Having just been in discussions with Alan Rosney who knows the site very well, we have regretfully decided to cancel Sunday’s trip for safety [and indeed access] reasons. More rain is forecast for Saturday night and given what we had yesterday, last night and today, it is highly likely that the area will be flooded, or at least an absolute quagmire.
Sorry to disappoint but we feel that it’s for the best. John Wilson

There’s a local field trip to Peterston Moors by the R. Ely, as a follow on from the indoor meeting about the birds of the Ely valley, in particular Green Sandpiper and the ongoing survey.

Meet at 9 a.m. in the small car park opposite the Sportsman’s Rest pub in Peterston-super-Ely village, CF5 6LH. The riverside fields are very muddy and wellies are necessary or at least warterproof footwear of some kind [not just water repellent walking trainers]. We will watch the weather as the river could be quite high if there’s a lot of rain.

Please let me know iof you’re intending to come. John Wilson johndw1948 at gmail dot com

John Wilson here. Advanced notice of a field trip on Tues 8th Nov as I am away all next week with no internet. It’s to Parc Cwm Darran, just north of Deri, which is on the minor road running NW from Bargoed. The post code of the visitor centre is CF81 9NR, the OS Grid Ref SO118026. There’s a map below with the location indicated by the white ‘V’ in a blue square. After visiting the park we’ll head up the same road to have a look at Rhaslas Pond which can turn up wildfowl and waders and possibly even raptors.
We’ll meet at the visitor centre car park at Parc Cwm Darran at 10 a.m. to avoid rush hour traffic.
As usual, please let me know by email if you intend coming along. I can’t offer car sharing on weekday trips as it’s too problematical for me getting from Penarth to Whitchurch on a weekday.
From Cardiff area and west the easiest route seems to be up the A470 then turn off to Abercanaid on the A4060 [as if you’re heading up to Dowlais Top] then right along the minor Bogey Road til you come to the T junction then head south through Pentwyn.

Our next indoor meeting will be on Tuesday, November 1st in Peterston-super-Ely Community Hall at 7 p.m. The topic will be ‘The Birds of the Ely Valley’ and will include an update on our on-going Green Sandpiper survey. The talk will feature many of Tim Collier’s excellent photos, all taken in the valley (e.g. the Common Snipe below courtesy Tim Collier).

In Peterston-super-Ely village enter Ffordd-yr-Eglwys and take the first left and the hall is on the right. There’s a couple of maps below showing the overall routes and the village itself with the hall location. Click each image for a larger one.

Rather shorter notice than usual for which I apologise.

We have a local field trip to Sker and Kenfig river mouth on Tues next week, 18th Oct. We will meet outside the Kenfig reserve centre building at 09:30, then walk slowly out to Sker Point, maybe after a quick look at the pool. High tide is not until 12:30. The plan is then to walk along the Haul Road as far as the rivermouth to the west, on the border with Neath PT. Hopefully there’ll be something of interest on the beach or in the saltmarsh. The walk to the rivermouth is flat and takes about 45 mins to an hour each way, depending on how often we stop.

As always please let me  know if you intend coming along.

John Wilson

Just a reminder that the first deadline for submitting applications for this scheme exires on 30th Oct. The next deadline is 28th Feb 2023. Full details cn be found here.

Just a heads up in case there are any late comers interested, but I have had to cancel the trip due on Sat 8th Oct to Mewslade, as I tested positive for Covid last night. Already booked participants have been informed. John Wilson

All species, apart from Jackdaw, are being trapped and marked within the East Glamorgan recording area, and of course, any could be seen in either the east or west of VC41.  Gower in this case, is used simply to refer to the group under which the rings are registered rather than a geographical area for the project.

Colour-marked Bird Reporter

Gower Ringing Group operates several colour-ringing projects trying to better understand the movements and demographics of our study species:

• Dipper
• Jackdaw
• Rock Pipit
• Willow Tit

The Group is keen to collect sightings of these birds, and welcomes submissions from all recorders.  As a result, a new colour-marked bird reporter is available to capture any resightings, https://gower-ringing-group.shinyapps.io/sightings/.

We were due to start our winter talks programme next week. Unfortunately Peter Sampson from the Flatholm Society, who was due to give us a talk about this fascinating island, is unwell. Given such short notice, we have been unable to arrange an alternative. Sorry folks.

Our next talk will be on Tuesday November 1st on the ‘Birds of the Ely Valley’. Details on venue etc will be posted closer to the event.

We’re pleased to announce that we have put together a small grants scheme, which offers the possibility for GBC members and indeed non-members to apply for a grant of up to £250, which must be used for a project directly or indirectly benefitting any birds which are Species of Conservation Concern in Wales. Full details and a downloadable information sheet and application form can be seen on this new page on the website.

Hi all

Short notice again for which apologies – I’ve been away [yet again I hear you say!]. There’s a planned field trip to Pembrey Old Harbour [and poss Kidwelly Quay] this coming Sunday 4th Sep. We plan to visit Pembrey Old Harbour first, to catch the rising tide and see a few terns and waders. High tide is at 12:23 so I suggest meeting there at 10 a.m.
HOWEVER – the forecast for this weekend is pretty dire [wet wet wet], so as a back up we’d sit in the hides at Penclacwydd WWT in Llanelli.
Rather than trying co-ordinate by phone/email at the last minute either on the day or last thing at night on Saturday, I suggest meeting at the old harbour parking area anyway and then we can decide whether or not to go to Penclacwydd which is not all that far away. As always, please let me know in advance if you intend coming. There won’t be any pick up from Whitchurch as it’s in the wrong diection.
The parking area is at GR SN438002 at the end of the road past the Shoreline Caravan Park in the map below.
In case you’re not aware, if you’re not a WWT member there’s an entry fee at Penclacwydd – adult £10.40 with Gift Aid or £9.45 without Gift Aid – some of us may have guest entry vouchers.

Just a brief message to say that the minutes of the AGM held earlier this year on 26th April have now been agreed by the trustees and uploaded, and can be viewed here [opens pdf document].

Apologies for bothering if you’re not a walk regular, but we need to let folk know. Due to the extreme heat warning for Sat to Tues we have decided to cancel the monthly walk at KNNR which was due to take place this coming Saturday, 16th Jul.

Just a heads up that there’s a field trip next Thursday, 21st July to the old Llanilid opencast site SW of Llanharan. I cannot be there so Alan Rosney has kindly agreed to lead and be the contact to book a place. It is important that he will require a volunteer from those attending, to act as co-leader, in case of emergencies. The meeting arrangements are 9 a.m. at the southernost end of Enterprise Way, which runs S off the rounadabout by the Co-Op food store in Bryncae, on the A473. See the map below. The red arrow marks roughly where to meet. At the southern end Enterprise Way seems to change name on Google Maps but just keep straight on keeping the housing estate on your right, until you reach the end. Book with Alan via email only – alanrosney@gmail.com. The terrain should be dry but if it rains in the meantime, some paths can be muddy.

The main targets will be passage waders and hopefully Little Ringed Plover.

Next Weds, 1st June is our annual evening jaunt up to Llanwonno to try & see Nightjars. We meet in the dirt car park below the Brynfynnon Arms Hotel {ST033956 – CF37 3PH] at 8:30 p.m.

Bring a torch and insect repellent. Please let me know by emali if you are coming.

Sunday week – 5th June – we travel to Somerset to Ham Wall RSPB reserve for reedbed birds including Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Great White Egret, possibly Hobby, and more. It’s around 1 1/2 hrs so meet in the RSPB car park at 09:30. If you wish to car share I need to know in advance and if required the pick up will be at the usual St Margaret’s Rd, Whitchurch, Cardiff for departure at 8 a.m. Again I need to know by email if you are coming and also whether you would like or are willing to car share.

Location details:  RSPB Ham Wall, Meare, Ashcott, Glastonbury BA6 9S; Grid ref ST449397; What3Words biggest.sharpened.clots

johndw1948 at gmail dot com

This event is on Sat 14th May – “Welcome back the Swifts”. Not long now until the swifts return from Africa. Glamorgan Bird Club, in association with RSPB Cymru and the Cardiff Harbour Authority will be holding a “Welcome back the swifts” event on Cardiff Bay barrage on Saturday May 14th. Come along to celebrate the return of these iconic birds. There will be plenty on offer, including guided bird walks and children’s activities. The main event will be on the rubber crumb surfaced area near the skate park at the Cardiff end of the barrage. There is limited paid parking in that area so it might be better to park at the Penarth end and walk across. See below re free parking at the Penarth end.

Some useful info regarding this event. Rather than pay the extortionate parking fees at the car park at the Penarth end of the barrage, there is a free car park near the Tesco store. When you drop down to the Tesco roundabout, take the first exit and there’s an entrance to a free car park about 100m on the right [there’s a height restriction but cars are fine]. From there it’s about a 10-15 min walk to the barrage. Walk along the adjacent road, then go right at the first junction then left when you reach the main road to the barrage. This avoids possibly being caught by the Marina lock gate being open for boats and thus closed for pedestrians whilst boats enter or leave. There’s not usually a long wait but you never know.

The 2022 GBC AGM will be held live at Pencoed Rugby Club starting at 7:30 p.m. Full details are in the embedded pdf notice below. The displayed page is scrollable or can be popped out into a new window with the popout button top right. In the popout view the pdf can be downloaded using the down arrow symbol top right. As always, the official business will be followed by one of Alan Rosney’s devilish birdy quizzes. There will also be refreshments.

As required by our constitution, those trustees being elected anew or re-elected are required to provide a brief biog. Those for this AGM can be viewed by clicking here.

As required, GBC Chair, Jean Haslam has prepared the trustee’s report for 01/01/2021 to 31/03/2022. Click here to view and download a copy.

Also as required, the accounts in pdf form are now available to view and download – please click these links: Income and Expenditure and Balance Sheet. NB it should be noted that the accounts are as yet, not audited.

As folk who follow or are involved in the Swift project, we are keen to encourage the installation of Swift bricks into new build housing and the like, to compensate for the loss of Swift nesting apertures in the eaves of older properties which are increasingly being improved with UPVC soffits. There is an interesting leaflet on the construction and use of these bricks which is now viewable below. Click within the image and you can scroll through it. Hit the black ‘pop-out’ button top right and you can view in Google Drive and download it.

Nestbox installation and nest record scheme

Marginal bird species can be encouraged to thrive and be part of Nature’s Recovery. It is surprising how many species can be found in woodland edges and parkland areas. Many bird species can be supported and protected by the careful placing of nesting boxes, including Nuthatch, Redstart and Pied Flycatcher. Other timid birds such as Willow Tits can be given sheltered spots in old or rotting timber. If the place is right they will use it. The Friends of Nant Llwynog Park are supporting this scheme and more details and illustrations can be found in the leaflet which is viewable below. Click within the image and you can scroll the pages. Click the black pop-out button top right and you will see it in Google Drive where it can be downloaded.

We are just getting involved with a major Rookery survey, both for our local area and in partnership with the Welsh Ornithological Society, who are organising a Wales wide survey. It involves surveying Rookeries to see which have breeding activity, as Rooks are in serious decline. There’s a full page on this site here, which gives all the detail and how to get involved – do take a look.