Publication by the Welsh Ornithological Society of the birds recorded in Wales brings the national list to 460 species. The total was boosted by appearance of six never previously seen in Wales, including an unprecedented four types of songbird that crossed the Atlantic during ex-Hurricane Lee in September 2023.
The updated status reflects the changing abundance of several species in the last five years. Little Auk and Bewick's Swan, once annual visitors to Wales, are now considered scarce; just one Bewick’s Swan has been seen in Wales this winter, on the Dee estuary this week. Lesser Scaup, Black-winged Stilt and Caspian Gull are among the rare migrants that have become more common in recent years. Bittern and Marsh Harrier are now classed as regular breeders now they are established at several sites thanks to reedbed restoration projects. But Grey Partridge is now considered only an Occasional Breeder, although its true status is clouded by releases. Glossy Ibis is among several Mediterranean waterbirds that are now more frequent in Britain, with the first ever record of nesting in 2023, in Cambridgeshire. One in a pool next to Porthmadog Cob at the weekend was a good winter record for North Wales. A Red-necked Grebe on Llyn Tegid was almost 45 years to the day since the site’s first, while a Ring-necked Duck and Scaup are also on the lake. Other unusual sightings include a Surf Scoter off Colwyn Bay, Black Redstart on the Great Orme, Slavonian Grebes off Bangor Pier and Borth-y-gest, and a Little Gull passed Criccieth during Storm Éowyn. Eight Hawfinches winter at Coed Cilgroeslwyd near Ruthin and there are several more around Llanrwst. A Snow Goose on Llyn Coron is of unknown origin, but a leg-ring showed that a Ring-necked Parakeet in a Deganwy garden almost certainly escaped from an aviary. The Welsh List 2025 can be downloaded from the WOS website.
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It was standing room only in Bala last week for the launch of Stunned by Silence, a short film about Curlew conservation made by wildlife film-maker Malka Holmes. Springwatch’s Iolo Williams introduced the film, which he narrates in Cymraeg and English, followed by an opportunity to ask questions of Malka and Bethan Beech of Natural Resources Wales who advises on the recovery of breeding Curlew. The film is Malka’s love letter to Curlews, inspired by a poem composed by her late father, artist Clyde Holmes, at her childhood home in Cwm Hesgyn. Sadly, gone are the days anyone can hear Curlews regularly at Cwm Hesgyn in the moorlands of the Migneint.
Among others, the film features author Mary Colwell, musician David Gray, RSPB staff and farmers involved with Curlew conservation in North Wales. The ensuing discussion illustrated the hopes and desire of local people to save the cry of the Curlew. I’d encourage you to watch the seven-minute film and share it on social media to raise awareness about the plight of this long-legged wading bird, at real risk of extinction as a breeding species in Wales in the next decade. The premiere came in the same week as an important report from a Senedd Committee reviewing Welsh Government’s performance on halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030. The suite of recommendations was welcomed by wildlife campaigners supporting the overriding message from Committee Chair Llyr Gruffydd MS who said “that making commitments is all well and good, but this needs to be followed by a clear plan, action delivery and be backed by appropriate investment. All are currently lacking.” The Curlews await better news… Rarest visitor this week was a Red-necked Grebe at RSPB Valley Wetlands. A Green-winged Teal was a good find on saltmarsh at Glan-y-Môr Elias near Llanfairfechan, and remarkably a second was found at RSPB Conwy. It is a scarce vagrant from North America, with just a handful of records in the last ten years. Like the previous sightings, both were males, distinguished by a vertical white line on the front edge of the flank, unlike the Eurasian Teal which has a horizontal line along the top edge. Black Redstarts are on the Great Orme and the beach at Kinmel Bay, with a Snow Bunting at the latter. Slavonian Grebes and a Long-tailed Duck are in Beddmanarch Bay, and up to four Velvet Scoters off Llanddulas. Llyn Tegid’s Ring-necked Duck was seen again and there were Firecrests near Llanfairfechan sewage works and Llyn Coed Parc Mawr. A survey found 26 Water Rails wintering at RSPB Conwy, the highest number ever. For more about Curlew conservation in North Wales, read my column from last October, and the Gylfinir Cymru partnership website – in English neu Gymraeg. A selection of other images from the film Stunned by Silence are shown below, courtesy of Greengage Films and Curlew Action. A flock of 30 Red Kites in central Anglesey last week must be the largest on the island in at least 250 years. In the modern era, they have only nested on Anglesey since 2020. While Red Kites continue to recover from near-extinction in Britain, their Europe-wide population remains suppressed by toxic ammunition used to shoot gamebirds and deer, as are other raptors such as Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle and Marsh Harrier according to a Cambridge University study.
While lead has long been banned in products such as petrol and paints because of human health risks, an estimated 7000 tonnes from shot and bullets is left in the countryside each year, contaminating soil and the food chain. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust estimates that up to 400,000 waterbirds suffer lead poisoning every winter in the UK. Shooting organisations committed to end the use of lead shot voluntarily by this year. Welsh Government is now considering recommendations from the Health & Safety Executive to restrict lead in ammunition used for killing game. Last week, wildlife organisations wrote to Wales’ Deputy First Minister calling for a transition to a full ban on lead in no more than 18 months. They are asking people to support a Britain-wide ban by emailing the UK Government. The sea off Llanddulas is winter home for thousands of seaducks, mostly Common Scoters but with several Surf and Velvet Scoters among them, and at least two Long-tailed Ducks. Another Long-tailed Duck was with three Velvet Scoters and 70 Red-throated Divers off Llanddona on Saturday, and a similar number of Red-throats were in Caernarfon Bay along with 21 Great Northern Divers. Underwatched Barmouth Bay hosts Slavonian Grebe and Great Northern Diver, while a Sandwich Tern, which should be wintering off southwest Africa, fished off Colwyn Bay’s Porth Eirias at the weekend. Horton’s Nose in Kinmel Bay continues to host Snow Bunting, Hooded Crow and Black Redstart, while two Snow Buntings remain on the Great Orme. Other Black Redstarts were at Pwllheli and Amlwch. Upland snow pushed thousands of Redwings into the valleys while hundreds of Lapwings and Golden Plovers on Anglesey have doubtless moved from snow-covered fields farther east. Frozen lakes elsewhere brought more than 50 Goosanders, a high count in North Wales, with over 200 Pintails to the Dee floodplain at Holt. A Firecrest was at Anglesey’s Llyn Parc Mawr, several Hawfinches at Coed Cilgroeslwyd and a Spotted Redshank at RSPB Conwy, while several Water Pipits and a Cattle Egret were at RSPB Cors Ddyga on Monday. Sunday’s blanketing of snow across much of North Wales was sufficiently short-lived that few movements of birds were evident, although some Redwings came into gardens in search of food. Larger Fieldfares have been scarce since the initial wave of migration from Scandinavia in November - check out the map below that shows how much scarcer they were in December 2024 compared to the previous year.
Small flocks of Meadow Pipits and Chaffinches were among other species that dropped from hills to coast in search of snow-free feeding areas. A flock of Bramblings in Gwydir Forest will have moved in from Scandinavia, while Pink-footed Geese inland from Abergele may have responded to frozen fields in Lancashire or the Dee Valley. Snow Buntings on the Great Orme and at Horton’s Nose nature reserve, Kinmel Bay, felt no such imperative to move, seeming content to spend the whole winter on the Welsh coast. A Common Sandpiper is also wintering, around Church Island on the Menai Strait, when most of its compatriots are somewhere south of the Sahara Desert. A Red-necked Grebe in Red Wharf Bay was the first in North Wales for several years, one of two dozen that occurred across Britain last week. Two Black-necked Grebes and three Slavonian Grebes were on the Inland Sea, with single Long-tailed Ducks there and off Benllech. Another Long-tailed Duck is off Llanddulas, with four each of Surf and Velvet Scoters among the rafts of seaduck. Slavonian Grebes and a Scaup were off Borth-y-gest. Hawfinches are around churchyards at Caerhun and Llanrwst, up to eight at the latter, with a small flock in Vale of Clwyd. Four Short-eared Owls and a Green Sandpiper were around Anglesey’s Alaw estuary, 20 Twite at Flint Castle, four Water Pipits in Foryd Bay and a Firecrest near Mochdre. Two Ruddy Shelducks on the Dee estuary and a Snow Goose near Morfa Dinlle probably have a feral or captive origin. |
Bird notesA weekly update of bird sightings and news from North Wales, published in The Daily Post every Thursday. Archives
February 2025
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