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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.
On the Lougher Estuary at low tide -2 Great White egrets were feeding in close coordination and quite tame. Also 1 Ruff, 1 Argentatus Herring gull and a Yellow legged Gull- (1st year.) Lots of close Black Tailed Godwit action too
Oxwich Marsh: 39 chiffchaff, 30 blackcap, 8 goldcrest, 1 whitethroat (late for site) and 1 reed warbler among 105 birds captured today
Firecrest (male) and female sparrowhawk at West Cliff, Southgate this morning (per Richard Dann)
More than 50 Little Egret and 1 Great Egret off Dalton’s Point on a falling tide this morning.
Oxwich Marsh: firecrest, 27 chiffchaff, 14 goldcrest, 15 blackcap 2 reed warbler, sedge warbler. This was the 22nd firecrest to be ringed at Oxwich since 2014, and the earliest autumn record.
At 1040 in Brynfield Road: there was a little swarm of house sparrows on our sunflower heart feeder, perhaps 15 busy birds. A sparrowhawk went into them and then settled clumsily on a nearby fence. I fetched my binoculars to see if it was m or f. Before I could do so, it flew off with a sparrow in its feet. The sprawk was probably a male.
Dotterel still present at Whiteford this morning (per Rob Jones)
Juvenile dotterel at Whiteford Point this evening (per Barry Stewart).
Video here: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPrb7X8kghvpvAAzEMMNAM6mo1tDXwQTXwmOnTdW-JSRo7ti26ath6pYYee2jQZIw?pli=1&key=V0NaTUVVSXpmV2JiUVNxYmZpcUowbHVxSFR3TThR
At Middleton Farm today there was a Yellow browed Warbler at 9.30 with a Chiffchaff. I could not relocate it when I looked again at 12.30. This the earliest date I have seen one here by a about a week. In Mewslade valley fueled by the YBW I concentrated on Warblers and found around 15 Chiffchaffs and 12 Blackcaps and a skulking Acro near the large fig tree/Ivy cliff/willow which showed just 3 x in an hour. Influx of Stonechats noted At Weobley track an Osprey was on a post again with a fish but a far more timid bird… Read more »
Thanks Barry for a great visit. Just after Barry left (we had a quick chat in the wetsernmost Penclawdd layby (Dalton’s Point?) after the trip had disbanded) a female Marsh Harrier came past quartering the mashes heading down the estuary, quite close in, and a little while later a Red Kite drifted overhead from the hills behind Penclawdd. Not sure if they add to the count below, but they were great to see.
Thanks to everyone who attended this morning’s field trip to Crofty. Here’s the list of birds noted:
Great Created Grebe c30
Cormorant
Greylag
Canada Goose
Shelduck
Mallard
Teal
Shoveler 3
Pintail c60
Wigeon c120
Spoonbill (4 distant)
Grey Heron
Little Egret
Osprey (1 distant)
Sparrowhawk 2-3
Oystercatcher
Dunlin
Black-talled Godwit
Curlew
Redshank 151
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Ģreat Black-backed Gull
Collared Dove
Woodpigeon
Green Woodpecker
Skylark
Robin
Blackbird
Starling
Carrion Crow
Raven
Jackdaw
Magpie
Blue Tit
Swallow
Pied Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
House Sparrow
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Linnet
Reed Bunting
That’s a nice tally Barry, Thank you for leading today’s field trip.
Osprey above the old Briton Ferry bridge at 15.15. Being mobbed by local Corvid population. First Osprey in Wales, for me.
I also spotted an Osprey yesterday near Weobley Castle at around 4:15pm
Here are a couple of pics!
The latest news from Gower Ringing Group is now here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/welsh-ringing-course-2022/
Crymlyn Burrows and Neath Estuary the last few days.
Oystercatchers numbers are peaking with a count of 1100 birds, Greenshank, Black and Bar- tailed Godwits at the roost on the Neath estuary along with 92 Curlew and few Dunlin, 9 Little egrets and 31 Mallard and c60 Linnets.
Brunel Dock. Redshank 21, Common Sandpiper 3 and a flyover Greenfinch.
(RJ DB DC)
News from Ben Sampson of a Osprey flying west along Crymlyn Burrows early morning towards Swansea Docks, the bird returned shortly after and was seen hunting up near the mouth of the Neath estuary and was seen to catch a fish, soon after it departed North East towards Earlswood Golf Course.
Cadaxton salt marsh 1 common sandpiper,1 little egret,8 mallard,20+ house sparrows by the viewpoint
Port Talbot Dock (per Darryl Spittle) 14/09: 43 Mediterranean gull,16 Curlew, 120 Oystercatcher, 4 Bar-tailed godwit, 2 Knot, 1 Whimbrel, 38 Ringed Plover, 8 Sanderling.
Also Kingfisher, a few Reed Warbler, Yellow and Grey Wagtails overhead, Whinchat, 2 Stonechat, c.50 Linnet.
Llanrhidian late afternoon.
Green Sandpiper 1, Whinchat 3, Marsh Harrier 1 juv heading east.
Good numbers of Wheatears on migration on the Worm today.
Neath salt marsh viewed from the Midland road side. Canada geese 120 est an all white goose with them,60+herring gulls ,90+ black headed gulls,3 little egrets,21 mallard, 2 curlew a few pied wagtails,and a little grebe .
This afternoon.
Broughton Bay. Wheatear 1, Greylag 44 flew out to sea to Carms but thought better of it and headed for Whiteford, Sandwich Tern 29, Oystercatcher 30, Sanderling 3, Great crested Grebe 3, Common Tern a string of 12 heading into the Burry Estuary, Common Scoter 2 drakes, Med Gull 4, Ringed Plover 21, Dunlin 10.
This evening on the run up.
North of the Loughor Bridge. Black t Godwit 202, Little Egret 41.
South of Loughor Bridge. Bar t Godwit 8, Black t Godwit 359, Dunlin 7, Great white Egret 1, Spoonbill 2, Knot 9, Redshank 9.
At the Weobley track a young Osprey was sat on a post all morning. Nearby a Lanner Falcon type – a Juvenile with no feather damage showed very well hunting from the marsh. the width of the moustache suggests a Hybrid but a very impressive bird which was being harassed by crows at times. 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 200 Dunlin, 20 ringed Plover, 1 Golden Plover, 3 Green Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank,1 Kingfisher, 20 Little egret 3 Sandwich Tern, 180 Pintail, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 12 Wheatears, 40 Medow Pipit, 1 Rock pipit, 60 Linnet. 52 Cormorants were visible at the various… Read more »
also one of the wheatears
This afternoon.
Dalton’s Point. Teal 221, Pintail 1, Greenshank 1, Black t Godwit 89, Knot 81, Wigeon 39, Dunlin 38, Curlew Sandpiper 2 juvs, Spoonbill 1 feeding mid channel.
Bwlchymynydd foreshore car park. Pintail 70, Black t Godwit 76, Ruff 2, Knot 1.
This evening. Castell Du. Little Egret 3, Greenshank 3, Wigeon 6, Common Sandpiper 1, Pied Wagtail 80, Canada Goose 14, Ringed Teal 1 drake.