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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.
This afternoon around 14:20 I had just started counting the ducks in the Loughor estuary from Loughor Foreshore car park, when visiting birdwatcher Tony Hyde informed me that he had seen and photographed a Glossy Ibis in the channel right next to where I was sitting at 14:00hrs. After an unsuccessful search I resumed my count and was pleased to record 72 newly arrived Pintail, 1 wigeon and 8 Teal, with 171 Mallard and 24 Shelduck thrown in for good measure. 3 Grey Heron, 34 Little Egret and 101 Black-tailed Godwit (many juveniles) completed the tally of interesting species. For… Read more »
Flock of geese flying in the V formation – possibly pink footed (approx 35/40) firstly flying South before turning in a Westerly over Felindre Electrical Sub station around 7.25 pm this evening….
Also Barn Swallows (40/45) ) Overhead on the old Felindre Tin plate service Rd and over to the old Felindre Tin plate site(8pm)..
Lone Male Buzzard on old Power/Telegraph Pole in middle of field near Bryntywod (8.25pm)
My first long tailed tits of the year. Autumn is coming.
At Port Eynon today over the high tide there was at least 76 Med Gulls – 7 juvs. 2 of the meds were colour ringed – the white ringed bird 3ILE certainly rings a bell to last year at least. The red ringed bird was PRE8 and both were adults. A nice roost of 70 Ringed plover – couldn’t see any Tundra race in in with, them yet , 1 Sanderling, 2 Dunlin, 1 juv GBB gull,. 2 Greenshanks dropped in.and eventually landed 2 Yellow wagtails flew over calling but little else with passerine other than 8 linnet, 45 starling,… Read more »
Horton to Oxwich Point: whinchat, light overhead passage of grey wagtail with a couple of yellow wagtail. Several Dartford warblers. Noted two Dartfords associating with chats (all foraging); one was a stonechat (male) and one a leucistic chat that I think was probably a stonechat. The male spent much of its time trying to chase the leucistic bird away. On the shore, a flock of 13 curlew, 1 whimbrel and 21 oystercatcher – with more oystercatcher scattered around. 2 more whimbrel flew by, and there were a handful of wheatear. Kingfisher at Horton. Offshore – very little other than harbour… Read more »
Read the latest news from Gower Ringing Group here: https://www.gowerbirds.org.uk/august-at-oxwich/, including the capture of the first nightjar for Oxwich
Two dozen at Penclawdd this morning: a big turn-out. Knowledgeable and interested members, led by Barry Stewart, studied birds (mildly disappointing), flowers, bugs and lichens under Barry’s expert instruction. A middle-aged man, not of our number, satisfied a need to race up and down the pill in an AGS Racing Thundercat and was clearly looking for a reaction amongst us. He was clearly suffering from arrested development; and I’m sure the patient forbearance of GOS members was a disappointment to him. Black Horehound and Sea Wormwood gave GOS members more pleasure than Mr Thundercat had all morning.
Oxwich Marsh: nightjar, 8+ tree pipits, 4 grasshopper warbler, garden warbler. A few whitethroat, small-scale passage of grey wagtail.
Grasshopper Warbler caught and ringed in my garden on Pennard Cliffs this morning along with 2 Grey Wagtails. The wagtails have been moving along the cliffs in small numbers this week. The Grasshopper Warbler was a surprise.
9 Tree Pipits have also been ringed here this week.
Two pellets on my back lawn this week, presumed tawny owl. I might pick one apart and look for fur and bones. At 10.40 this Friday morning: willow warbler singing in my neighbour’s sycamores, seen and heard. Hope to see members tomorrow Penclawdd carpark 0930, Barry Stewart leading.
Clyne Valley, Swansea: 8.47 p.m. – Barn Owl hunting in field off Olchfa Lane. Flew within 10 metres of me as I sat in corner of the field.
01.48 Tawny Owl calling here in West Cross. The first I have heard here for some years.