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.

Description Species List

In BOU Order
[Glamorgan Rarities considered by the GRC]
Whooper Swan
Bewick's Swan
Greater White-fronted Goose (all races require notes/photos)
Pink-footed Goose
Barnacle Goose
Garganey
Red-crested Pochard (From 1/01/2016)
Velvet Scoter (From 2014 waiver records in West Glamorgan)
Smew (From 1/01/2016)
Ruddy Duck [upgraded 2013]
Red Grouse (except waiver traditional sites A. North Glamorgan & B. North-east Glamorgan)
Black Grouse
Black-throated Diver
Red-necked Grebe
Slavonian Grebe (except waiver Whiteford Pt. & Burry Est.)
Black-necked Grebe
Sooty Shearwater
Balearic Shearwater
Leach's Storm-petrel (Descriptions may be waived in times of large influxes)
Great White Egret [downgraded to GRC from WRP 1/01/15]
Eurasian Spoonbill
Honey Buzzard 
Avocet
Dotterel
Wood Sandpiper
Grey Phalarope (Descriptions may be waived in times of large influxes)
Pomarine Skua
Long-tailed Skua
Sabine's Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Roseate Tern
Black Guillemot
Little Auk
Puffin (except: Worm's Head)
Turtle Dove
Long-eared Owl
Hoopoe
Wryneck
Bearded Tit (East Glamorgan is considered a dispersal area and is a GRC species)
Bohemian Waxwing (Descriptions may be waived in times of large influxes)
Wood Lark [WRP to GRC 2013]
Blue-headed Wagtail (Motacilla flava flava)
Richard's Pipit
Water Pipit (Notes required for all non-estuarine records & records from May to August)
Rock Pipit (Notes required for the race littoralis - Scandinavian Rock Pipit)
Yellow-browed Warbler (2015 influx - waived)
Great Grey Shrike
Hooded Crow
Tree Sparrow (upgraded 2013)
Twite
Lapland Bunting
Snow Bunting (From 2014 waived records in Glamorgan)
[plus any species not previously recorded in Glamorgan]

 Note: On all records with a 'waiver' attached. The GRC will ask for photos/notes for any of these species if they feel it necessary to do so.

 Species that are currently being reviewed, as to their status in Glamorgan, however no descriptions are as yet required.
1. Long-tailed Duck
2. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
3. Dartford Warbler
Heard only records of the above species (ie those requiring descriptions)
Criteria for the acceptance of these by the GRC records panel are set out below:
1. The observer must have good experience of the species concerned and demonstrate that the call of the bird claimed was heard clearly.
2. The call must be described in detail including transcription on paper (length, quality, tone etc of call), comparison with other calls heard either at the same or around the same time (or failing that, qualification as to why it was different to commoner species) and frequency/timing of call(s).
3. The observer should provide an exact account of the record including, for example, how many times the bird called and over what period of time it was heard.

 Welsh Records Panel
[Species considered by WRP]
Bean Goose
Snow Goose
Black Brant
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup [BBRC to WRP 2015]
Surf Scoter
White-billed Diver
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Wilson's Strom-petrel
Night Heron
Cattle Egret
Glossy Ibis [BBRC to WRP 2013]
Purple Heron
White Stork
Black Kite
White-tailed Eagle
Montagu's Harrier
Rough-legged Buzzard
Golden Eagle
Red-footed Falcon
Spotted Crake
Corn Crake
Common Crane
Stone Curlew
Black-winged Stilt [BBRC to WRP as of 1st Jan 2017]
Kentish Plover
American Golden Plover
Temminck's Stint
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
(Kumlien's Gull)
Caspian Gull (Photos required)
White-winged Black Tern
Alpine Swift
European Bee-eater
Greater Short-toed Lark
Shore Lark
Red-rumped Swallow
Richard's Pipit
Yellow Wagtail (all races other than flavissima & flava)
Citrine Wagtail [BBRC to WRP 2015]
Common Nightingale
Bluethroat
Red-flanked Bluetail [BBRC to WRP 1st Jan 2017]
Marsh Warbler
Blyth's Reed Warbler [BBRC to WRP 2015]
Icterine Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Barred Warbler
Sub-alpine Warbler
Greenish Warbler
Pallas's Leaf Warbler
(Siberian Chiffchaff) (Photos & call required)
Radde's Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Red-breasted Flycatcher
Penduline Tit [BBRC to WRP 2015]
Bearded Tit (Except East Glamorgan - dispersal area - GRC species)
Golden Oriole
Red-backed Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Rose-coloured Starling
European Serin
Common [Mealy] Redpoll
Arctic Redpoll
Parrot Crossbill
Common Rosefinch
Cirl Bunting
Ortolan Bunting
Little Bunting
Corn Bunting

 BBRC from 2015
Aquatic Warbler
Tawny Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Rustic Bunting
BBRC from 1 Jan 2017
Ferruginous Duck


* For British Bird Rarities [BBRC] please visit the BBRC website.
* For Rare Breeding Birds Panel [RBBP] please visit RBBP website.

 [Last Updates 4/02/2015, 29/06/2015, 14/11/2015, 4/05/2016, 30/03/2017]]
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