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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.
As one of those on Llanrhidian Marsh with a scope yesterday afternoon (see Ian T’s post below) I can confirm good views of the Pallid Harrier, male and ring-tailed Hen Harrier and female Marsh Harrier. Further raptors hunting the marsh were Peregrine, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, the latter two more inland. Also good numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover and at least three Great White Egrets together with many Little Egrets.
Dalton’s Point this afternoon
High count for me – 166 Bar-tailed Godwit also 50 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 170 Dunlin, 2500 Oystercatcher, 10 Curlew.
Waterfowl included 18 Shelduck, 5 Gadwall, 4 Wigeon, 101 Pintail, 45 Teal. Also 9 Spoonbill feeding on both sides of the estuary and 4 Red Kite.
From Penclawdd car park 4 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper.
Dalton’s Point 3 Spoonbill.
Llanrhidian end of marsh road 1 Marsh Harrier female type. 1 male Hen Harrier plus 2 ringtails one of which was the Pallid Harrier but not identified by me as no telescope. Plenty of others with telescopes! At least 4 Great White Egrets.
A pretty outrageous afternoon topped off by bumping into the Tallack family. HAPPY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Reports from several observers of the pallid harrier between Wernffrwd and Llanrhidian yesterday. Also marsh harrier and green sandpiper
Black-throated diver (1st winter) on Port Talbot Dock yesterday (per Darryl Spittle)
Goshawk over Penclawdd this evening. Also a steady stream of c500 Herring Gull flying west.
Raptor morning at Llanrhidian on 11 December. Kestrel, Buzzard being bullied by Crows, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier and briefest of glimpses of the Pallid Harrier which evidently is still around.
A Merlin over my house in Briton Ferry this afternoon a nice garden tick
Lone Spoonbill feeding away all afternoon on the Lougher estuary close to Gateway resort…
Oxwich Bay this afternoon
RT Diver 13, GC Grebe 48, Common Scoter 24 (probably many, more high seas and distance……..), Guillemot 1, at least 30 Cormorant. Also an harbour porpoise. Visited the NNR at dusk for roosting harriers but none seen, 10 Shoveler there and 2 Little Grebe.
Male Hen Harrier and female Marsh Harrier present off Penclawdd this afternoon.
Llanrhidian yesterday late afternoon
GW Egret 7, Hen Harrier 1 grey male heading off towards Weobley, Lapwing 320, Dunlin 8 roosting on the marsh with Lapwings