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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.
Short walk through the Brynllefrith plantation north of Upper Lliw Reservoir..
Crossbills, siskins, many willow warblers, chiffchaff, ravens, skylarks, mipits, 2 red kite.. couple of swallows..
It was very cold and very windy..
27/04/2021 Evening at Llanrhidian marsh. 1 Grasshopper warbler, 2 Cetti’s warbler and 3 flyover great white egrets into roost.
Mill Wood, Penrice
Good range of species noted included a singing tree pipit (possibly a passage bird) in a relatively open area of the woodland and a brown hare on the path.
Other species included: siskin (small parties – probably breeding), green woodpecker, and a range of typical woodland species, with blackcap and wren the most vocal and very good numbers of song thrush.
April 26th Blaengwynfi mountain: tree pipits, siskin, 1 grasshopper warbler (early am BBS square).
Bishopston valley: siskin in song below Chapel House.
April 27th several siskin singing in Crawley Woods. First house martin in Bishopston (that I have seen)
Loughor Bridge over this morning’s HT. Whimbrel 39, Greylag 8, Bar t Godwit 22, Shelduck 15, Gadwall 2, pair, Oystercatcher 44, Swallow 12 north over the estuary, Black t Godwit 28, Curlew 1, Dunlin 1. Very HT lots of movement of birds around the marsh including passerines, mainly Meadow Pipits, looking for a dry place!
Castell Du @HT. Common Sandpiper 1, Shelduck 9, Little Egret 4, Sand Martin 31, Gadwall 1 pair
A flock of 20-30 curlew off Salthouse Point, Crofty this morning.
Whimbrel rather than Curlew. Good numbers migrating at the moment.Always a challenge when they are in flight
Thanks for the positive ID, Dewi.
You’re welcome.Useful pointers from your photo to distinguish from Curlew;shorter bill,the more distinct dark eye stripe and the subtle darker upperpart of head and neck.It’s always easier when they call !
Loughor Bridge @ HT. Whimbrel 20, Wheatear 1 female, Oystercatcher 45, GC Grebe 5, two pairs in display at times, Bar t Godwit 286, Arctic Skua 1, pale phase bird up the estuary then gaining height and heading off SSE, Canada Goose 2, Grey Plover 2, Common Sandpiper 1.
Just seen a photo by Neil Donaghy of an Arctic Skua seen the same morning at Kenfig. It looks like the bird from Loughor, particularly the rather faded breast band and rather ill defined cap.
Port Eynon to Longhole Cliff: 28 whimbrel on the upper shore opposite Sedger’s Bank and a further 11 at Overton. Stonechat and starling provisioning young by the YHA at Port Eynon and in Overton village respectively, and linnet nest building on Overton Cliff. Yellowhammer calling in the valley at Longhole Cliff.
Oxwich Marsh: 2 grasshopper warblers reeling. 3 wheatear in the hay field was unusual. Sparrowhawk (male), brimstone butterfly at Oxwich and holly blue in Langland
River Lliw at Pont-y-cob. Common Sandpiper 1, Mallard 2, a pair plus eight young.
My first Swift of the year at Swansea Vale this morning.