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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.
This handsome beast seen at Mewslade. Lots of chiffchaffs around. First blackcap of the season seen in gorse at valley floor. Lots of stonechats and wrens singing. Pair of kestrels seen over Fall Bay. Small number of common scoter still present off Rhossili.
Port Eynon to Longhole Cliff 02/04.
2 shelduck and a female pintail on the sea west of Overton, and my first wheatear of the year, a female, at Longhole Cliff
Stonechats singing at Overton and Longhole Cliff, a couple of shag off Sedger’s Bank and chough commuting over Port Eynon.
Record shots through the window of the black redstart in my garden this morning… middle of West Cross… i was very surprised.!!
Send him up the road, please.
Rhossili and Mewslade this morning: 4 swallows (3 at Kitchen Corner and 1 at Middleton Village), yellowhammer (singing male and a second bird calling nearby) on the west side of Mewslade, obvious influx of chiffchaffs with 5-6 singing in the Mewslade Valley and a few others in scattered scrub on the cliff top. Herring gulls nest building on Devil’s Truck. Numerous stonechats including several singing birds (3 territories above Fall Bay). Chough (2-3) regularly seen. A few shag and fulmar in the inshore waters, and small numbers of common scoter close in off Kitchen Corner. Red kite and kestrel over… Read more »
Kittiwake nesting shelves almost empty this morning at 0730. Just two birds on a shelf and five on the water near by. In contrast to yesterday when there were over 100 birds on the shelves. Change of weather perhaps.
A total of 28 Greylag geese at Oxwich today.
My first swallow this year! Flew north over the field behind my garden in Manselfield at 14.10
5 Sand Martin, 3 Swallow and 8+ singing Chiffchaff during a late afternoon walk around Swansea Vale today.
2 Greenland Brent Geese Knabb Rock Saturday 27th 10.30am
I like Alun’s stonechat. This afternoon I heard greenfinch at Manselfield Green and another in Picket Mead Road.
..A singing Blackcap has joined the Chiffchaff in the copse behind the Murton Health Centre. Spring nudges closer by the day!
Cracking male stonechat in Bracelet Bay this morning…. First time ive seen or heard one singing
A Sand Martin has just flown from Swansea Vale towards Morriston.
Cwm Clydach RSPB Reserve,Craigcefnparc. Doing some lone working voluntary work in spring like conditions. Plenty of bird activity. Great Spotted Woodpecker(3, two of which were drumming),Nuthatch(6),Treecreeper(1),Dipper(1),Grey Wagtail(3),Great Tit(8),Blue Tit(6),Long Tail Tit(3), Chiffchaff(3 singing),Blackcap(1 singing),
Buzzard(1),Sparrowhawk(1),Goldcrest(2),Blackbird(6),Song Thrush(4),Mistle Thrush(2),Mallard (2).Highlight came just after a lunch break when a visiting birder reported a Firecrest. I dashed up the reserve where he had seen it. After sitting for a while I re-located the bird in the fir trees just below the cottage where the Welsh flag is flying. A good days work and a nice bird.
Around 40 species seen in walk by River Tawe, Fendrod Lake and Swansea Vale/LNR.
Numbers of singing Chiffchaff building with 8+ seen or heard. Also singing Blackcap by River Tawe. Still several Redwing around.
Fendrod Lake had 9 Tufted Duck, Pochard, 2 G C Grebes and a Teal (unusual for FL).
Swansea Vale had Green and G S Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Treecreeper, Reed Bunting, Little Grebe and encouraging numbers of Chaffinch and Greenfinch, which are showing signs of a recovery in this location. No Sand Martins seen yet, which is disappointing for this location.
At last Spring has arrived in Murton today, with a Chiffchaff singing in the copse behind the Health Centre.
122 kittiwakes on the ledges at Mumbles Pier this morning.
3 porpoise feeding near the Mixen buoy, 3 mallard between Limeslade and Rotherslade. Rock pipit collecting nesting material at Snaple Point, Langland
Lots of pairs of singing (as opposed to chatting) Stonechats along Limeslade cliff path this morning. Mixed flock of Greenfinch and Goldfinch seen. Kittiwakes seen at Mumbles Pier
Some nice sightings at Crofty/Penclawdd this morning on a falling tide: Brent Geese (c26), Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Oystercatcher, Knot, Black Tailed Godwit (c25), Redshank, Curlew, Little Egret, GBB Gull, LBB Gull, Black Headed Gull and Common Gull amongst other things. And my first Chiffchaff of the year!
Single Chiffchaff, my first of the year, was singing in Clyne Woods yesterday, March 16th. 3 Buzzards soaring together over Clyne Woods in this evening’s sunshine. A couple of Redwings flying into woods at dusk
6 Ravens over Briton ferry this morning family party I suspect
Two groups of greylag geese (8 & 4) east along the coast at Bracelet and between Bracelet and Rotherslade this morning. Also 2 great crested grebe off Knab Rock and c.80 dunlin on the old lifeboat slip.
I saw a goose flying east along the coast from Rotherslade this morning. Almost certainly one of your greylags.
Llanrhidian Marsh midday; one Great Egret and one female Hen Harrier.
Little Egret feeding in rock pools opposite Oystermouth Square this morning.