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.


All visitors are welcome. You must first register by sending an email to GlamRC@gmail.com before you can contribute. An invite will be sent to your email address. Blog content will be strictly moderated. Access to pages and downloads are available to everyone. All photographs on this blog remain the property of the originator.
If you would like to use photos, please arrange permission beforehand.


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 29 October 2015

3 Great White Egrets at Llanrhidian

A visit to the roost at Llanrhidian this evening was really rewarding. In terms of the numbers and quality of species present, I can't remember it being better on any of my previous visits. Following Barry Stewart's haul last Friday and Simon Murray's report yesterday it seemed worthwhile to get into position in good time for the roost to kick-off.
I arrived at 15:30 and found a single ringtail Hen Harrier quartering the marsh immediately. Not long afterwards a second ringtail Hen harrier appeared in a different part of the marsh. Over the course of the evening they were on view regularly and occasionally flying together. Both birds were still flying after 16:30.
It wasn't until 16:00 that I saw the first Short-eared Owl, and it was quickly joined by a second. A third bird appeared by 16:30 and a single sweep over the marsh at 17:00 found 5 birds in the air at the same time, 3 chasing each other around in an erratic fashion and 2 hunting in a more relaxed manner in a different area.
At 16:45 a Barn Owl appeared albeit briefly.
At 16:50 2 Great White Egrets flew in together from the direction of Great Pill and Weobley, hugging the edge of the marsh. They came in flying fairly high and dropped swiftly from height into the reeds at the base of the Little Egret roost. 15 minutes later a single bird flew in from the Wernffrwd direction passing fairly near to Marsh Road. Undoubtedly a different individual though when I followed it no other GWE were on view, before it dropped into the same reedbed as the earlier two.

Simon Murray watching the same roost from a different location along Marsh Road had the 3 GWE flying up from the reedbed into the roost tree together. He also had 6 SEO's and 2 Barn Owls.
(Note to self - I must try harder!)

No comments: