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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.
Uncountable numbers of Sand Martins at Sandy Water Park just now
Reed warbler singing at Pant y Sais Fen today, also 2 grasshopper warblers reeling.
Limeslade to Rotherslade this morning several greenfinches, and chiffchaffs calling and a great view of a Dartford warbler.
Sedge warbler singing at Crymlyn Bog today.
A gorgeous afternoon down in Rhossili and on the cliffs further east earlier today – linnets singing, a single male wheatear, dartford warbler, our first swallow of the year, a solitary painted lady butterfly and then a weasel running across the track on the way back to the village…
Willow warbler and Chiffchaff singing in hedge outside Pennard School
This fine spring morning I held up my ‘phone with the Merlin app on. In 10 minutes it registered 15 species. It simply does not recognise Herring Gull, which are present all the time, but wrongly claimed GBB Gull. Buzzard was right; I heard it. Siskin was plausible although I have not seen one in my 50 years in the house; I must pay attention. Red-throated Loon I decided was implausible.
Make sure it’s set on your location otherwise it does silly things!
I was very sceptical about Merlin app at first, but generally find it pretty good. I always take anything odd with a pinch of salt. It showed tree pipit for me at Crymlyn Bog this morning, which I dismissed. It is definitely better with some species than others – I guess partly due to how many recordings they have on the system. I also find it is not good with gulls, either simply not recognising herring gull and/or LBBG at all, or wrongly identifying as yellow-legged gull. Perhaps their calls are just similar and confuses the app. I have found… Read more »
I think the quality of the microphone on the phone affects it quite a lot.
Warm and windy walk around Penmaen and Nicholaston this afternoon. Very pleased to see 2 Swallows over the field in Penmaen, at least 8 Linnet and also a Kestral over Torbay.
Thank you to Paul Larkin and Kai Gordon for correcting my Mandarin to a Wood Duck.
A first for me, presumably came from the Gnoll pond 🤔
Or part of the big influx of nearctic wildfowl that’s occurred because of the very cold weather on the E coast of the USA in Jan/Feb!!!
That would be a tick for the Neath/Tonna canal 🤟
Male Mandarin duck on the Neath canal just up from the BBC asin, before the garlic wood.
Isn’t this a Wood Duck?
Yep, wood duck
2nd April: group of 6 red throated divers off Overton Mere, 1 gannet, 2 porpoise
Rhosili Down S end just above the fields 13 Chough together, 1 bird feeding another so presumably paired.
Swallow. Brandy Cove. Just now 1:20pm 2nd April
One willow warbler at Crymlyn Bog today, first of the year for me. Presumably a recent arrival, as only giving out an occasional muted ‘sub-song’.
Oxwich Marsh 29/03: 2 singing willow warblers, an influx of siskins with many (ringed birds) now in breeding condition.
Swansea Canal – Ynysmeudwy stretch – 1 Cormorant and Mallard (2F 5M), Little Egret seen 3 times this week either foot-stirring in the shallows or resting in the trees.
Ynysmeudwy River – pair of Goosanders and pair of Dippers near the bridge.
Cwm Ivy/Whitford – large bird of prey, pale underside, slightly darker wing tips and tail feathers (straight) – seen soring towards the outcrop of trees at the lighthouse end of the dunes- possibly a Palid Harrier?
28/03 River Tawe Morriston to Ynystawe: Goosander 3F, 1M. Two dippers, one each end. 2 kingfishers, 2 Canada geese, 10 sand martins and 14 mallard.
2 Dippers Penllegaer Woods
Walk along Swansea Canal on 26 March, morning. A large number of Song Thrushes heard and seen. Single Rook among Crows in Coed Gwilym Park. Many expected species Inc Long Tailed, Blue and Great Tits, Blackbirds, Goldcrests, Nuthatch and Tree Creeper. Small flock of Redwings feasting on Ivy berries. Kingfisher seen briefly on Pontardawe section. Dipper seen in one of the run-off channels near the Trebanos end, flushed but settling on nearby river bank. This is a pleasant walk. Start near the Mond works along a maintained canal side path. At Trebanos, the canal is culverted but a well defined… Read more »
Pwlldu Head 27/03 female wheatear, red-throated diver.
Nice to see the usual pair of Goosander back on the river in Glynneath – roosting twice this week by the bridge with the lights. Also some display from a pair of Sparrowhawks locally too. Also a pair and then a singing Willow Tit over the border. Not had chance to check some of our usual spots this year… but nice to see they are still surviving close very close to us.
Two male northern wheatears on The Vile, Rhossili (23rd March)
Clyne Valley between 9 and 11 this morning – GS woodpeckers drumming everywhere, with green woodpeckers calling further over towards Sketty, chiffchaffs calling, great tit, blue tit, marsh tit, goldcrest, several nuthatches, 1 buzzard, several stock doves, blackcap, dunnock, song and mistle thrush, plus the usual robins, blackbirds, etc.
Here’s a video of the 752 Golden Plover on the marsh (I can’t upload it to this site unfortunately) https://photos.app.goo.gl/taVhVZVpTvTXZEB6A