Home Page | Current Sightings | Image Gallery | Ringing Page | County List | County Map | Where & When | Useful Links
RSS Brecknock Birds sightings are now available via a RSS feed.
The link is: http://www.brecknockbirds.co.uk/rss/index.php

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)


-------------------------------------------------------
LOCAL COUNTY ATLAS
The national BTO Atlas closed at the end of July 2011. However, Breconshire continue 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.
The final Winter Atlas recording period starts on 1st November 2011. 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 4 years, but plenty of areas of the county still require more detailed coverage in winter - 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.
However, 15% of the tetrads (2 x 2 km sq)in the county have no winter records attributed to them, for which a walk through once in winter is the best way to find the commonest species with little difficulty - submit as Roving Records. In summary, the Black Mountains (SO23), Abergwesyn area (SN85) and Glyntawe/Ystradfellte areas (SN81/91) need attention, ALL of which are brilliant walking areas to find a few birds.
Please either search the BTO Atlas website for more under-recorded areas, 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 winter recording period.

Thank you.
-----------------------------------------------------

2010 Breconshire Bird Report - NOW AVAILABLE

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.

------------------------------------------------------
BTO Atlas
The four winters/four summers recording periods completed on 31st July. With 326 observers contributing over 100,000 local records, it has been a project of staggering proportions that will create a baseline in our knowledge of Breconshire's (and the UK's) birds. THANK YOU to all of you.
There is still the opportunity to submit records of late-breeding species as long as you find them!
There are still plenty of gaps!!

I am aware that some records entered on this website (many from regular contributors) have not been forwarded to the Atlas. We have until end of Nov-Dec to get all these in, so PLEASE, if you have records that have not been forwarded to the Atlas, please enter them. These may go back as far as November 2007. Methods to do this really are painless via the BTO website (www.birdatlas.net)or via written forms. The choice is yours - if in doubt 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.

----------------------------------------------------------



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

Entry added by: Suzette Mitchell on Sun 5th February 12, 10:43am Sighting location: Bromelys Llangors. (SO137274) Sighting date: 03/02/12
1 pair of Reed buntings at ground feeder in garden for first time 500m from frozen lake.

Entry added by: Andrew King on Fri 3rd February 12, 09:16pm Sighting location: Aberbran/Trallong. Sighting date: 03/02/12
Highlights on two TTVs were 33 Collared Doves together, 1 RL Partridge, 8 Meadow Pipit, one Snipe and 2 Woodcock flushed, two prs Stock Dove, 5 Goldcrest, Goldfinches & Siskins high up on larch cones.

Entry added by: Mark Waldron on Fri 3rd February 12, 04:09pm Sighting location: Llangorse Lake. Sighting date: 03/02/12
GW Egret was back in his favoured field near the sailing club with 4 Grey Heron. The lake was mostly frozen over with a couple of free patches the largest being off Llangasty where there was a drake Pintail, 16 Shoveler, 11 Gadwall and 12 Pochard. A YL Gull was roosting on the ice. Walked to the new hide where a Water Rail was squeeling and a Treecreeper was in a mixed feeding flock.

Entry added by: Peter Seaman on Thu 2nd February 12, 05:28pm Sighting location: Llangasty point at Llangorse lake. Sighting date: 02/02/12
Dunlin x 2. Image on the gallery page.