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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.
Dartford Warbler reports increase year on year. This photo was taken by Gareth Watkins earlier this year on Southgate Cliffs.
Snow Bunting still on Tears Point 3pm today
The number of reports of Dartford Warbler is rising year on year. This photo by Gareth Watkins was taken earlier this year on the cliffs at Southgate.
Middleton/Mewslade/Rhossili this morning:
Yellow-browed Warbler with a couple of Goldcrests at the top of the path from Middleton to Mewslade (8am)
Black Redstart 1cy/female type bird above the Fig tree in Mewslade Valley briefly (c9.20am)
Snow Bunting – reported on birdguides at ‘Tears Point’, Rhossili – a quick walk down there revealed the bird still feeding on the slopes at 51.560189, -4.297031 (0230pm)
Other birds included: Spotted Flycatcher (Middleton), 11 Goldcrest, 6 Blackcap, 10 Chiffchaff, 13 Song Thrush, 21 Brambling, 3 Swallow, House Martin, c.250 Chaffinch
Phone-binned shot of the Snow Bunting
Yellow-browed warbler at Middleton, Gower this morning (per Ed O’Connor)
Photo from twitter attached
c. 1000 Starlings on the wires at Berthlwyd saltmarsh 19/10/21. 2 Redshank and a solitary little egret at Penclawdd pill.
2 Songthrush, 7 Collared Doves and 24 Goldfinch on the tree in centre of cul de sac in Penllergaer.
50+ Goldfinch, 3Jays around my garden in Penllergaer on Sun 17th.
Is this an ordinary redshank? I saw it at Three Cliffs at the weekend, but it seemed larger and greyer than the ones I see at Mumbles.
Common redshank.. nice picture
Thanks for that info. Perhaps it looked bigger because there were no other birds around.
Latest news from Gower Ringing Group: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/oxwich-marsh-16-october-2021-late-autumn-arrives-with-a-tseep/
At Rhossili today a juvenile Goshawk was showing really close on and off for an hour in the fields by the green shed, at times perching on posts between the hedge and rear of shed. it was getting a lot of attention from a dive bombing kestrel too. Migrants around definitely increased in the mid afternoon after a quiet morning with 12 Goldcrest, 1 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 2 Redwing , 6 Chiffchaff. A Firecrest at Middleton farm was showing very well at times in the late afternoon. 8 Jays flew very high east, 2 Green Woodpeckers At Daltons point there… Read more »
Huge number of gulls (7 spp but HG &. BH most abundant) in the Burry South of Loughor Bridge this evening, more than I’ve ever seen in this section in 30 years. 133+ Little Egrets in the throng, the closer one’s feeding on sandeels. Other bits and bobs included 2 Sandwich Terns, 28 Barwits, 250 Blackwits, Ruff, 2 Great Whites & 79 Cormorants
GBB, Herring, LBB, YL, Common, Med & BH
Two Common Scoter on Upper Lliw reservoir this morning.
14th October, between Overton Mere and Longhole Cliff, 3.30pm. Merlin in breathtaking aerial pursuit of meadow pipit directly overhead, with several vertical ascents and descents before chase abandoned. One very lucky pipit !
Latest news from Gower Ringing Group is here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/oxwich-marsh-mid-autumn-a-gos-field-trip-passage-waders-and-a-wandering-dragon/
On Saturday at the Weobley track there was 3 Green sandpiper and a Whinchat in the morning. At Middleton by Middleton farm in pm,- by the road there was 1 Yellow Browed Warbler with a Firecrest ( sometimes in the same view). Whilst I was waiting for the birds to show again a Juvenile Honey Buzzard powered over and out toward Worms Head, 4 Common Buzzards followed it but came back so not sure if they also wanted to cross or chased the Honey off the territory. The Wryneck was also still present in Mewslade. At Port Eynon where I… Read more »
On a walk this morning from Brunel Dock along the River Neath to the estuary, on a rising tide, I saw the following: 11 Little egrets, 4 Grey herons, 48 Curlew, 1 Dunlin, 8 Oystercatchers with a further c120 on the sandy point of Crymlyn Burrows. Also but not counted Mallard, Black headed and Herring gulls, Pied wagtail, Meadow pipits, Jackdaws, Starlings, Magpies and a Carrion crow.
Mewslade/Rhossili today
2 Merlin, 3 Sparrowhawk, 43 Blackbird (a significant increase), 28 Song Thrush, 5 Jay, 4 Golden Plover, 1 Snipe, 245 Siskin, 4 Lesser Redpoll, 4 Brambling, 2 Greenfinch, 12 Bullfinch, 7 Reed Bunting, 13 Blackcap, 12 Chiffchaff, 6 Goldcrest, 2 Dartford Warbler, 1 White Wagtail, 1 Yellow Wagtail, Coal Tit and 7 Long-tailed Tit.
October 12th 2.30pm, Loughor just above bridge: 373 black tailed godwit (counted from photos), 24 shelduck, 12 little egret, 80 redshank. Small group of redwing overflying Bishopston this morning closely followed by a dozen swallows.
Report of a late wood sandpiper at Landimore on 11/10.
A few pics of the Buff bellied Pipit at the Weobley track (- which I hear was relocated at 5pm today -400m west of where it was yesterday). I actually first heard it on the 8th but only 3 times.I then searched for it on the 9th with the parabola but could not refind it so I had thought it had gone. So I was very pleased when i came across it on the Saltmarsh yesterday!
Mewslade/Rhossili Vile today – a probable Little Bunting flew out from deep within a hawthorn at the seaward end of Mewslade Valley calling a series of quiet dry ticks and kept on going east out of the valley. Other totals included 117 Siskin, 103 Pied Wagtails, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 50 Chaffinch, 4 Brambling, 3 Greenfinch, 3 Lesser Redpoll, 19 Chiffchaff, 12 Blackcap, 6 Goldcrest, 6 Swallow, 16 Song Thrush, 41 Jays, 4 Stock Dove, a Grey Heron and c.450 Jackdaws. Ended the day by being stung by a wasp in the back of the head.
Llanrhidian Higher, just south of Llanmorlais, two Buzzards and more than twenty Ravens wheeling about in the sunshine early this afternoon.
A barn owl over the road between Llanddewi and Knelston last night.
This morning a couple of chough at Rotherslade. Movement of pied / white wags and meadow pipits going on, along with the first substantial movement of wood pigeon I have seen this autumn. All birds east.