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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.
Jan 22. 98 Brent geese feeding west side of Porteynon beach nr Sedger’s Bank. 4 great northern divers between Overton and Longhole cliff.
That’s a big flock for that site, excellent observation. Did you note which race they were as that site often attracts Pale-bellied Brent, which are much scarcer in our area?
mostly black-bellied, but lighting was dreadful. I took some long range photos but doubt they’ll be much use.
Oxwich hide this morning, only 1 heron, 6 teal, 1 little grebe, and a stonechat out on the pond.
Yesterday near Pobbles: 3 chough, and about 45 scoter far out. (2+ porpoise.) At Three Cliffs valley 1 little egret, 2 lapwing over.
A great morning’s field trip today when Barry Stewart led us at Crofty Salthouse Point and we found 49 species as listed below. The weather was cloudy but mild and still, with no wind to blow the birds away or freeze us. For the first time ever, the number of people attending the walk was greater than the number of species seen. We were 52 and is a sign of the huge growth in interest in birds and the walks the Society is now arranging. Thanks to everyone who joined in and in particular to Barry for his kind and instructive commentary. Blackbird,… Read more »
Female brambling with siskins and large numbers of goldfinch at Oxwich Marsh today.
Goshawk and peregrine also noted.
Evening: 18+ woodcock in fields in Upper Killay. Also snipe and tawny owl
100+ Greylag geese at Berthlwyd at 11:00 am a few hundred yards east of the Rake and Riddle.
Quite a collection of winter thrushes on Upper Killay Rugby Field at 2pm this afternoon – 25 Fieldfare, 8 Redwing, 2 Mistle Thrush and 1 Song Thrush. Also 41 starlings.
Past 2 mornings there have been a pair of “tame” chough foraging around Pennard GC 4th green (Bottom of Sandy Lane).. also seen a further flock of 5 on 17th fairway..
Overhead the biggest buzzard I have ever seen.. very dark bird and huge.. dwarfing the lone herring gull attempting to mob it
Red throated diver between Rotherslade and Rams Tor this morning
The annual ringing summary from the Watch House, Pennard Cliffs is here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/the-watch-house-2021-ringing-report/
Some really interesting captures and some good data sets building
Just witnessed a great display by a male Sparrowhawk; chasing a Bluetit around the bird feeder and garden landing a metre away form our conservatory window in Manselfield before flying off into the field behind. I think the Bluetit got away!
Pair of dippers busily working the Tawe at its confluence with the Giedd river in Ystradgynlais. Also yellow wagtail. On Sat 15th pair of goosander (m+f) on Tawe behind Liberty stadium.
10 Chough at Rhossilli, just above Helvetia wreck. Alarm calling with Female Sparrowhawk above.
Barnacle Goose still on Ffendrod Lake. Also a Common Gull seen.
Around 2:30, six Spoonbills flew along the edge of the marsh at Wernffrwd, then after passing Salthouse Point, crossed the estuary heading towards Penclaceydd. Later, during a pre-dusk watch at Llanrhidian I saw a nippy little male Merlin co-hunting (there’s a posh name for this I remember) with one of two Hen Harriers, also 3 Kestrels, Goshawk, Red Kite, Buzzard. At Wernffrwd there were 1,012 Lapwing, plus c.800 Golden Plover were flying around and 342 D-b Brent were on the estuary.
Friday. Red Kite seen over Mewslade. Possibly the same bird seen an hour later over Fall Bay. Kestrel hovering over Fall Bay. Small raft (8-10) Common Scoter seen between The Worm and Rhossili.
This is going to sound odd, but Rose-Ringed Parakeet in our Bishopston garden just now. Really good view of it, and it also made the unmistakeable shrieking call. Flew off before I could get my camera (phone). Quite uncanny as we were in Virginia Water watching lots of them only yesterday.
Hi Stephen. They are around locally – particularly at Morfa / Llansamlet. I had one in Clyne Gardens last year, and there used to be one in Singleton Park.
Thanks Owain.
did you check the contents of your boot before you left Virginia Water ?
Great northern diver east past Snaple Point, Langland this morning.
Also shag fishing in outer bay
Baglan pool
Late afternoon 85 black headed and 15 herriing gull
1 little egret 1 heron 4 mallard few goldfinches robins ,blackbirds, song thrush, 10 magpie and coot, in the flow off pool
Oxwich Marsh: woodcock in field prior to dawn. Jack snipe with common snipe, male brambling among finch flock. Siskins back following a brief absence.
3 Purple Sandpiper were with 6 Turnstone and a Rock Pipit on the Aberavon beach sea wall on the rising tide. A Peregrine was perched on top of the outer breakwater and a Med Gull was on the sea. Where the housing is to be built along the sea front road a Stonechat was on the security fencing.
Barnacle Goose currently at Fendrod Lake with the Canada Geese.
Penclawdd Pill lunchtime 1@ of Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Great White Egret, Kingfisher & Merlin.
A pair of adult Whooper or Bewick’s Swans currently sat off Crofty with Brent Geese (viewed in heat haze from the Carms side of the estuary. A male Marsh Harrier flew over them this morning when scoped from the WWT Llanelli office
Whoopers I think. I saw them from Salthouse Point, Crofty before they swam off upstream.
Pennard:
5 chough around the golf course today . 2 appeared very tame and let us approach to about 2 MTRS.. playing golf so no camera unfortunately
2 sparrowhawk overhead
Chaffinch.. first I’ve heard and seen for ages and lots of rooks gathering nesting material
These are probably the same five — but from very far away.
Probably . Great to see the picture..😀