GRC Blog


Welcome to the GRC Recorders pages. This blog provides details on all the relevant news of Glamorgan’s scarcer birds, plus all BBRC & WRP decisions that affect us locally. It will also be used to document the status and occurrence of these scarcer species and we welcome contributions from anyone with photographs, artwork or documentation of rarities past, present and future. The GRC also welcomes all seawatching news from around Glamorgan and news of passage migrants in spring & autumn, uncommon birds in our area and unusual behaviour.


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The Glamorgan Rarities Committee, in conjunction with the Glamorgan Bird Club & Gower Wildlife , have agreed to co-operate with the Welsh Ornithological Society in the sharing of bird records & photographs in the interest of keeping accurate records and to promote birdwatching in North, Mid & South Wales.

Thursday 9 May 2013

Pomarine Skuas off Port Talbot docks.

Port Talbot Docks 18:30 to 20:35

2 pale Pomarine Skuas with spoons, 1 dark Arctic Skua and 1 Arctic Tern were the highlights.

There wasn't a great deal of passage but there was an aggregation of birds off the long arm. c100 birds, mainly Fulmar (c20), Herring Gull (c40)  and Kittiwake (c40). The Skuas were in amongst this group and were not particularly attacking the group but seemed to be feeding from the surface where the outflow often attracts gulls. The dark Arctic was seen at very close range initially around 18:40 and then presumably the same individual was thereafter present further out, showing on and off. At 19:30 pale phase Skua finally broke the horizon giving side on views of the spoons, following about 20 mins of tantalising brief views in-between waves. Incredibly at the very same moment another Pomarine Skua got up in the same view, showing nicely from the side. All three Skuas were still in the general area at 20:35 when I left.

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