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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.
Young barn owls (4 seen altogether) up Brynau in Neath 4.45am this morning.
Ebird report of spotted flycatcher and whinchat present in Pontardawe
Oxwich Marsh 11/07
Bearded tit (5) seen commuting down the channel near the South Pond hide.
Ringed / processed: 41 reed warbler, 10 sedge warbler, 9 willow warbler, 17 chiffchaff, 7 whitethroat, 8 Cetti’s warbler, 8 blackcap, 2 grasshopper warbler.
At least a dozen swifts flying high over Ashleigh Road in Sketty at 8.15 this evening – presumably feeding on ants along with the numerous gulls…
Siskin seem to be doing well around Neath, I’ve noticed good flocks and today the first one came to my garden feeder
Oxwich Marsh: bearded tit present both today and yesterday (heard calling from an area not too far from the South Pond hide).
Whimbrel (2) vocal yesterday in the mist. Passing over. Good numbers of Cetti’s warbler young this year. Sedge warblers now more evident (juveniles moving around in the marsh).
Estimate 20 Swifts and 10 House Martins hunting high over Murton just now.
A short blog post about the return of bearded tit to Oxwich: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/return-of-the-bearded-tit-and-further-grant-funding/
Gower Ringing Group is also delighted to note that we have received grant funding from the Gower Society for the twelfth successive year.
Oxwich Marsh: bearded tit heard again this morning. Towards the South Pond hide. Uptick in sedge warbler numbers. Roost of 300+ starling and a small swallow roost noted.
Yesterday: male grasshopper warbler provisioning nest / young.
Pair of whitethroat returning to a site in some brambles in Ridgewood gardens this morning, possibly nestbuilding or feeding a chick
Bit of a flying ant afternoon in Tycoch, attracting large numbers of gulls overhead and numerous swifts.
5 swifts over Chapel Street Mumbles, 10.00 today
Brynau farm: Buzzard, barn owl, whitethroat with juveniles, goldfinch, stonechat, mipit, skylark, magpie, swift, swallow, house martin, tree pipit, willow warbler, chiffchaff
Gnoll mosshouse: Grey wagtails, treecreeper, bullfinch, chiffchaff
Ridgewood gardens Cimla: Whitethroat building nest, family of fledgling blue tits
Oxwich Marsh: 2 adult bearded tit (m&f), 26 reed warbler, 6 sedge warbler, grasshopper warbler. Lesser redpoll over.
3 swifts over West Cross
Displaying willow warblers and stonechats singing heavily suggesting breeding in Ridgewood gardens Cimla on Thursday
Green Woodpecker 1CY suggesting breeding in Oystermouth Cemetery.
Could have been a thrush nightingale
Possible nightingale heard in Ridgewood gardens from alleyway path behind convenience store in view of field
Hobby over Brynau farm this morning viewed from Cimla
Continuing the nightjar theme, we unexpectedly flushed a female nightjar off a ground nest with two eggs at Crymlyn Bog a couple of weeks ago. Wet fen vegetation is atypical nightjar nesting habitat, but winter mowing in recent years (with specialist low ground pressure machinery) has presumably created more open conditions suitable for nightjar. We checked the nest for progress today, with a view to ringing the chicks when ready if the nest was successful. Unfortunately no sign of the adult nightjars, eggs or chicks today – the nest presumably predated. Will check the general location area again in a… Read more »
Oxwich Marsh: bearded tit heard calling this morning. Several sightings from the hide on the South Pond over the past few days (up to 4 birds).
Crossbill over.
This juvenile Willow Tit was caught and ringed in my garden on Pennard Cliffs this afternoon. It’s a species that I’ve only encountered once before here on the cliffs.
Simon Cook went back to Abergawed on Saturday for a midge-free look for the Nightjar at 22.30 and took these photos showing the bird with beak open and churring and the typical behaviour of landing on the open track while looking for food.
Wonderful photos. Really atmospheric.