunflower hearts while getting grubs for their young; and yesterday (adults) chose to be hungry rather than wet. Goldfinches predominate; and this year’s young goldfinches come for sunflower hearts; or sit near the feeder waiting for a parent to feed seeds to them. We also have chaffinches, dunnocks, house sparrows, woodpigeons, titmice, nuthatches and a pair of bullfinches – all for the… Read more »
In the Neath valley and surroundings its been a good year for Cuckoos dotted around the regrowing clear falls and hill edges -with around 8 found. I eventually found a singing White-throat territory with the usual spots been empty this year. Just one Grasshopper Warbler found in the area covered and just 2 singing Sedge warblers – these been up at Coelbren. But the area is very dry – No lapwings or curlew this year for second year running. Spotted Flycatcher at 3 spots so far. Still a good flock of 50 Common Crossbill about in the forestry.pics show Cuckoo,… Read more »
Flight of 13 Shearwater flying up channel this morning and seen from Limeslade.
10 crossbills just flew over house towards pine trees around Langland Corner.
Lockdown walks quiet over the past couple of days. Fledged pied wagtails at the Tivoli (Oystermouth), some brutish great black-backed gulls at Knab Rock, and lots of fledglings – with house sparrows at Limeslade and more stonechats on the coast. Drinker and six-spot burnet caterpillars crossing the coast path, and this mullein moth caterpillar on great mullein.
A loose flock of a dozen Swifts flew in over Higher Lane Langland yesterday. Looked like a migration flight.
Juvenile Blue and Great tits, Robin, House sparrow and Goldfinches in my garden in the last couple of days. On my local walk today there was a female Blackbird with a juvenile by the River Dulais but no sign of the Dipper. Walked part of the St Illtyd Way on the west side of the valley and heard Wood warbler and Garden warbler in the same areas as before so probably breeding. Also heard Leser redpolls further on in the forestry.
Outside Hunts Farm, East Cliff, 2 June: skylark, house martin, red kite, chough, kestrel, blackcap, chiffchaff, greenfinch, green woodpecker and this buzzard.
Family of Nuthatch in garden today. 4 Young. Adults showing them how to catch bugs by flying out from branch like a flycatcher. Did this a dozen times with high success rate! Not a behaviour I have seen before with Nuthatch. Has anybody else seen this?
Also, female Gt Spotted Woodpecker taking nuts from feeder and hammering them into apple tree as a cache. Did this for 10 peanuts in succession.
Afternoon walk Baglan Burrows 2pm in the heat of the day not the best time for birds in the current conditions. The highlight today was a Cuckoo calling from the scrubby alder wood, other birds included Skylark singing and one bird carrying food also a family of Stonechats, singing Whitethroat, Linnet and Goldfinch, 6 Lapwing flew from the Neath river and into the Energy Park. Common Blue was the most numerous butterfly today 20+ also Small Heath c6, Small Blue 4 also a few White butterflies but couldn’t get a good enough look to identify them ! likewise a large… Read more »
Probable Hobby seen heading eastwards along Pennard Cliffs this morning, Jackdaws ensured it didn’t linger too long.
4 Shelducks roosting on the shoreline towards Pobbles, whilst several Fulmars and Gannets were very close inshore.
Crossbills moving over Langland early morning. Two parties heard. Second 10+ (possibly a lot more). Siskin also heard (first for a while). 2 sparrowhawks.
Yesterday’s lockdown walk between Rotherslade and Caswell. Lots of fledged goldfinches on the cliffs. Further evidence of successful breeding in stonechat, and small blues on the wing. The cliff between Snaple and Whiteshell Points is now recovering (following extensive burning a couple of summers ago) and is very flower-rich.
During early morning walk around Upper Killay to Swansea Airport and back I was very surprised to see Stone Curlew at 7.30 in flight on airport grounds. Also saw a hare and cuckoo in same vicinity.
Plenty of stonechats (including young) and whitethroat about at the moment. Also more blackcaps and lesser whithroats than usual.
Wed 27th – 2 Garden Warblers singing at the same time “against each other” from oak trees at the edge of Clyne Common North & Clyne Valley Woods. I took a recording on my phone. Also my first Skylark singing & seen on the Common.
Took a pleasant stroll up Cwm Dyffryn from home.Encountered family parties of Blackcaps, willow warblers & Bullfinches. Found a fourth Dipper breeding site on the river Ffrydwyllt.On a more serious subject Ash tree disease is becoming more noticable year on year locally with young trees and saplings particularly prone. Well established,older trees seem to be faring better. It would be interesting to hear other members observations on ash trees in their localities though i fear they may well echo my findings Thursday 29th May.
About 20 swifts flying off Lewes Castle (Fall Bay) where they nested last year. 3/4 Yellow Hammers on the hedgerows of Great Pitton Farm. Cacophony of bird sounds generally with particularly large numbers of singing Song Thrushes.
On our pond large numbers of Common Blue Damselflies together with Blue-tailed and Large Red as well as Broad-bodied Chasers.
On my local walk this morning, the woods by the river were fairly quiet with Willow warbler
and Chiff chaff the only migrants singing. I went home on a path across some rough grassland and saw 5 House martins and 3 Swallows feeding and flying fairly low.
How big is a cuckoo territory? This spring I have heard cuckoo in three places between Upper Killay and Clyne Common. But it might be the same bird.
Pennard #lockdown golf
My first Cuckoo in Pennard valley in 20 years..
Plenty of whitethroat..
Even more stonechat..
And plenty of parachuting meadow pipits..
Tuesday 26th May by bike to Cefn Bryn. Shelduck and eight herring gulls on Broad Pool. Three swifts at the top of Cefn Bryn (my first) and skylarks in small numbers.
Newly fledged Yellowhammer above Mewslade Valley with singing Lesser Whitethroat nearby.