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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.
Thursday 6th Feb:
Ring-tailed Hen Harrier and c5 Grey Plover at Whiteford. Also 3 Great Northern Divers and 3 Great Crested Grebes just off shore by the lighthouse. Good numbers of Knot, Dunlin, and Oystercatcher by the lighthouse as the tide was falling, as well as Curlew, Ringed Plover, and Turnstone.
Friday 7th Feb:
A male and a female Tawny Owl dueting in the early hours of the morning in the trees by the river near to St Thomas.
Crofty in the afternoon: 1 Peregrine which made a successful catch, 1 Merlin, 1 young male Hen Harrier, and 2 Spoonbills.
Lovely group of 5 Spoonbills on the marsh close to the layby between Penclawdd and crofty on Tuesday, another 2 then flew in and joined them.
The Black Redstart on the dung heap, Crofty this morning.
Lovely sunny day at Cwm Ivy/Whitford/Berges Island. Lots around on the estuary including at least 90 DB Brent Geese plus numerous Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Curlew, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Shelduck, Pintail and Teal. Highlights were 66 Eider, 2 Great Crested Grebe, a Slavonian Grebe and a Great Northern Diver all visible from the hide. A Marsh Harrier was hunting low over the marsh and two Buzzards were present up near Cwm Ivy. Smaller species in and around the woodland included Meadow Pipit, Treecreeper, Long Tailed Tit, Reed Bunting, Siskin, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Redwing, Song and Mistle Thrush.
I think I must have just missed you. I think you were leaving the hide as I was walking towards it
Yes, it must have been you in the distance heading towards the hide as I was leaving it. Nice that you saw a Hen Harrier!
There is a female Marsh harrier hunting out in Llanrhidian Marsh this morning
Good numbers of siskin c50. feeding high on the alder catkins in last week -along r. Tawe upstream from stadium. Also goldcrest bullfinch GS woodpecker coal tit and usually a pair of goosander on river (not up the treetops 🙂
Lots of Goshawk display over the last few days which will continue for a good few weeks. Please do not post any observations here but if you see any please let me know via email with a Grid Ref and short note of behavior. This week the period 11-2pm was most productive to be searching I found
Penclawdd/Crofty/Llanrhidian
Common Sandpiper, Common Gull (P), Black Redstart on dung heap , Buzzard 2 (C), Red Kite 2, Peregrine (Ll).
Can anyone confirm id of this possible White Wagtail (Crofty dung heap)
Hi Nigel, I’m going with White.
Thank you. Thought it might be
I would go with Pied Wagtail.Marked dark shadow area under wing is not usually this marked in White.
The colour/shades appear too heavy for White Wagtail.White Wagtail in general is a migratory species more often than not recorded in spring and autumn.There were five records(involving more than one bird) in “Gower Birds” for 2023 birds in April and September.
Thanks Dewi. It confuses the hell out of me!
That’s because they’re the same species! The cap on this bird is not well defined from the mantle which also looks too dark (have to careful with photos though) and there’s a hint of black on the rump as well as the dusky sides all suggest Pied. There are over wintering records of alba though
They are not the easiest to seperate and can be a challenge.The bird in the photograph has the characteristics of a first winter Pied Wagtail.
Sometimes you just have to accept that you can’t be sure. Looks more Pied to me, but I’m not sure 😉 Certainly provoked a good response 👍
Wot is this bird?.
Turnstone
Brilliant !..saw six or seven on swansea pier today 👍
Oxwich Marsh: influx of goldfinches, with 50+ around the feeders, plus a few siskins. Common snipe in low numbers at present, possibly due to frozen ground around the marsh being inaccessible for foraging. 3 jack snipe and a woodcock.
River Ilston: 2+ dipper on the reach between the Gower Inn and the second bridge. Potentially a third bird further up as foraging alone (others together).
Hello Owain, with regards to feeders. What feeders would you recommend for a woodland garden to feed finches etc. ?
Any good suppliers around our area …
01/02/2025 0800 – Crafty Old Slipway
1 Male Hen Harrier
1 Merlin
Both seen at high tide over the Old Slipway.
Southward Lane, Langland. Just recaptured a female firecrest ringed in the garden in October 2022. Nice to prove birds return to overwinter. It was carrying a lot of fat, suggesting it may well be about to move on.