Latest Sightings        

The petition to the National Assembly to ban the hunting of Greenland White-fronted Geese in Wales closes on Monday - please sign now!  https://www.assemblywales.org/epetition-list-of-signatories.htm?pet_id=997 .

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.

Sightings of mammals, butterflies, reptiles - nearly all wildlife in fact - can now be posted on the GOS Sightings webpage.  No other organisation in Gwent provides such a service and we believe most members will welcome this initiative.

GOS is not claiming any expertise in other forms of wildlife - this is merely a way to alert people to interesting sightings in the county.  Birds will, of course, remain the focus of all the Society's activities.

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.

Tom Chinnick was elected as the new Gwent County Recorder at the recent AGM, following the retirement of Chris Jones.

With immediate effect, would you please post your record slips to Tom as soon as possible at the following address:

Tom Chinnick,
51 Emlyn Avenue
Ebbw Vale
Gwent
NP23 5TY
Tel: 07982719881
email: thomaschinnick@hotmail.com

A consultation on plans to protect seabirds in some of Wales’ most important marine and coastal conservation areas is being conducted by Natural Resources Wales for the Welsh Government.

The proposed changes would extend three Special Protection Areas at Aberdaron Coast and Bardsey Island, Skokholm and Skomer, and Grassholm. Currently, only the nesting sites for species such as Manx Shearwater, Puffin and Gannet are protected. The new proposals would see the protected areas extend into the seas around the nesting areas to where seabirds congregate and feed during the breeding season. This would represent a major step forward in the conservation of these important species.

If you would like to support the proposals, click on the following link: http://naturalresourceswales.gov.uk/our-work/consultations/our-own-consultations/proposed-changes-to-three-existing-spas/?lang=en#.Uv5ZFmJ_tIE

Then click on the green arrow on the right 'SPA consultation response form'. Save or print the form, complete it and send or e-mail it back to NRW.

Takes you to places in Gwent you never knew existed

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Or pick up a copy (or two) at one of our indoor meetings.

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