Latest Sightings        

For the last two months Monmouthshire County Council Biodiversity and Ecology Officer, Aidan Neary, has been working with several local residents of Usk and GOS members to identify the location of Swift nest sites within the town.  As over 50 Swifts were observed feeding over Usk River during Aidan’s lunchtime walks in spring it seemed reasonable to suggest that buildings in the town could provide suitable nest sites.  Following an initial walk-over survey to identify low-flying screaming parties four evening surveys were carried out between June and July to identify nest locations.  This has uncovered 40 nests across the town with a large colony of 18 nests discovered at Usk Prison on Maryport Street.  With loss of traditional nest sites often being cited as a major factor behind recent declines, it is envisaged that this data will be used within the planning screening process to guide future development and ensure long term conservation for this magnificent migrant bird.  Aidan aims to extend this survey to other towns in Monmouthshire in 2015 and would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to GOS members for their enthusiasm and participation throughout the project.

We all like to see rare and unusual species and what can be more enthralling than chancing upon a locally rare or Schedule 1 breeding species?  Unfortunately, as is the case with many walks of life, there are people out there who pose a threat when this information is made public, whether egg collectors or merely those who deem certain species to be a pest.  For this reason it is imperative that all people with good intentions avoid posting anything which may jeopardise the welfare of our bird life.

All information on rare breeding species is important. The correct channel for reporting these sightings/records is through the county recorder who reports to the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP).  If there are any queries please do not hesitate to contact me on thomaschinnick@hotmail.com

Dipper Editor
The Dipper, our friendly, informative newsletter, is published just four times a year.  The editor collates articles sent in by others, arranges them in a Word document, emails the file to a nearby printer, and collects the hard copies.   Training and help will be freely available.  If interested, please email or call Trevor Russell at tjruss2010@gmail.com or phone 01600 716266.

Indoor Secretary
Indoor meetings are the main social ‘glue’ of the Society.  The Indoor Secretary's role is to book the speakers and hall for the 14 or so meetings held annually.  Help and advice will be given.  Please email or call Trevor Russell at tjruss2010@gmail.com  or phone 01600 716266.

To read a fascinating article from Tom Dalrymple, Manager of Newport Wetlands Reserve, on what is  involved in creating and managing the lagoons to attract different species to the Reserve, please go to the Articles section.

There are two parts to this survey – known nest sites will be visited by members of the South Wales Peregrine Monitoring Group but the other part needs your help. A series of randomly selected 5 x 5 km squares need to have any potential nesting sites visited – natural cliffs, quarries, (derelict) buildings and, in some cases, high pylons. The purpose is to find any new, previously unknown, nesting sites. Three priority 5 x 5 km squares (SO30 SE, SO30 NE and SO31 NE) and four other squares (ST29 SE, ST38 NE, SO20 SE and SO21 NE) need surveying.

If you are able to help please phone Jerry Lewis on 01873 855091 or email him on jmsl2587@yahoo.co.uk.

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Attachments:

File	Description	File size
Front cover		3309 Kb
King's Wood, Hendre example		1000 Kb
Black Rock example		1437 Kb
Rear cover		470 Kb