News
Welsh Ornithological Society
Saving Swifts and Supporting Local Biodiversity
Glamorgan Birds is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting where Edward Mayer will present ‘Saving Swifts and Supporting Local Biodiversity’.
A superb evening with Iolo helped raise almost £4000 for WOS
Every year Gary Jones Photography organises a charity fundraising evening with Iolo Williams, our President, and Iolo chooses the charity which will benefit from the auction and raffle of bird paintings, photographs and equipment. This year Iolo selected WOS as the beneficiary.
2023 Photo competition – new winners from a record entry, and a Whinchat, a Manxie and a Cuckoo amongst the prizes!
The 2023 competition generated a record 167 entries from photographers aged between 8 and 80 years of age, with pictures
An urgent message from Iolo Williams, WOS President – If you do only one thing for Welsh wildlife in 2024 . . . please do this.
In December, the Welsh Government launched a consultation that could pave the way to a brighter future for wildlife in Wales. But, to make sure that happens requires us all to raise our voices for nature before 7 March. Will you join me in doing that?
November/December 2023: ‘Storm’ Wigeon on Anglesey and Waxwings galore
Wildfowl, unsurprisingly, took to the fore across Wales during the winter months, with a stunning-looking ‘Storm Wigeon’ on Anglesey a particular highlight.
Scarce and rare birds in Wales 2022 and Welsh Bird Report 2022 now published online – Milvus 2.1 will follow shortly
The Scarce and Rare report makes fascinating reading, with full details of three new species for Wales, a great collection of photos and updating of the list of scarce and rare species considered by WBRC. The 2022 Welsh Bird Report makes equally fascinating reading, with new longevity records for Kittiwake, Chough and House Sparrow and the seventh edition of the Checklist of the birds of Wales.
A very successful and thought-provoking 2023 Conference – and WOS will take action on the messages
120 delegates came to the 2023 Annual Conference at Aberystwyth University on 4th November, including an encouraging number of Young Birders, and they enjoyed an excellent and thought-provoking day. There were some clear messages for WOS Council coming out of the presidential introduction, the talks and the panel discussion about the need for all of us to take action about the alarming state of our red-listed species and our increasingly impoverished biodiversity.
September & October 2023 – the most extraordinary influx of extreme rarities for Welsh birders, spoiled by some bad behaviour by twitchers
Autumn 2023 will go down in the history books as the greatest ever period of scarcities and rarities for Welsh birding, with the largest arrival of American landbirds in recorded history. Sadly, this was partially spoiled by some disgraceful behaviour by twitchers and WOS strongly condemns this behaviour which was in flagrant breach of the birdwatchers’ code.
David Saunders MBE
All the Welsh birding fraternity is saddened to hear of the death of David Saunders MBE – we have lost too many Welsh birding stalwarts this year and David, the first President of WOS, is one who has contributed a huge amount to conservation in Wales and across the UK. This post gives a very brief summary of some of his contributions: a fuller appreciation will follow later.
The 2023 State of Nature report for Wales – 18% of species are threatened with extinction
Wales, along with the other countries of the UK and like most other regions worldwide, has experienced a significant loss of biodiversity. The trends presented in the State of Nature 2023 report cover, at most, 50 years, but these follow on from major changes to Wales’ nature over previous centuries. As a result, Wales is now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. 18% of all species are threatened with extinction.
A magical time at the Skomer Young Birders’ week
The Skomer Young Birders’ Week at the beginning of September provided fun, learning and magic for all who took part. Here’s what three of the participants had to say about their experiences.
‘The most remarkable week in Welsh birding’
We normally publish a Scarce & Rare report after the end of each month, but the past week has been so exceptional that, if you don’t know already, it’s worth summarising now.
We are delighted to say that we have recruited a new editor for ‘Milvus’ – our main journal
We are delighted to say that we have now recruited a new Editor for the main annual edition of ‘Milvus’ and that the new editor is an existing WOS member. More details about the new editor soon.
Support the RSPB Cymru campaign to make the Sustainable Farming Scheme work for farmers, people and nature
Now that the Wales Agriculture Bill is law we need all your support to influence the Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths AM to produce a scheme which is workable and benefits all stakeholders – not least the birds of Wales.
Welsh Ornithological Society Annual General Meeting 2023
The WOS AGM 2023 will take place virtually on 28th October. The agenda and details of how members can vote can be found by following this link.
August 2023 – seabirds centre stage again
For the second month in a row, seabirds took centre stage, with the first UK Bridled Tern for ten years the star,
Pembrokeshire Bird Conference
In addition to the WOS national conference this month, there’s another excellent conference towards the end of the month – the Pembrokeshire Birds Conference on 26th November.
The 2023 WOS photo competition is now open – and the first entries have already been submitted!
The 2023 photo competition is now open for entries and we’ve already had our first entries. This year we’ve kept the same categories as in 2022: Main (Open), Flocks (Open) and Young Photographer.
June 2023 – a good mixture of scarcities in both north and south Wales
It was a brilliant June for one lucky Glamorgan patch birder, with the discovery of not one but two Welsh rarities.
July 2023 – an impressive month for seabirds and seawatching
Little passerine interest, but a splendid month for off-shore and coastal sea-watching
Skomer Young Birders Week
Calling all birders and wildlife enthusiasts aged 18 to 25 – Skomer Young Birders’ Week is back, 3rd-6th September and 6th-9th September!
Roger Lovegrove OBE – 1935-2023
We are sad to report that Roger Lovegrove, who was a founding member of WOS and a deserved recipient of the Society’s Lifetime Acievement Award in 2013, died on 22nd June 2023. Click on the link to read a brief obituary.
JAC has almost certainly perished near Llangollen
From Andalusia, through Brittany and back to north Wales – which proved his last destination Both our Welsh-tagged cuckoos survived
May 2023 – a Song Sparrow on Bardsey and a good range of late summer migrants
A SONG SPARROW on Bardsey Island, Gwynedd, on 9th had twitchers springing into action and there was an excellent run of late returning summer migrants.
Bardsey University week in August – places are filling fast
BBFO, in association with British Birds, West Midlands Bird Club and WOS, are offering 10 students a fabulous week on the the island during August (Saturday 12th-19th) for just £100 per person (self catering). Click to find out more.
March & April 2023 round-up, including a UK first
The first ever UK Black-winged Kite amazed an observer near Newtown and Wales was well represented in the UK-wide influxes of Purple Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons and Alpine Swifts. Click for more highlights of a busy two months.
Get involved with Curlews and World Curlew Day
21st April is World Curlew Day. We urge all WOS members and birders across Wales to support this and get
WOS Photo Competition 2023
Here are some preliminary details of the 2023 competition – this post will be updated in April to confirm the full details. Watch this space!
Please sign the petition to make Swift bricks compulsory in new housing
WOS has supported Swift projects in the past few years – this petition needs 100,000 signatures to be debated in Sennedd and Parliament. It’s just reached the magic number, but could do with more – please follow the link and sign.
Welsh Bird Report for 2021 now published online for members only
The Welsh Bird Report for 2021 has now been published online for members only. Printed copies will be sent to all members shortly.
Can you help survey for breeding Woodcock this summer?
The British Trust for Ornithology, in partnership with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, is coordinating a nationwide survey of
We’ve revamped WOS grants and student research awards and we want applications!
We’ve therefore reviewed our whole grants and awards structure and are now launching a revised offering, which we hope will encourage more members and groups to apply.
February 2023 – the second Baikal Teal of the year and the very first signs of Spring
No apologies for using the same species as January for the featured image – a second Baikal Teal for Wales and the second of the year! Otherwise a quiet month, with a few tantalising harbingers of Spring at the end.
The Welsh Kite Trust needs more fieldworkers to monitor Red Kite breeding populations
While Red Kites were still rare, the Welsh Kite Trust attempted to monitor all breeding sites. When the success of
Sign up for your 2023 Rook survey tetrads
In 2022, thanks to the help of many volunteers, over 450 survey squares were covered. However, we need more squares surveyed in 2023 for a robust population estimate to be calculated.
January 2023 – Wales’s first Baikal Teal in Powys
Highlight of the month was the first Baikal Teal for Wales – in land-locked Powys!
2022 Photo competition – new winners, great pictures and another owl and tern amongst the prizes!
Although there weren’t quite as many main section entries as in the previous two years, the quality was excellent, making life enjoyably challenging for the four shortlisting judges, who listed no fewer than 43 of the entries. These were whittled down to a final shortlist of 17, from which Iolo Williams selected the prize winners.
December 2022 – good for ducks!
The undoubted rarity highlight of an otherwise quiet December produced an adult drake AMERICAN BLACK DUCK at Llanrhidian Marsh, Gower, on 20-21st, a trio of drake SURF SCOTER, a drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL and eight RING-NECKED DUCKS at five sites.
A very happy 2023 to all birders in Wales – here are some titbits to get you going
First off the mark – as always – is the 2022 Anglesey Bird News annual report, which was actually published a few minutes before midnight on the year it records! If you want some more good reading, our two flagship observatories have recently published their 2021 annual reports: Bardsey’s and Skokholm’s can be found by clicking on links when you read more.
There are now 60 species on the Wales Red List of birds of conservation concern
Birds of Conservation Concern Cymru 4 has now been published. Click on ‘Read More’ to see key points and comments and to go to the full report, which is available for viewing and downloading.
November 2022 – wheatears, gulls and ducks the highlights
A couple of rare Oenanthe would go on to define the first few days of November, including an ISABELLINE WHEATEAR
Report on scarce and rare birds in Wales for 2021 now published for WOS members only
The annual report on Wales’s rare and scarce birds for 2021 is now published and available to read or download
Our Pied Flycatchers may be more at risk on migration and in their wintering sites than on their breeding territories
Bob Harris and Pete Coffey, who’ve led long-term nestbox studies of Pied Flycatchers in Welsh woodlands, are two of the
October 2022 – Tennessee Warbler, two Long-billed Dowitchers and lots more!
Although Wales didn’t quite hit the dizzy rarity heights of some parts of the UK during October, there were some cracking and unusual records, even if some of them were all too brief!
An excellent and thought-provoking 2022 Annual Conference – this BTO Cymru blog post shows what you missed if you weren’t there!
The 2022 Annual Conference was held at Aberystwyth University on Saturday 5th November. It was an excellent and thought-provoking day
Pembrokeshire Birds conference with the new WOS Rook pin badge for sale!
It’s not just WOS that holds excellent annual conferences in the autumn! Once you’ve booked for the WOS conference here,
September 2022 – an excellent month for both waders and passerines
Wales’s best bird of the month consisted of an ORTOLAN BUNTING which racked up a four-day stay at Lavernock Point,
‘Milvus’ (Vol 1: No 1) has now been posted to WOS members
The first edition of our revised journal Milvus has now been posted to members. It’s also available on the website at https://birdsin.wales/milvus/.
August 2022 round-up: shearwaters and petrels on pelagics and good warblers on land but avian flu hits Gannets on Ramsey and Grassholm
WILSON’S STORM PETREL has long been considered an extremely rare visitor to Welsh waters. Pelagic trips in recent years, however,
2019 & 2020 North-East Wales bird report finally published – download for free
The long delayed North-East Wales bird report has finally been published; it’s a double edition covering 2019 and 2020 and
June & July on Bardsey – a busy couple of months with autumn passage starting in July
June started with the Siberian Chiffchaff still singing at Nant along with two Blackcaps, three Willow Warblers and a Sand
July 2022 round-up
July was, as usual, quite a quiet month for scarce birds in Wales, but shearwaters and terns featured strongly. Click
Where to watch birds in Wales – 5th edition pre-publication offer
The fifth edition of this invaluable guide will be published on 5th August and there’s a pre-publication offer available. Follow
WOS urgently needs a new Treasurer – please volunteer
Steve Sutcliffe has been Treasurer of WOS for six years – it should have only been five, but we were
The Birds of Wales – some minor corrections and 50% off till 31st July
Close scrutiny of The Birds of Wales has brought to light a small number of inaccuracies and omissions. One year on from
June 2022 round-up
A White-throated Sparrow coming to a garden bird bath in Porthcawl was the highlight of the month. Click here for
Great results coming from Manx Shearwater tracking project on Bardsey
This map shows the travels of one Bardsey Manx Shearwater over eight days – it left its partner on the
WOS at the Welsh Countryside Fair
WOS attended the RWAS Smallholding and Countryside Festival held in Llanelwedd over the weekend of 21st-22nd May. This was the first
The Eurasian African migration atlas – a fantastic new online resource
Recently published online is the Eurasian African migration atlas – a fantastic resource which puts together EURING ringing data and
Monthly round-up is back – apologies for the interruption
There’s been a lot of activity on the scarce and rare front in Wales during the past two months and
Thursday 2nd June – what a red-letter day on Bardsey
The magic of Bardsey struck all at once, resulting in a day that none of those present will be forgetting
Bob Haycock is finally presented with his Lifetime Achievement Award
With no face-to-face Conference in 2021, it wasn’t possible to present awards in person and it’s taken some time to
Good progress with the Rook survey – but where are all the Rooks?
This survey seems to have captured the imagination of birdwatchers in Wales and volunteers, many new to surveying, have come
The monthly round-up of sightings is now back on the website
The monthly report feature has now been reinstated on the website and is now extended to cover more than just
Plans are advanced to build a tidal lagoon between Mostyn and Point of Ayr, Flintshire
Will plans to build Wales’ first tidal lagoon in a conservation area harm birdlife using the Dee Estuary? Mostyn SeaPower
2020 Welsh Bird Report has now been published
The Welsh Bird Report for 2020 has now been published; it’s a fascinating read, even from a Covid-hampered year. It
Voted one of the best ten bird books of 2021!
If you are a British Birds subscriber, you may have already seen that the new WOS avifauna The Birds of Wales / Adar
Welcome to the new WOS website!
Over the past two months we’ve been rethinking and redesigning the WOS website and this is the result. We hope
Tony Cross awarded BTO Jubilee medal
Tony Cross has been awarded the Jubilee Medal by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in recognition of the scientific
Our birds are in trouble – three species added to BoCC Red List and seven to Amber
This is the 5th Birds of Conservation Concern review, with the first published in 1996. The bird species that breed
WOS Student Research Award 2021 winner – Luke Beckett
Luke Beckett’s submission is summarised here: Globally recognised research from Wales has revealed how White-throated Dippers indicate the quality of
Bardsey – off the island for the winter
The season finished with a bang – a great fall on 1st November, with over 1000 Chaffinches, 1850 Starlings, 37
Iolo Williams presents the First Minister for Wales with a copy of The Birds of Wales
Earlier today (Nov 4th) WOS’ President, Iolo Williams, met First Minister for Wales, Mark Drakeford in Cardiff to present him
Thank you to the BTO and all our speakers for making our virtual conference a great success
The first (and, we hope, only) WOS Virtual Conference was a great success on Saturday 6th November, and thanks to
Changes to our Small Grant Scheme – two application windows from December 2021
In early 2021 we offered small grants of up to 75% (maximum £1000) towards projects that benefit species listed as
Young birder membership of WOS now available for only £5 per year
WOS is now offering annual membership for only £5 per year for young birders up to the age of 25.
An Elegant visitor to Anglesey – Cemlyn’s thirteenth species of tern!
Elegant Tern has not been seen in Wales for 19 years! It’s now the thirteenth species of tern to be
‘Mr Strumble’ – gone but not forgotten
We learnt with sadness that Graham Rees “Mr Strumble”, passed away on 23 June. Graham’s name will always be synonymous
Three small grants awarded for 2021 research
We are very pleased to award three small grants towards 2021 research – we received high quality applications and look
Photo competition – Stephen Culley’s Tawny Owl is a worthy winner
An impressive 166 entries, featuring 86 different species, for our first photo competition – we are delighted with your responses.
Thirteen Bee-eaters on the Llyn!
On 9th May an astonishing flock of 13 Bee-eaters arrived on the Llyn peninsula, near Uwchmynydd. This was an unprecedented
Greenland White-fronted Geese finally protected in Wales
Behind the scenes, RSPB Cymru, WOS and others have continued to press Welsh Government to give the small Welsh wintering
Sustainable Farming and Wildlife
The Welsh Government consultation on Sustainable Farming and Wildlife has now closed. We need to put nature at the heart