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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.
What I think may be a Whinchat on Llanrhidian Marsh this afternoon (happy to be corrected if wrong)
Correct.
Thanks for the confirmation, Dewi.
Buzzard and latish sightings of wheatear and barn swallow (although probably not the last) at Southgate, East Cliff this afternoon
Many thanks Paul and Owain for your comments on the picture of the gull ring I posted yesterday- I’ll email Pete Rock with the details…..
Osprey on post from Wernffrwdd
If anyone has Pics of the Baird’s sandpiper in the last days can you please send them through to me. Cheers
Blackpill: Bairds Sandpiper showing very nice …once all the beach had been covered, appeared really late after the tide had come in although it had been heard calling twice in the 2 hours before with the moving groups. apparently last night it did the same only appearing once tide right in.Also 106 Med Gull, 6 Gannet, 15 Bar tailed Godwit,120 Dunlin, 60 Ringed Plover ( inc small Tundra like bird) 1 Curlew Sandpiper, 350 Herring Gull, 6 Conman Gull
Ed,
on the 25th I found the Baird’s feeding with Ringed Plovers near West Cross before the tide was up, they then moved further east as the tide rose, finally ending up at Blackpill on the HT.
Thanks Paul.!
A strange looking ring on this gull – recently photographed by a neighbour on his garage roof in Sketty…..
Photo attached this time
Research made by a friend of mine, Roger Keith, suggests this is a ring supplied by J &B Davis. These are usually used for domestic birds so, as you say, an odd one. Does anyone keep and breed gulls? Maybe there was a number on the other side, even more odd is what looks like a metal ring on the other leg.
That should be L&J Davis
Hello Brian. It will be one of Peter Rock’s. He would appreciate the sighting. pete.rock@urbangulls.com
Oxwich Marsh: firecrest (male), 23 blackcap, 16 chiffchaff, a lingering reed warbler. Also passage of meadow pipit and a few grey wagtail.
1 clouded yellow
Blackpill late afternoon
Much the same as yesterday but now 3 Bl t Godwits and 19 Bar tailed, also a Sandwich Tern with a damaged leg, Curlew Sandpiper 2 juvs and juv Baird’s Sandpiper.
Blackpill yesterday late afternoon on the run up.
Wigeon 7 (three drakes), Sanderling 23, Little Egret 13, GW Egret 2 (the first I’ve seen on this side of Gower), Bar t Godwit 10, Knot 7, Black t Godwit 2, Teal 7, Redshank 4, Ringed Plover 116, Dunlin 96.
the whole lot were flushed off by a motorised hang glider flying along the beach at 50ft.
Photos for the Bird Report Please send any photos for possible inclusion in the 2025 GOWER BIRDS which is in creation currently. These can be any common species or good images of county rarities- these are all considered with equal thought for inclusion- send your best if you can!. I would love to include a photo of the Scop’s Owl -if anyone has a sharp image – which we really do need to include- after such an amazing occurrance. Any other species otherwise would be ace please send them over. To my email or the CR email .All the best… Read more »
Still one Osprey this morning eating a fish on its favourite post
Dartford Warbler: great views between Langland and Caswell this morning with RDJ and IDJ.
Sunday 6pm peregrine flying low over blackpill – yellowish tinge to underparts so presumably juvenile
Great selection of waders yesterday evening at Dalton’s Point: c1500 Oystercatcher, 15 Curlew, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 756 Black-tailed Godwit, 266 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Greenshank, 366 Knot, 1 Ruff and 16 Dunlin. Also a noticeable increase in ducks with 75 Teal, 26 Shoveler and 140 Pintail.
Oxwich Marsh: 2 garden warbler, sedge warbler. c. 20 chiffchaff. Grey wagtail passage evident including a group of 6 birds over east.
Walking fromSouthgate to Langland this afternoon: three buzzards seen together from Langland Golf Course above Summerland Lane/ Murton Lane. Four clouded yellows.
At Whitford today 3 Sandwich Tern, 3 Marsh Harrier – inc male and 2 juv/female types, 1 Osprey ( another at LLanrhid), 5 Spot fly, 45 Eider, 40 Med pipit, around 240 Curlew….. but 26 Jays all flying together down to the point over the dunes was the highlight…..is an irruption on the cards or just local movement .. we will see.
Oxwich Marsh: 4 sedge warbler, reed warbler, whitethroat, 11 Cetti’s warbler, 21 blackcap, 17 chiffchaff. Passage of meadow pipit, swallow, house martin and grey wagtail evident overhead, with 8 meadow pipit captured. Marsh harrier.
I can see one Osprey this morning on it’s favourite post eating a fish
19th September ? juvenile arctic tern, Oxwich river, dark bar rear edge of wing but no carpal bar
looks like Arctic
Yes, Arctic Tern
Short legs, long neat trailing dark edge to the wing, plain upper wing and petit look says Arctic but not a juv, they usually have a white forehead and slightly darker carpal bar, but the bill looks black, maybe a late first summer? The trailing edge looks very contrasty, especially on the upper wing but maybe that’s a photographic effect.
Thank you everyone for your comments.
Paul.
Heol fenrod pond this afternoon 1 adult mute swan with 4 fully grown juvs
22 mallard 2 ravens over ,lots of jackdaws near home bargains car park 100+
Cefn Bryn this afternoon two Red Kite, a Kestrel and a superb show of interactive flight by two Goshawk. Llanrhidian: Kestrel, Buzzard and Marsh Harriet
Garganey at Loughor Foreshore this afternoon with a large group of 309 Teal. Other counts included 371 Canada Goose, 1 Greylag Goose, 55 Mallard, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, c100 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Redshank, 4 Curlew, 1 Curlew Sandpiper, and 12 Dunlin.