Welsh Journals

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at Llangorse, Brec. on 20 Aug. and 20 Sep. Apparently becoming scarcer in Glam. though several records in Caern. including one late bird on 13 Apr. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis. Regular, though sparse, breeder in most counties, with first proved breeding for many years in Pem. Wide- spread in winter, with maximum recorded group of 16 at Ynyshir, Card. on 27 Oct. Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis. Regular breeder in coastal counties except Mer. (still prospecting) and Mon.; slight increases probable in Card. and Carm. Regular offshore, spring to autumn. Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea. Glam. One off Sker Pt. on 27 July was the 1st county record and the 1st for Wales. Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus. Bred at islands off Caern. and Pem. and heard calling at one site in A ng. Seen from most coastal counties Apr. to Oct. with 140 off Peterstone Wentlooge, Mon. on 27 June being the largest numbers recorded in that county. Birds of the Balearic race P. p. mauretanicus were seen in Pem.: two near Grassholm, 2 Aug.; one off Fishguard, 24 Aug.; one off Skokholm, 6 Oct. Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis. Pem. two past the South Bishop Lighthouse on 14 July. Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus. Caern. one off Bardsey, 28 Sep. Pem. two near Skokholm, 27 July. Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus. Bred at Skokholm and Skomer, Pem. and also seen occasionally at the South Bishop Lighthouse. Otherwise very few records: Caern. singles at Bardsey, 12 Aug. and 25 Oct.; Glam. three out to sea from Porthcawl on 29 July. Leach's Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa. Caern. one at Bardsey, 8 Oct. Gannet Sula bassana. Bred at Grassholm, Pem. Seen off all coasts, except in Mon., between Mar. and Nov., with a few scattered sightings in winter. Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. Regular breeder in most coastal counties and present throughout the year. Over 200 at the roost at Wharley Pt., Carm. on 30 Sep. White-headed birds were seen at Aberystwyth, Card. 27 Feb. to 9 Mar. and at Llangorse, Brec. on 17 Mar. Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis. Bred Ang. to W. Glam. (not Mer. or Carm.) with a few records in Carm. and one in east Glam.: a bird at Cardiff on 25 Mar. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea. Widespread breeder; numbers in southern counties substantially similar to those of previous years, but one Caern. colony reduced from 34 nests to 10. One pair nested on the ground at Tywyn Pt., Carm. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea. Ang. one at Llyn Bodgylched, 11 May. Glam. one immature at Oxwich Marsh on various dates, 7 May to 27 June, and one adult there on 6 July. Bittern Botaurus stellaris. Present in spring at sites in Ang. and Glam. Recorded otherwise only at Witchett Pool, Carm., Nov.-Dec., and at Kenfig Pool, Glam. on 26 Oct. with one found dead at Whitson, Mon. on 12 Sep. and one seen in Dec. near Llanfoist. Addition to WBR 1974: Brec. one at Llangorse, 31 Jan. 1974. White Stork Ciconia ciconia. Pem. one, Gwaun Valley, 26 May. Carm. one found shot at Pendine on 24 Sep. had been ringed in July as a chick in Niedersachsen, West Germany.