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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.
9 Swifts screaming over Manselton. Groups of 4 & 5 which briefly merged and then separated
Mynydd Gellionnen early morning Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
An afternoon trip out to Worms Head over low tide with Lukas, yesterday, was eventful. The primary target again was Puffins and we got onto a bird in flight below the breeding ledges almost straight away. Sadly the bird didn’t settle on the water instead disappearing behind Outer Head from our viewpoint just short of the causeway leading to Outer Head. Then the Coastguard turned up on one of their annual training exercises with the Helicopter lowering one of the crew near to Devil’s Bridge. This caused mayhem among the seabirds most of which took to flight to move much… Read more »
Brill record Mark and Lucas, the helicopter training by the auks has long been a questionable practice and raised b4 as you know… it could be done elsewhere without disturbing the auks off the cliffs and the other spp. Shame it still continues same happened on Saturday too. A new training cliff area could be found without seabird impact I am sure
4 Swifts low over rooftops Manselton
Our events page has been updated. There are 22 events planned for the coming 9 months or so. See: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/events/
This morning on the run up
Castell du
As well as the usual suspects a full bp Cattle Egret feeding in the channel with Little Egrets.
Loughor Bridge
Oystercatcher 850, Bar t Godwit 3, Bl t Godwit 2, GCG 1
Oxwich Marsh
Fledged reed warbler, chiffchaff and willow warbler this morning.
Totals of 31 blue tit, 16 siskin, 16 reed warbler and 17 goldfinch ringed / recaptured.
GOS Field Trip on the Gower Explorer A very enjoyable field trip this morning. We left Oxwich Beach at 09:00 to head to the Worm to counts the cliff-nesting birds. On the way we had a prolonged encounter with a group of common dolphins. At least 6-7 individuals (although potentially a few more – they were hard to count) followed us, swimming beneath the boat, and occasionally breaching. They included a calf. The Worm colonies proved challenging to count due to sea state, but it is clear that in excess of 200 kittiwake nests, 350 guillemots and 30 razorbills are… Read more »
Very nice write-up, Owain. And great that you are going back out again and hopefully compare counts. There’s obviously a much clearer picture of number of breeding seabirds that can be counted from the boat. I’ve never really got my head around how many Guillemots and Razorbills breed there.
I look forward to reading the second trip report. Hopefully, you’ll get favourable weather.
A few photos of the Dolphins- which were off Port Eynon
Also some auks and Kittiwakes
A lesser blacked back gull looking after 2 fledged chicks on mumbles rooftop newton road over last week. The chicks are usually led over the roof ridge and down behind chimney stack into shade in morning where they flop down on the sloping roof tiles for most of the day . I have been fearful for their safety as they so clumsy and leggy. And it’s a long drop down
5 rooks on Murton Green at the junction of Manselfield Rd and Murton Green Road. I was driving at the time so there may have been more. 10:45am today.
Loughor Bridge on the run up this evening. Slightly surprised to see 8 GC Grebes on the river at this time of year, Shelduck 18, Oystercatcher 510, Curlew 6, Gadwall 1 drake, Black t Godwit 6. A single species flock of 11 Med Gulls up river, all adults bar two 1st summer birds. I don’t see as many Meds on the north side of Gower as on the south, usually just ones and twos, so this is the largest flock I’ve seen here. GW Egret 1, seen several times diving head first into the water, like a Gannet, from a… Read more »
More starlings than usual this summer in Gorseinon. Looks like it’s been a good breeding season. This flock of 478 was one of two similar sized groups swirling around over the street.
Lliw Valley Reservoirs. 2 Spotted Flycatchers around old quarry between the two lakes
I made a second visit to Worms Head in a week, yesterday, in search of Puffins in with the assembled Auks. I managed to see at least one flying around and on the see off Outer Worm. Razorbills and Guillemots were on ledges with Kittiwakes and Herring Gulls sitting on eggs. Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit and Rock Pipit with food. Female Linnet nest-building and at least 2 clutches of fledged Wheatears on the tidal island. Two Chough posed nicely on Inner Worm on my walk back
2 swifts over West Cross, 5.00 pm monday
Nightjars churring in three areas on Kilvey Hill last night, with one flying to within about 10 feet above my head, while another was churring a little distance away, circling me twice and flying away followed by a bat. (Plenty of bats around as well.)
Phil George reports: a pair of rooks flying around my house(Baglan) with 3 young,which is unusual. Never seen them in Baglan before.
Still plenty birds in the Burry the last couple of days, despite us being in what is traditionally the early summer lull. Low-tide counts from the top end (eastern) of the Burry Inlet (see map) over the previous two evenings (6th/7th): Shelduck (63/14), Mallard (11/16), Cormorant (3/3), Little Egret (3/5), Oystercatcher (444/780), Dunlin (0/18), Bar-tailed Godwit (1/5), Black-tailed Godwit (270/89), Curlew (1/1), Whimbrel (2/0), Black-headed Gull (43/63), Great Black-backed Gull (4/3), Herring Gull (153/97), Lesser Black-backed Gull (11/15), Carrion Crow (22/20).
2 male wheatear , 3 chough plus a shelduck west of Overton . Ringed plover holding territory at sedgers bank
An enjoyable walk late yesterday morning up the cycletrack and adjacent grassland between Gorseinon and the crossing point for the Gower Way. Kingfisher, sand martin (4), Whitethroat and bullfinch (2) – with 23 spp in total
Southward Lane, Langland. Several crossbills over the house in the past few hours.
I pair swifts nesting under eaves of riverside block of flats by river Tawe in copper quarter
Found this dead guillemot next to Swansea west pier in debris on tide line, bird has been reported and removed by the appropriate authorities, I’ve tried tracing the rings to see where it was ringed as a chick with no joy, any ideas all where else I can search for it ?
Hi Andrew. You can submit the record here: https://app.bto.org/euring/lang/pages/rings.jsp
From the information I have the bird was ringed as a youngster in June 2022, but I can’t access location or further details. Please do put it in to BTO if you can. They will give you full information
Thanks Owain, have reported to Bto through this site
The Ring-necked Parakeets in Morriston Park are doing well, with at least 3 pairs with active nests – reportedly there are at least 10 birds now present