Razorbill | Paul Bowerman

Two New Firsts For August!

August 2024

Two birds, Razorbill and Woodlark, were both seen on August 23rd in S. Gloucestershire and this, as far as we know, is the very first time that these two species have ever been recorded in the area in August.

The Razorbill, a juvenile, was seen on the river from Severn Beach over high tide and was the first in area for at least four years. The Woodlark was noted on the foreshore below Severn Beach and represents the third this year and the 27th record for S. Glos!

Ring-necked Parakeet | Steve Richardson

The Invaders!

August 2024

The westward march of these gregarious exotic invaders continues! The highest ever count of Ring-necked Parakeet for the recording area was logged in a private garden at Stoke Park, Bristol when eight of these noisy squabbler's were counted on August 23rd.

To the best of our knowledge they have been entertaining the house owner every day this year... so far, and It's our understanding that crowd funding might be set up to cover the cost of feeding them....

Full details can be found here...

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/Bird%20Records/RingNeckedParakeet.html

Firecrest | Mark Dadds

New Earliest Date For Firecrest

August 2024

The first documented record of Firecrest was logged on January 5th 1980 on Hanham Hill, Hanham and since that time around ninety (c.90) have been reported across the recording area and from all months with the exception of July.

One processed at Littleton Brick Pits, Littleton-upon-Severn on August 18th 2024 becomes the earliest date for this species in S. Gloucestershire. The previous earliest date was August 21st 2022 also at Littleton-upon-Severn.

Full details can be found here...

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/Bird%20Records/Firecrest.html

Common Quail | Lee Gardiner

New Earliest Date For Common Quail

August 2024

Our first documented reference to Common Quail was June 1942 (though clearly they were migrant breeders long before that time) and they have been reported pretty well ever year since. They generally arrive in late May and are usually gone by mid-October though there are records of birds lingering into December (1942 and 2008 respectively).

In 2023 a new earliest date was recorded when at least one was audible on Rushmead Farm, Marshfield (the stronghold in S. Glos for this species) on May 4th. The previous earliest date was of one audible on West Littleton Down on May 8th 1996.

Full details can be found here...

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/Bird%20Records/CommonQuail.html

Northern Wheatear | South Glos Birds

Spring Migrant Arrival Dates 2024

August 2024

Spring migrants that appeared this year had all arrived by early May. The first to show was Northern Wheatear on March 8th and the last was Curlew Sandpiper on May 2nd. Conspicuous by their absence was Garganey, Common Quail, Little Stint, Black Tern and Ring Ouzel.

Full details can be found here...

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/SG%20Spring%20Migrants.html

Little Egret | South Glos Birds

A New Little Egret Highest Count

July 2024

Little Egret was first recorded in S. Glos on May 24th 1993 on Northwick Warth. Since then numbers have been steadily increasing form the early one's and two's through the ten's, teen's, twenties, thirties and now the forties!

One of three 'egret' to have occurred in S. Glos (Little, Cattle and Great White of course) they have been widely reported across the recording area, in all months and I suspect might well be encountered daily.

July 21st 2024 saw our highest count when a magnificent thirty-one (found by Ian Dickie) had congregated in the morning on Pilning Wetlands, New Passage eclipsing the previous highest count of twenty-eight (28) on March 11th 2019 on farmland near Thornbury.

UPDATE

Following the thirty-one (31) in the Pilning Wetlands area on July 21st the count jumped to a creditable thirty-five (35) on July 31st and on August 4th the figure soared to forty-one (41).

Redpoll | Matt Plenty

The S. Glos Birds Systematic List

July 2024

The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) in a press release in July 2024 has determined to treat all of the Redpoll taxa as conspecific with the English name 'Redpoll' (IOC 14.2) following Chesser et al. (2024) based on genomic homogeneity, continuous phenotypic variation, overlapping habitat, and lack of evidence of prolonged isolation (Mason & Taylor 2015; Funk et al. 2021).

The impact to the S. Glos Systematic List is that Lesser Redpoll - Acanthis f. cabaret is relegated to a 'form' and what was Redpoll (Common/ Mealy) -  Acanthis f. flammea is now nominate. The S. Glos List (July 2024) now stands at 343 - 305 species and 38 forms.

The 'redpolls' on the S. Glos list are:

REDPOLL - Acanthis f. flammea

Lesser Redpoll - Acanthis f. cabaret

Icelandic Redpoll - Acanthis f. islandica

The list with access to all of the associated historical data can be found here.

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/SG%20Systematic%20List.html

Short-eared Owl | Andy Stockhausen

An Unseasonal Record

July 2024

A rather unseasonal Short-eared Owl was both seen and photographed on Northwick Warth on July 15th. It is, as far as we can ascertain, the first ever July record of this species for S. Gloucestershire.

The first documented reference to Short-eared Owl in S. Gloucestershire comes from October 1942 (although undoubtedly they were present prior to this date) which was followed by a 26 year hiatus before the next was recorded in November 1968.

With this year's July occurrence they have now been noted in every month of the year!

A full record of Short-eared Owl in S. Glos can be viewed here:

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/Bird%20Records/ShortEaredOwl.html

Waxwing | Dave Staley

Year List 2024 Mid-Year Update

July 2024

So six months into 2024 (where does the time go?) the S. Glos Year list realised 190 (183 species and seven forms)  by the end of June. With a 25 year annual average of c.205 species and forms this figure equates to 92.5% of a typical year total... already!

Highlights include:

January: Slavonian Grebe (7th record),  Waxwing, Whooper Swan, Glossy Ibis, Firecrest, Cattle Egret. February: All five species of Owl, Hawfinch, Ring-billed Gull, Hen Harrier. March: Waxwing, Hawfinch, Woodlark, Crane, Cattle Egret. April: Firecrest, Pied Flycatcher, Red-throated Diver, Hen Harrier, Spoonbill, Osprey, Black-throated Diver, Hooded Crow (7th record), Red-breasted Merganser, Woodlark. MAY: Bearded Tit, Red-throated Diver, Spoonbill, Honey Buzzard, Firecrest, Glossy Ibis. JUNE: Cattle Egret, Crane, Temminck's Stint, Continental Black-tailed Godwit.

The 2024 year list to the end of June can be found here:

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/SG%20Year%20List.html

Full details of the first six months of 2024 here:

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/SG%20PreviousMonths.html

The 'S. Glos Big Bash'

June 2024

'The 'S. Glos Big Bash' - Saturday June 29th - Monday July 1st 2024!

Seeing as how things are quietening down a bit we thought it might be interesting to find out how many species of bird, butterfly, dragon and damselfly can be recorded over the weekend in S. Glos!

There's no need to travel great distances - 'where you are' - is just fine. We'll keep a running total and who knows what might be discovered. It would be great if you could get involved and we look forward to seeing what 'turns up'?

The 2024 S. Glos 'Big Bash' results can be found here.

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/SG%20Big%20Bash%202024.html

Pallid Swift | Mark Coller

The S. Glos Birds Systematic List

June 2024

The online species and forms list has undergone a complete review! It currently stands at 343  (June 2024)  comprising of 305 species and 38 forms.

Not only can the vernacular and scientific names be seen but also the category, first record location and date along with finder(s) information.

There are also ten 'additional' entries along with several 'Of unknown origins'.

The list with access to all of the associated historical data can be found here.

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/SG%20Systematic%20List.html

A free download 0f the Check List can be collected here!

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/Publications.html

Cirl Bunting | South Glos Birds

Missing Birds...

June 2024

There are around forty birds, both species and forms, that have not been recorded in S. Gloucestershire in the last decade or longer and around half of those not in this century! Cirl Bunting (left) has not been seen here since September 1975!

You can find a comprehensive list of those birds with access to all the historical data via this link.

https://www.thebirdsofsouthgloucestershire.co.uk/Missing%20Birds%20List.html

New Administrator!

June 2024

The South Glos Birds WhatsApp group was launched in January 2021 and has now realised its 100th member. In June 2024 we are delighted to be joined by Nick Page who will eventually take over running and administration of the group.

Welcome Nick and gook luck!

Members will no doubt be pleased to hear the the group will continue in its current form for the foreseeable future.

If you would like to actively participate with the group please get in touch at;  tbosg2005@gmail.com

New Website!

May 2024

Since the most welcome support of Rare Bird Alert (RBA) the TBOSG website has undergone a radical re-construction which has manifested into this new and exciting format. Just 'Click the Pic'.

The intention of the design team was to make access and navigation of the website easier, more customer friendly and more enjoyable.

Several new pages have also been added...

First Records, Missing Birds!, On This Day and this topical News Page.

Several other pages have had major reconstruction one of which it the Systematic Birds List...

Why not take a look and feel free to get in touch with your thoughts.

tbosg2005@gmail.com

A New Social Network!

March 2024

In March TBOSG opened a new account with Bluesky Social!

https://bsky.app/profile/southglosbirds.bsky.social

Our intention is to transfer all of our online presence to this platform by the end of 2024 thus leaving X Twitter for pastures new.

Excellent News!

March 2024

The Birds Of South Gloucestershire joins forces with Rare Bird Alert!

After some negotiations earlier  in 2024 the long running and well respected national bird news service will be supporting TBOSG until at least May 2025. Click on the RBA Logo left to visit their website.