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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.
Small pond behind neath castle in castle quays 2 adult mute swan with 4 cygnets
Also 18 mallard there
Gnoll Park Neath red crested pochard x northern pintail still present
More swift around than house martin this year I’ve noticed – Anyone else notice this or is it different where you are?
Female teal with ducklings on pond next boardwalk at Crymlyn Bog today – performing some elaborate dabbling behaviour as a diversion while the ducklings slipped away. Usual reed and sedge warblers singing, and cuckoo calling. Also found a green woodpecker nest hole with chicks calling inside, with adult yaffling and alarming nearby at my presence.
Where abouts is Crymlyn bog? I haven’t seen a green woodpecker
I know this is a wagtail but Merlin is telling me it is a white wagtail. Is it possible to tell from these relatively poor photos? Taken today in Newton.
Another photo
White wagtail or the pied wagtail (Motacilla alba yarreli)
I’m more minded to pied wagtail than white wagtail from the photos, although a view of the back colour markings would help (back would be lighter grey in white wagtail). White wagtail is also less likely at this time of year, being primarily continental birds, and mainly spring and autumn passage migrants in Britain.
I’m sure others could give a more informed opinion here than me.
Merlin may be a bit unreliable in this case – as pied and white wagtails are essentially different races of the same species, so I wouldn’t expect the calls to be much different.
Our Pied wagtail is a sub – species of White wagtail. The nominate White wagtail is recorded here only in autumn and winter.
Should have said that it is a Pied wagtail for the reasons above and the plumage
Skylark singing in Cimla this morning
Brynau Farm – Tree pipit on the 26th and on the 23rd
Stonechats in high numbers as per usual
Meadow pipits particularly showy on the 26th
Blackcap in good numbers, swallows too
Gnoll Country Park – Moorhen chicks, nearly mature coot chicks, particularly aggressive mute swan cob, pair of mandarin duck, resident red crested pochard x northern pintail
Resolven – Wood warblers and redstart on the 31st.
News from yesterday (8th) paid a visit to coed Darcy house ,Llandarcy to try and count the house Martin colony.
There were 20 nests 7 had young in there were juvs flying about the site so it looks like a fairly sucesfull breeding season so far two of nests were hijacked by house sparrows before the Martin’s came back.
There were 38 wood pigeons on cwrt Herbert playing fields last night.
very fortunate to have a Turtle Dove drop into the garden .only seen briefly Friday morning , it’s turned up sporadically the last two days .
Hopefully it will head back off SE soon .
out and about , pair of Lapwing and 2 pair of LR plover on the upper Loughor .
out of season , but a Common Scoter on the river by Loughor boat club this afternoon . 2nd c/y female ? in plumage
A few lesser black-backed and herring gulls regularly nest on Tycoch college roof, which I can observe from my house. They currently have about one-week-old chicks. In 2024 all the chicks fledged successfully. Last year (2025) all the chicks ‘disappeared’ when quite well-grown but before fledging, presumably predated.
I’ve just been watching a sparrowhawk flying around scouting them out, being mobbed by an adult gull. I now suspect what the predator was last year.
Tried Penllagare Valley woods this morning in my final attempt at Dipper having missed them at Dinas and RSPB Cym Clydach. No luck there but went to follow up a lead to a good place in Clydach itself by the canal. Success, one Dipper plus the added bonus of a pair of Goosander with five chicks. Didn’t catch your names guys but thanks to the guys I met at WWT Llanelli for the tip off. Nice way to end a lovely trip!
Called in to tir. john/Ashland pool today 3 pairs of tufted with 24 ducklings between them,news from the giants grave pair of swans two young hatched they have moved towards the metal box area now local walkers etc have told me .
Pair of Wheatear on lower slopes between Rhossili & Fall Bay this morning.
Also, among the normal species, Whitethroat, Stonechat, Linnet etc was a single singing Sedge Warbler which sounded completely out of place!
Short walk at Cwm Clydach this afternoon, no Dippers (far too many dogs, don’t get me started!) one brief alarm call which sounded similar to their regular alarm call, which I’m very familiar with. Didn’t see the bird sadly….!
Sorry, forgot to mention that the alarm calling bird at Cwm Clydach was Spotted Flycatcher, possibly!
Please remember to read the above notice about Schedule I birds before posting any sightings of these species.
Black guillemot off the end of Mumbles Pier at the moment. (Apologies for the terrible pic – you might get some details if you zoom in. Taken on a phone through bins!)
Watched a Male Marsh Harrier circling around Whiteford lunch time, it then heading off in the direction of Oxwich. Now what’s a male MH doing wandering around Gower during breeding season?
The leucistic Blackbird in Morriston Park appears larger than its normal-coloured cousins but that’s an optical illusion.
Dartford Warblers – 1 M & 1 F on 25 May, Cefn Bryn. moving through the gorse and collecting insects.
This afternoon at Loughor fare shore car park.
Not much birdwise, a single Whimbrel being the only bird of note but at least a dozen painted lady butterflies between the car park and the watch point, also good numbers of worker Red-tailed, buff/white-tailed, garden, common carder and early nesting bumble bees.
Many thanks again to Ed Hunter for leading a party of 30 members to four venues in the Brecon area; mountains, moors and lakes. We found 58 species on a beautiful sunny and hot day. Thanks to all who came and enjoyed a great day of birding. Reports include: Jay Magpie Carion Jackdaw Wood Pigeon Collared Dove Goldfinch Bullfinch Greenfinch Chafffinch Linnet Pied Flycatcher Spotted Flycatcher Canada Goose Grey Lag Goose Herring Gull Lesser BB Gull Scarlet Macaw Swallow Swift Sand Martin House Martin Tree Pipit Meadow Pipit Sky Lark Pipit Osprey Buzzard Peregrine Red Kite Dunnock House Sparrow Blue… Read more »
I’d love to know the story behind the macaw!
Nightjars churring for quite a while on the top of the mountain between Resolven and Crynant last night, near the Star Gazing Hare. I heard them for about two hours at various distances.
(I’m posting because I think there is a walk up there scheduled soon although this is away from Gower!)
Cwm Clydach from car park nr the New Inn.
3 Dippers, including an adult feeding a juvenile.
No Spotted Flycatchers again this year (3 previous locations checked)
Couldn’t find any flycatchers either, Nigel, on recent visit. Shame because used to be great spot for them
That stretch of Cwm Clydach used to be my go to spot for Spot Flys, very sad! What about the northern stretch (although I’ve never been there)?
What about Bishopston valley, always thought that had potential although it’s a bit of a hike!?
None reported recently.
Theses warm(ish) overcast conditions are good for counting Swift around the Afon Tawe. I started off at Ystalyfera down to Ynystawe. I recorded two at Ystalyfera where I’ve drawn a blank in previous years. There were four at Ynysmeudwy,two over the river at Glanrafon(Riverside).Four at Pontardawe, with another four over the Tawe by Tesco(there are other supermarkets !). Six over the Tawe by pont y Glais and eight at Ynystawe where the bypass crosses the Tawe. On the home front it looks as if it’s been a good breeding season for Starling and House Sparrow. A creche of 30 juvenille… Read more »
Ashlands Pond in Port Tennant earlier this lunchtime: pair of bullfinch, great spotted woodpecker, reed warbler, cetti’s warbler,
female tufted duck with 8 chicks, solitary little grebe with 1 chick, swallow and at least 6 house martins in the distance over Dan y Graig Road.