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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.
GOS Field trip to Banwen: twenty-six of us turned out on this beautiful morning for a three-hour, five mile walk in the uplands from Banwen. We saw or heard 31 species with the highlight perhaps a distant Goshawk. The views from the top of the hill (SN 865089)stretched from the Neath Valley round to the Brecon and Carmarthen Fans, great sweeping vistas worth going to see just for the views. Throw in the birds and what more can you want? A great day and many thanks to Ed Hunter for leading this most enjoyable field trip. Blackbird. Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow,… Read more »
Chiffchaff seen yesterday between Rotherslade and Bracelet Bay
Oxwich Marsh: 2 male brambling, c. 40 siskin, 40 goldfinch, snipe
Very vocal chiff chaff and skylarks on Kilvey Hill this morning, also Buzzards, four Red Kite and two Raven flying well above Tir John and Port Tennant.
Yesterday, the first wheatear I’ve seen on the cliffs at Pennard this year (poor photo below). And although there’s a lot of flying to and fro to decide boundaries, I can’t remember seeing male stonechats actually fighting before.
4 Grey Heron fishing the canal between Ynysmeudwy and Cilmaengwyn.Including this cracker
Two Greylag Geese flying west over Groves Avenue, Langland this morning at 0700.
Swansea Vale this afternoon 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Green Woodpecker, 3 Tufted Ducks on the western pond and a first for me over the Vale 2 Lapwings.
Walk from Overton to Longhole Cliff, along the sheep tracks to Common Cliff and back by the coast path: merlin female tucked into a shelf on a rocky tor where may have roosted gave great views through the telescope (later seen hunting), kestrel (f), two yellowhammer territories (either side of Longhole Cliff), green woodpecker (Overton village). A few gannets offshore. No sign of wheatears on the rocks, but chiffchaffs singing in all suitable scrubby valleys.
I found a male Wheatear last Friday at Llyn y Fan; not in Gower, but he probably flew over.
Rhossili Bay late morning held 4 common scoters, a close in great crested grebe, and we had good prolonged views of a sheltering great northern diver snorkelling, diving and preening in the Bay just below the coastguard hut.
Oxwich Bay: great northern diver on sea, red-throated diver flew west. Also loose flocks of common gull loafing inshore.
Burning on Cefn Bryn last night looks to have taken out the eastern slope of the hill above Penmaen where at least one yellowhammer holds territory and Dartford warbler has bred. Custodians of the countryside are at it again.
.2 Lapwing Old Felindre works site (recently returned from last season first sighting)…
.Lone Great Cormorant Lower Lliw (perched
in tree)…
.4 Canada Geese Farmland Salem…
.Lone Pheasant Rhydypandy Rd Salem…
.Nuthatch with nest material entering/re-emerging from hole in tree Rhydypandy Rd Salem…
.Stonechat Old Felindre works Site…
.Blackcap near Felindre Energy Park…
.Green Woodpecker Fforest Newydd
.Buzzard with new Nesting material in conifer pine tree Mynydd y Gwair…
.Possible Goshawk sighting – took to flight through wood? Penllergaer Fforest (Light fading)…
Felindre Update Lapwing 3 pairs viewed today… ( Remember only 2 pairs last season viewed)
Male Lesser redpoll on the feeder in my garden( Crynant) this morning. Then on a walk to Crynant Forest East: Male Stonechat, Long-tailed tit carrying nesting material: a feather. Heard my first Chiff chaff of the year, Great Spotted and Green woodpeckers, Song thrush, Blackbird, Dunnock, Robins, Siskins and Wren all singing.
Limeslade to Caswell this morning. A few common gulls and a grey heron east over the sea along with three common scoter at Caswell were the only slightly unusual sightings. Lots of territorial stonechats and dunnocks, along with linnets singing at the Caswell end of Newton Cliff, and a few singing greenfinches near Limeslade and on Newton Cliff.
a 1st w/p little gull was a brief , but nice treat at Castell Du this am . BH gulls harassed it briefly and it moved on . 3 Stock Dove were also good to see there . Big clear out of wildfowl with the full moon , just 3 each of wigeon and teal . 6 gadwall and 4 mallard . gulls were 14 BH , 22 herring , 12 LBB , 6 GBB .
Ynystawe, Chiffchaff near the bailey bridge in Ynystawe 1 Kingfisher flying up the Tawe towards Clydach.
Pontardawe. Sand Martin(4) back at the traditional nesting bank this afternoon. Several singing Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Kingfisher(1) and Dipper(2) on the river. Red Kite and Peregrine overhead.
Flock of 7 Jays seen squawking over Clyne Valley this morning. Plenty of singing chiffchaffs. More than a dozen Brimstones.
This morning.
Castell Du.
oystercatcher 2, Common Sandpiper 1, Greenshank 1, Sand Martin 1 flying down river.
South Gower this morning, plenty of jackdaws carrying nesting material. Also ravens, chough, meadow pipit, stonechat, one greenfinch, and D warblers — male singing and up on display flights.
Port Eynon this afternoon.
Eider 1 imm drake, GC Grebe 2, Curlew 1, Brent 23 including one pale bellied bird, Ringed Plover 13, Turnstone 22, Oystercatcher 5, Purple Sandpiper 2.
The quays Briton ferry 5.30 till 6.45 pm very quiet a perigrine falcon a few oyster catchers a pair together near the regular breeding site, a count of 15 little egrets by the yacht club roost
Penrice today near Oxwich marsh 16 March 2022.
4 Yellowhammers, large flock of Tree Sparrows, Buzzard, Bullfinch, Robins, Chaffinch, Grey Lag 15, Canada Geese 10, several male pheasants.
Visited the place this morning . Big flock of house sparrows feeding on the pheasant seed overspill.. 2 lovely yellowhammers.. pair of reed bunting, superb male bullfinch, Chaffinch, 3 buzzard overhead… The greylags were heard but not seen..
This morning.
Castell Du. Canada Goose 28, Greenshank 2, Teal 4, Shelduck 1, Herring Gull 55, LBBG 33, GBBG 2, Mallard 15, Wigeon 9. No sign of the Barnacle Goose, presumably having joined the Canada flock yesterday to feed it’s now continued on it’s travels.
This afternoon on a rising tide.
South of Loughor Bridge. GW Egret 1, Greylag 2, Goldeneye 2 fems, Bl t Godwit 2, Teal 2, Redshank 11, Greenshank 1, Curlew 35.