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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.
Yesterday evening, s-w of Loughor Bridge, the Bar-tailed Godwit flock was up to 75. Also 50 Dunlin, a smart summer plumage Grey Plover and 3 Curlew.
Lesser Whitethroat at Mewslade this morning. Near gate at start of the valley. Also kestrel pair displaying from cliff path.
South of the Loughor Bridge this evening on a rising tide.
Dunlin 3, Whimbrel, a flock of 18 high up river attempted to land by the bridge but eventually continued over the bridge towards upper Loughor, Shelduck 21, Black t Godwit 25, Bar t Godwit 1, Wheatear 1, GC Grebe 2.
39 Bar-tailed Godwits & 10 Whimbrel south of Loughor Bridge this evening, probably new arrivals.
Pant Y Sais, this morning, at least 3 cuckoo’s, seen 2 together, 2 grasshopper warblers from the boardwalk, numerous sedge and reed warblers also.
That’s a coincidence Richard as I very briefly heard the “diddle diddle” of Lesser Whitethroat song down below Gravesend yesterday in short scrub habitat unsuitable for breeding LWh, presumably a newly arrived migrant.
I suppose it’s possibly the same individual moving westward along the cliffs, but of course we’ll never know Ian.
An early Lesser Whitethroat was caught and ringed in my garden on Pennard Cliffs this afternoon. I’ve not previously caught one here before the month of May.
Just for information, heard my first Lesser Whitethroat the other side of the Loughor at WWT Llanelli on Sunday 12th April, the earliest I can remember. Birds can now heard, and sometimes seen, across the Reserve, particularly the Centre path by the spiral screen, and down close to the canoes.
Oxwich Marsh: grasshopper warbler, numerous reed and sedge warbler, cuckoo and some lingering snipe this morning. Blackbird, robin and siskin all actively breeding.
Counts form the upper section of the Burry this morning included 2 Gadwall, 241 Oystercatcher, 2 whimbrel, 749 Black-tailed Godwit, 74 Knot, 1 Ruff and 10 Dunlin. Yestetrday and the day before, between Landimore and Penclawdd totals included 1 Dark-bellied Brent, 106 Shelduck, 29 Teal, 1 Wigeon, 78 Eider (off Whiteford), 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Great White Egret, 253 Oystercatcher, 57 Whimbrel, 18 Curlew, 431 Black-headed Gull, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 6 Sandwich Terns, Peregrine 2 (one with a Black-headed Gull kill , which it managed to keep away from the Carrion Crows) and 2 White Wagtail.
Pant Y Sais, Cuckoo
Pant y Sais today: cuckoo, grasshopper warbler, numerous reed and sedge warblers.
A single Spoonbill flew overhead my garden on Pennard Cliffs mid afternoon yesterday, heading out to sea in a south easterly direction. The first sighting of the species from the site.
13 April Kingfisher at pond in Upper Killay, together with a grey heron, a pair of Canada geese, and several gadwall. Red kite observed over Upper Killay several days in the past week.
Swallows have arrived back at Langland Golf Club and where they have bred in many previous years in the green-keepers sheds. Also good numbers of greenfinches calling on the course and the cliff paths. Their numbers seem, reassuringly, to be on the up.
House martins back at copper quarter Swansea
Red kite seen over Sketty Park/Derwen Fawr this afternoon
Port Eynon this pm on a rising tide
RT Diver 3, two feeding close in and one up channel all in various stages of attaining bp
Guillemot 4, two feeding close in with divers and two down channel
Gannet 6 down channel
Sandwich Tern 3 down channel
Razorbill 2 down channel
Fulmar Petrel 1 close in then down channel
Oystercatcher 14 roosting on rocks
Penclawdd on the HT
Sandwich Tern 2 feeding close in shore
Common Sandpiper 1
Steady movement of Swallows and Sand Martins into the wind
Single cuckoo showing really well at Pant Y Sais…
Reed warbler at Crymlyn Bog today.
Singing blackcap. Along the Swansea canal at Trebanos yesterday.
Cuckoo reported at Pant Y Sais fen this afternoon
Forgot to mention, Morriston Park !
2 pairs of ring necked parakeets spotted today along with blackcaps, chiffchaffs, GSW, nuthatches etc.
Last week on 8th April: at dusk at Crymlyn Bog a flock of c70 Sand Martins were busily feeding overhead briefly before flying off again. Also 1-2 Snipe calling and Willow Warbler, Chiffchaffs, and a Blackcap joining the dusk chorus.
For the past three days since Friday 10th April there has been a Whitethroat in the trees outside my flat in Swansea Marina. Not singing but busily feeding. I am assuming it is a recent arrival that has stopped here to feed as we don’t normally get them in this location