There’s a scheduled trip to Penclacwydd WWT for Tues 5th Dec but as it’s the same day as the live indoor meeting that was announced in the previous post, it has been decided to postone the Llanelli [Penclacwydd] trip to Thursday instead.
So, there’s a trip to Penclacwydd WWT reserve on Thurs 7th Dec. I suggest meeting at the reserve car park at 10 a.m. or as near as possible.There an approx £10 admission charge for non WWT members. No pick up from St Marg’s Rd [it’s too difficult on weekdays]. Plse let me know if you intend coming. John Wilson – johndw1948 at gmail dot com.

A heads up that there’s a live indoor meeting on Tus next week 5th Dec, at Kenfig Reserve centre.
Peter Morgan of Cardiff, a long standing GBC member and well know bird ringer, will be giving us a talk on 45 years of ringing at Kenfig National Nature Reserve. Those who have been on the GBC Portland weekend trips will know Peter, who spends spring and autumn there.
The start time is 7:30 p.m. and be aware that there are car parking charges via an ANPR camera system, so you pay when you leave. The max charge is £4. Basically it’s £1 for 90 mins, £2 for 3 hours or £4 over that. Edit: payment is by card only

For the second of our newly introduced walks for women, there is one planned for Sun 3rd Dec at Cosmeston Lakes CP 10:00 to 12:00. There are parking charges [contactless or cash]. Coffee & optional cakes at the cafe afterwards. Please let Jean Haslam – haslamj@talktalk.net – know if you intend coming. More detail about these walks on this page.

ALERT – there’s info below about the Bristol ULEZ zone for which fees are payable if your vehicle is non-compliant. The zone is entered if you use the A4 Avon Gorge route.

A reminder that there’s a fied trip on Sunday next w/e [26th Nov] to Chew Valley Lake which many will know – basically a very large reservoir south of Bristol, good for wildfowl.
Unfortunately I am away visiting family in Derbyshire, so Alan Rosney has kindly agreed to be the leader. Please contact Alan alanrosney@gmail.com and not myself.
The arrangement is to meet at the long Heron’s Green layby on the B3114 which runs south from Chew Stoke village at 10:15 to 10:30. Heron’s Green is a viewing point on the west side of the lake.
Click here to see a map. The GR is ST551604.
To use any of the hides a permit is required – it is a complex business trying to get one and last year we didn’t bother as you can purchase them from a ranger if you meet one. In fact last year we didn’t use any of the hides. One which has been good in the past [Stratford] will be no good as the water levels are bound to be far too high. Another we have used in the past we found doesn’t exist any more.
Any further queries please get in touch with Alan.
John Wilson
PS IMPORTANT info re the Bristol ULEZ [Low eimissions] zone. If your vehicle is non-compliant it’s £9 per day for each entry and there’s a hefty fine if it’s not paid promptly [£120 reduced to £60 if paid within a few weeks.] So, best route I use is to join the southbound M5 and come off at Gordano services J.19 [ the first one you neet] and then the simplest route is to follow the A369 Martcombe Road [1st exit at the rbt after you come off the M5] until it reaches the A370. You then go west on the A370 and at the next big roundabout take Colliters Way which is a new link road that takes you down to the A38. This route avoids the OLEZ zone. There’s also a wiggly cross country route from Gordano to Barrow Gurney, but it’s too involved to explain to people. The junction of the A360 with the A370 is complicated. SIgns are for Bristol Airport and A370 but there’s plan below annotated with arrows – you can see how it is easy to take the wrong route. Once on the A370 continue to a main roundabout and take the A4174 1st exit ~ Colliters Way – which leads down to the A38.

Congratulations to long standing GBC member & trustee John Wilson, on receiving a WOS Lifetime Achievement Award at the WOS conference last w/e. Your fellow trustees consider this to be so very well deserved, not least for your 24 year stint as EGBR Editor and for all your hard work for GBC and for birding in East Glam. Llongyfarchiadau!!

Attention gull-o-philes, or to be posh, larophiles! The British Trust for Ornithology are relaunching the Winter Gull Roost Survey after a gap of 20 years. They are looking for volunteers that enjoy counting gulls at roost and that are interested in collecting wintering gull data. This information will aid in vital monitoring efforts to assess population changes and provide data for the designation of protected wintering sites.

The survey will involve visits to key gull roosts and random samples across inland and coastal sites in January. Supplementary count data at key roost sites in Autumn is also encouraged to monitor seasonal differences in gull numbers.

Here is a link to the Vacant Site Map where you can find available sites in your area.

For more information and to sign up for the survey please visit https://www.bto.org/wings. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact wings@bto.org.

As advertised recently, the next trip is to Rumney Great Wharf on Sat 4th Nov. I did put out a request for a leader on our various fora but there was no response. However, Alan tells me today that he is planning on coming and would be happy to lead, so many thanks Alan.
As I think I said on my previosu posts on FB, ‘Twitter aka X’ and website, Anne & I are going up to N. Wales for a week.
The meet location is in the car park at Parc Tredelerch aka Lamby Lake which is off Lamby Way on the E side of Cardiff by the Lamby landfill site. High tide is 10 a.m.so meet there at 9 a.m. The sea wall can be very muddy so  wear suitable footwear.

If you intend coming please let Alan know, not me – i.e. do not reply to this email as it will get forwarded to me and where I’m going has very flaky mobile reception. Alan’s email is alanrosney@gmail.com.

Just a quick reminder about the Zoom talk tomorrow eve at 7:30 p.m., by Simon Gillings of BTO, the talk entitled “Things that go “tseep” in the night”. The invite link was sent out in the round robin email I sent on 24th Sep. If you are not on the email contact list then email me and I will send it to you. johndw1948 at gmail dot com.

Successful GBC trip today with 10 participants, to Steart Marshes WWT reserve. Wader-wise the reserve was pretty quiet with just a few distant Lapwing & Golden Plover. Highlights there were 3 sleeping [of course!] Spoonbills, an immature Cattle Egret and a few Ruff. Out at Steart Point we had 2 Little Stint, at least 6 Curlew Sandpipers, plus Knot, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Oycs and Curlew and about 1000 Shelduck. Other highlights were Marsh Harrier and Peregrine. 55 species in the end was pretty good. Many thanks to those who came along. Click here for the full list. Only 1 photo taken [birds here are often pretty distant] – the fem/imm Wheatear which was one of a few seen on the walk out to Steart Point.

Update. I forgot Osprey!! … although it was only seen by two folk who had lagged behind finishing their sandwiches – good move!! Osprey now added to the list which now totals 55 species.

A heads up that the next field trip is Sat 23rd Sep, next week, to the Steart WWT reserve near Bridgwater. We’ll be hoping for passage waders in the main although anything is possible at this large reserve and the surrounding area. High tide is either side of midday. It’s about an hour and a half drive there so I suggest leaving at 8 a.m. to arrive in good time to give us a good amount of time to wander around and catch the tide rising.

Let me know by email if you intend coming [johndw1948 at gmail dot com], and also whether you wish to car share [I can take 3] and whether you are willing to drive & share yourself. If either, the depart time will be 8 a.m. from the St Margaret’s Road, Whitchurch location shown on the website [https://glamorganbirds.org.uk/gbc-events/].

The destination address is Stert Drove, Bridgwater TA5 2PU [ST252441].

There’s a local field trip to Lavernock on Thursday next week, 7th September. Basically we’ll be looking for migrants although I’m worried that a lot seem to be moving this weekend!

Start time will be 8:30 a.m. but the meet point will be decided when I know how many are coming. There is now limited parking down by the church at Lavernock Point as the gated parking area there has been closed off for some years. There is some space by the church and just beyond, and also by the roadside by the entrance gate to the WT reserve, but it’s a popular location, and will be well used as the weather is going to be fine.

If there are a lot of takers it might be necessary to park at Cosmeston [parking charges apply] and to walk out to the coastal fields via the farm track opposite Cosmeston.

Let me know if you intend coming as soon as poss to give me time to decide on a course of action. There are various options, including parts of Cosmeston which have been productive recently.
John Wilson – johndw1948 at gmail dot com

Apologies for the short notice of this but we have been trying to sort out a leader due to my, and Alan’s unavailability. We are very grateful that Club member Daniel Jenkins-Jones has agreed to step in – his email is below.

The trip is on Sunday next, the 27th, and is to the R. Ely valley/floodplain area by Peterston super Ely. Green Sandpiper is the main target – it’s a nationally important site for the species. It can be very muddy so wellies or other waterproof footwear is recommended. Dipper and Kingfisher are also possible, plus other common species. Meet time is 9 a.m. and we envisage this to be a half day outing. Meet point is a layby just outside Peterston super Ely village itself, shown by the red ‘pin’ on the map below. It’s not far from the turn off towards Pendoylan at the traffic lights on the A48 just E of Bonvilston. If the layby is full there’s parking in the village just up the road.

If you intend coming please don’t contact me [I will be incommunicado] but email Daniel – his email is jenkinsjones@btinternet.com

Field trip alert. There’s a field trip to Goldcliff, E of Newport, next Sunday, 6th Aug. High tide approx 10:30 so meet at Goldcliff at 9 a.m. Parking on LH verge opp the entrance track, or along the track over the hump back bridge but it can be v muddy there. Waders are the target. Poss also visit Uskmouth wetland afterwards. Poss pick up at St Margaret’s Rd at 8:30 but limited spaces – I need to know in advance both re attendance and lf lift req’d. John Wilson johndw1948 at gmail dot com.

Attention all. I’m afraid after watching the 6 o’c forecast I have decided to cancel the field trip to Llanilid tomorrow. It’s an open site and there there’s no shelter or hides, and it would be pretty much a dead loss anyway. Sorry to disappoint. John Wilson

There’s a local field trip next Saturday, 22nd July, to the old Llanilid opencast area, which is located south of Bryncae, betweeen there and the M4. It’s a site for passage waders and some breeders such as Little Ringed Plover. It’ll probably only be a half day unless we decide to go somewhere else. Meet at 9 a.m. at the bottom end of Enterprise Way which runs south from the roundabout in Bryncae which is a few hundred yards east of the Bryncae Arms pub [to your right]. Just beyond the pub is the roundabout sign on the left, which on Google streeet view, does show the right turn [last exit] as Road Closed. You can go down the road but it eventually comes to a dead end which is where to meet. If it continues to be wet, wellies or waterproof boots are advisable.

As usual let me know if you intend coming. Map of location below.

The AGM minutes have now been finalised and agreed and are viewable from the <About><GBC documents> menu . We are grateful to Trustee Strinda Davies for taking the minutes and writing them up.

Users may have noticed that the Twitter feeds in the RH column on some pages [including the home page], and also in the footer, are not working and contain a cryptic message. This is a global problem caused, thought by some, by the Tweet viewing limit imposed by Twitter itself. Solutions are being sought. John Wilson

There’s a field trip next Sunday 25th June to RSPB Ham Wall in the Somerset Levels. Meet in the RSPB car park at circa 09;30. It’s on the road called Station Road which runs north from Ashcott Village on the A39 to the village of Meare. The reserve is about halfway between these two villages. It’s probably a little later than ideal but there’s always plenty to see, although I believe the initial flurry of Hobby activity has quietened down. I will aim to leave home at 8 a.m. and could pick up at St Margaret’s Road at about 8:15 if anyone would like to car share. Plse let me know by email whether you plan to come and whether you need a lift. John Wilson