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Pied Flycatcher

Welcome to Brecknock Birds

Welcome to Brecknock Birds. This site has been set up to encourage interest in bird watching and ornithology in Brecknockshire.

This is a child friendly site and in common with other bird sightings websites, we appeal to contributors to put the birds first. Particularly for sensitive species, please can we ask that no reference is made to breeding sites or aspects of behaviour that would indicate breeding at a set locality in your postings. If in any doubt, then please contact Andrew King, Brecknock County Bird Recorder, first (email below). In view of this, any postings made that are deemed inappropriate will be removed by the moderators without warning or explanation. Please note that all photographs remain the property of the person posting them. Permission must be obtained from the relevant owner before they may be reproduced or copied. We hope these pages will build on our knowledge of birds rather than provide valuable information to those few people that may wish to target species for their own purposes.

The district of Brecknockshire covers approximately 500 square miles, stretching from Rhayader to Merthyr Tydfil, Ystradgynlais to Hay on Wye. We hope very much you enjoy bird watching here as much as we do and look forward to hearing about your bird sightings. Happy birding!

Shoveler


Brecknock Bird News by Andrew King, County Bird Recorder (andrew.king53[at]virgin.net)


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LOCAL COUNTY ATLAS - FINAL SUMMER (2012)
The national BTO Atlas closed at the end of July 2011. However, Breconshire continues to gather data for our own Local Atlas. The culmination of 5 years of data gathering at the end of July 2012 will be the biggest bird distribution project ever undertaken here.
PLEASE continue to collect records - either through Timed Tetrad Visits (TTV) or Roving Records - and submit them via the BTO Atlas website which is staying open for the benefit of Local Atlas projects.
Brilliant progress has been made over the past 4 years, but plenty of areas of the county still require more detailed coverage - and choosing the TTV option will suit that best. Selection of TTVs via John lloyd, BTO Breconshire Regional Rep in the usual way, via the BTO website.

Please either search the BTO Atlas website for more under-recorded areas in summer, or alternatively contact me via email on andrew.king53@virgin.net and I can inform you of squares nearest your home.

PLEASE find the time to help us out, for what is now the final summer recording period.

Thank you.
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2010 Breconshire Bird Report

The 2010 edition is available from Brecknock Wildlife Trust or the County Bird Recorder.
This 78-page edition covers all species recorded in Breconshire during 2010, a summary of Llangorse Ringing Groups' 2010 Report, and articles on the finding of breeding Black Redstart and a sighting of Red-rumped Swallow in the county.
Price: £6.50 (+ 70 pence P&P if mailed out). Contact Clare Morgan at BWT on 01874 625708. Cheques to be payable to 'Brecknock Wildlife Trust'. Address; Brecknock Wildlife Trust, Lion House, Bethel Square, BRECON, Powys, LD3 7AY.

Back copies are also available at ridiculous prices! Discuss with Clare at BWT.

Thanks to all those that have contributed records, photographs, articles and sketches to the Report.

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BTO Atlas
The four winters/four summers recording periods completed on 31st July. With 326 observers contributing over 100,000 records within the county of Breconshire alone, it has been a project of staggering proportions that will create a baseline in our knowledge of birds in the UK. THANK YOU to all of you.

If you have a backlog of records that you wish to place on the Atlas before it is too late, then please contact either myself (andrew.king53@virgin.net - or tel 01874 658351) or John Lloyd (the_lloyds@dsl.pipex.com)

All species count - common or rare!

Thank you for your contributions - it will be many years hence before a similar nationwide bird distribution project will be repeated.

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Most recent sighting... (See all sightings / add a sighting)

Entry added by: Andy Davis on Wed 16th May 12, 01:06pm Sighting location: As Post.. Sighting date: 14/05/12
John, I wish you a speedy recovery. I've spent years watching the cuckoo's on a daily basis here. This behavior I hadn't come across before. I'll describe it a bit more. I was watching from 200m , between the birds & I is open land, beyond this,on 2 sides a mixture of deciduous trees and conifers which stretch around the open land for 500m or more. The singing Cuckoo was initially 50m in, in the conifers and hidden from my view until it flew to its next perch which would be 30m or so along. Around 10 secs after it moved the other Cuckoos followed it by flying low over the open land yet very close to the edge of the plantation and perching on fence posts ... at one stage there were 4 of the birds perched on consecutive posts. this action was repeated several times. It appeared that the cuckoo's following the calling bird were deliberatley remaining hidden and made no attempt to be conspicuous. The fact that it was both Males and females following was the most unusual bit for me. Another point is that the Meadow pipits took no notice of the ones that were following. (it usual for any cuckoo to be mobbed by them here). No ending to this story though as they calling Cuckoo continued it's routine on out of sight followed by the other 6. Another point is that it's likely there were more Cuckoo's following it but staying hidden in the densely planted trees as I glimpsed several movements when the others were flying to a new post .

Entry added by: Andrew King on Wed 16th May 12, 12:43pm Sighting location: Llangorse Lake. Sighting date: 16/05/12
Warbler survey. First of three boat-based surveys of the lake perimeter this morning in perfect conditions - gratefully supported by Lakeside (Llangorse) and Brecon Beacons Nat Pk. Effects of very high & unseasonal water levels are not clear, esp for the latter two spp - 72 singing/terr male Reed Warbler, 3-4 male Cettis, 15 male Reed Bunting in song and another 11 just chasing each other about, 1 Sedge Warbler in song only. Kingfisher.

Entry added by: John Harper on Wed 16th May 12, 11:49am Sighting location: Glasfynydd Forest. Sighting date: 14/05/12
Andy - - - I found your Cuckoo observation (repeated below) on the 14th enthralling - - - coming from one practising armchair ornithology as I recover from a subarachnoid haemorrhage : - - - "Fascinating display by Cuckoo's here today. A single Male kept calling , and moving ( about 500m over 30mins) . Every movement at least 6 Silent Cuckoos followed, 30m away from the calling bird. 4 males and 2 females I watched follow, they kept silent and no aggression noted. More Cuckoo's about here than in the previous decade." - - - one wonders what variation of territorial behaviour was indicated = males watching for mating opportunities = females watching for mating opportunities = watching for host nest location = or just oggling and learninbg by example ?

Entry added by: Bryan Jones on Tue 15th May 12, 06:35pm Sighting location: Llangamarch. Sighting date: 15/05/12
re: Peacocks- they are owned by the Cammarch Hotel. The car skid marks on the road in the village show that they do not have many lives left!!