The latest edition of the list of birds recorded in Wales has been published, but it’s more than a list. It also reminds us how the environment is changing, writes Welsh Bird Report editor Julian Hughes.

The Welsh Bird Report 2024 will arrive with WOS members very soon, the only annual report in the UK that covers a whole nation. As well as documenting the birds in that year, it provides a wider context for the changes that birders notice when out in the countryside. The Report includes the annual update of the Welsh List, which this year saw two additions: Hudsonian Godwit and Black-faced Bunting.  Pictures of the 2023 additions are shown in the gallery below, together with a photo of the 2024 Hudsonian Godwit, in a flock of Black-tailed Godwits. Pictures of the 2024 Black-faced Bunting can be seen in the 2024 report on Scarce and Rare Birds in Wales.

The new Welsh list can be downloaded as a PDF, with a full historical version also available as a spreadsheet.

In addition to the Welsh lists, the full index of Birds in Wales and Milvus can be downloaded as a PDF – scroll down this page for this.