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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.
At least seven Swift over Bro Abertawe/Swansea Vale in the heavy rain between 08.00 and 09.00 hrs.
Read about Colin Baker’s study of dippers on the River Afan in this new blog post: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/recapture-of-adults-for-survival-neath-port-talbot-dippers/
Mumbles Hill this morning four singing Black caps, a Gannet off Bracelet, 5 Whitethroats between Limeslade and Rotherslade, one on a nest territory. Several Green and Gold finches.
Pantysais late morning: a pair of Red Kite, a pair of Ravens, Cettis Warbler and Willow Warbler singing.
My first Swift of the year over West Crossb more will probably come in on this storm, 7 Cygnets on Singleton Boating Lake. Newly fledged Robin at Limeslade.
First Lesser Whitethroat of the year calling on Pennard Cliffs this morning.
Park Woods / Parc le Breos this morning: marsh tit provisioning active nest, 3 singing stock doves, a nesting starling in a woodpecker hole, juvenile blackbird and song thrush, grey wagtail in two locations on the stream down to Parkmill, 2 brown hares on the edge of the farmland above Cathole, and lots of other nice things including bufinches, a couple of siskin, singing treecreepers, blackcaps, chiffchaff and mistle thrush. Also the inevitable flyover groups of greylags that seem to be everywhere on Gower now.
5th May. Clyne valley 4.30pm, dipper whizzing down stream.
I read with interest about dewi Lewis the ringed herring gull in his garden ,in 2013 I had a herring gull BPS in my garden in Briton ferry 22nd April till 14th December it was ringed at Gloucester land fill site in
2007 as an adult
Greenfinch seen at Limeslade. I notice it has been ringed but can’t make out the number. Usual Stonechats, Whitethroats, Dunnocks, Goldfinch and Wrens.
4th May 9am rumpus in field behind house in Bishopston as several rooks and magpies – and a fleeting guest appearance from a herring gull – mobbed a fox sitting next to an upturned rook’s nest on the ground. Two of four nests in this new satellite colony wrecked by yesterday’s gale. Remaining two still occupied, but not much long term hope for this satellite as the ash tree is dying. I wonder how many other rooks missing nests after yesterday. Also, most rookeries I know are in ash trees (though Landimore’s is in oaks). It will be interesting to… Read more »
We went to the cliffs opposite Pilton Green on Sunday. We saw: a red kite; a peregrine falcon; a kestrel; what looked like a few bramblings; some swallows; yellow legged gulls; some robins; and what we think was a shank…
Latest news from Gower Ringing Group is now here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/oxwich-marsh-1-may-2021-a-return-to-action/
May 1st 14 whimbrel and 20 shelduck at Crofty. Willow tit at Llanrhidian and reed warblers.
May 2nd 2 whimbrel flying east past Pwlldu Head.
Delete willow tit – after revisiting bird song records this was more likely marsh tit.
Did the first session of my garden Constant Effort Site ringing today in Crynant with the help of Tom Wright. There were 20 Siskins all adults, 3 Robins including one ringed in 2019, a juvenile Blackbird, however the star bird was a female Lesser redpoll.
Herring Gull with ring EWD ringed at Glousester Landfill Site on 12.12.2009. Recorded by the late Barry Weston at Clydach on 30.08.2010 it is still around. Photographed today 02.05.2021.
Dewi, is there any indication of the age of the bird when first ringed? And where did you manage to photograph it, please?
Hello Jeremy, I believe that it was and adult when it was ringed.I’ll contact the co-ordinator of the scheme to confirm. I photographed the gull in the garden it came down to feast on the remnants of a leg of lamb. Interestingly another Herring Gull ESV ringed at the same site on the same day also visits the garden.ESV was not re-sighted until 2017 so it is a mystery where it had been for 9 years.I also had a Lesser Black Back Gull ANC for a couple of years but it has not returned for some years.To cap it all… Read more »
Hello Jeremy-the co-ordinator of the ringing schemme has confirmed that it was ringed as an adult i.e. at least five years old.
Thanks Dewi: so at least 16.5 years old and counting.
Watching two siskins in the garden at Langland Saturday pm while listening to the Swans on the radio. Bliss
Oxwich Marsh: 59 siskin (including numerous juveniles), 8 sedge warbler, 2 reed warbler, 2 grasshopper warbler, 2 Cetti’s warbler, 2 whitethroat, 3 willow warbler captured during ringing session
Craig yr Allt/Cwm Clydach circular walk Early morning walk produced 34 species. Highlights were Cuckoo(3),Green Woodpecker(2. A pair feeding at anthill but too quick for me to get a photo)Nuthatch(4 two pairs at nesting sites),Linnet(2),Chaffinch(5 males),Bullfinch(1 male)Redstart(1 male),Overhead, Swallows and House Martin passing through Raven(3) Red Kite(3) and Buzzard(2). Surprisingly no Whitethroat but plenty of Blackcaps.
The Mallard ducklings swam and the Grey Wagtail chicks fledged. These two birds nested very close to where tens of people walked every day oblivious to their existence. Wonderful nature. Cwm Clydach
Swansea Vale this morning very vocal Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, Stonechats few Swallows overhead about 40 Sand Martins,Grey & Pied Wagtails and a single Chiffchaff.
Rhossil Vile & Fall Bay: whimbrel at Tears Point and another in fields at The Vile. 2 male wheatear on the headland at Tears Point and a dead adder on the coast path. Very quiet in terms of migrants, albeit lots of whitethroat now on territory.
Port Tennant pond. Pair of Little Grebes with 3 young.
Oxwich Marsh: grasshopper warbler and a lot of sedge warblers now present. Flyover redpoll and good numbers of singing siskin
Oxwich Bay: 34 sanderling (many moulting into summer plumage), 6 ringed plover, 4 summer-plumaged dunlin, 4 whimbrel.
Nothing in the inshore waters.
Burry Holme 28th April, Male wheatear. 29 whimbrel on beach to south. 12 fulmar on ledges at two locations on north cliffs between Burry Holme and Blue Pool corner. Whitethroats on cliff top.