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 Cettiās warbler.
Surprised to see a great spotted woodpecker on a telephone post (wooden ) outside my house found at least two active swifts nests on my street in Briton ferry
Parties of 6 and 4 very low screaming swifts over Cromwell Street, Mount Pleasant and King Edward’s Road, Uplands this morning. Flock of over 20 swifts slightly higher over Mount Pleasant.
Limeslade to Rotherslade this morning. One Gannet off shore, five Chough flying east. Three seals close inshore and barking. Over Thistleboon 10 Swifts feeding and screaming.
Nine Swifts feeding over Clydach this morning and another two around the Church at Trebannws..Wont be long before they start on their return journey.
A red kite over caewern neath this afternoon
Nice to see 15 swifts over Briton ferry this evening they were probably screaming but I can’t hear them these days even with my hearing aids
Up to 13 swifts this morning low over Morriston, suggesting they are breeding in small numbers there. Singles and groups of up to 5 noted over a two hour period in various areas. Peregrine eating a feral pigeon on the Tabernacle in Woodfield Road.
West Cliff, Southgate, this morning: Whitethroats, Goldfinches and a flock of Linnets. Only a couple of Swallows at Hunts Farm, Peregrine flying low along the cliff, Kestrel higher up and three Herons flying together from the roost to fishing grounds. Also this dead Adder and Field Vole on the road, probably run over by a car.
At the moment there are around 500 Jackdaws around Clydach-with a large number of juvenile birds. This afternoon they were intermittently put up by the local falcons. The immature falco was put through its paces by mother using the fragmented flock as target practice. At one time it went for a Lesser Black Back Gull but the gull appeared unperturbed.
Six swifts foraging high between Rotherslade and Limeslade this morning.
Fulmar over the sea, and a grey seal at Limeslade.
Can anyone explain sudden singng in the last week of blackcaps in many places, after silence since early May? Is it idle males in a gap between two broods?
Young chough have finally appeared on the cliffs here. This family of two adults, three young and one (nearest) uncertain seen this morning, along with two other adults. At about 17:30 ten chough past heading west, and at 20:25 five heading east. (Also this morning, about three feet in front of me, a large hawkmoth with very long straight proboscis hovering by thistles and quickly moving on. I assumed a hummingbird hawkmoth from the hovering, but after consulting an insect book I though the one I had seen was much bigger. Is this unusual? Couldn’t identify wing colours because they… Read more »
Sorry, photo appears not to have attached.
Oxwich Marsh this morning: reeling grasshopper warbler, 22 reed warblers including lots of juveniles, young Cetti’s warbler, bullfinch, great spotted woodpecker and wren. Read the ringing report here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/oxwich-marsh-3-july-2022-juvenile-behaviour/
Langland this afternoon: dark green fritillary and humming bird hawkmoth
Dear All We are now in the breeding season. For Schedule 1 species at risk of disturbance at the nest, we need to ensure that any sightings do not provide information that may lead to their disturbance. This includes cliff-nesting species such as Dartford warbler and chough which have been targeted by photographers (some of whom have used tape lures) in recent years, and species expanding their range / becoming locally commoner in some parts of the recording area such as red kite and goshawk. Please be aware of this in your posting. A list of Schedule 1 species that… Read more »