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Forthcoming book: The Birds of Wales/Adar Cymru
The publishers of a new national avifauna are offering a discount on pre-orders placed before 30 June 2021. Supported by LERC Wales, the new book has been produced by volunteers from the Welsh Ornithological Society.
The core of the book is the 451 species accounts, built on data collected over the last century, and the written history and archaeological record of Wales since before the last Ice Age. In addition, there are shorter accounts of more than 100 non-native species that have occurred ‘in the wild’.
Richly illustrated by some of the country’s leading nature photographers, the book tells the stories of all the birds recorded here, whether common or rare, and anticipates what may occur in the coming decades. Knowledge of many species has improved thanks to monitoring by volunteers, and information from all the major recording schemes has been used by authors of the species accounts, many of whom are acknowledged experts on the species.
The Birds of Wales traces the earliest evidence, such as Barnacle Geese that bred in Pembrokeshire before the last Ice Age and the footprints of Common Crane preserved in Severn Estuary mud around 7,000 years ago. The authors have also explored the historic record in English, Welsh and Latin. Gerald of Wales documented what is probably the earliest bird identification dispute in 1188, an argument about whether a bird heard near Caernarfon was an oriole or a woodpecker.
The book describes, for the first time, the history of bird recording and conservation in Wales and the environmental context that has resulted in big changes for our birds. It will be no great surprise that only a quarter of breeding species have experienced an improvement in status since 1900. Nonetheless, Wales is significant for its populations of Chough, Hawfinch and Pied Flycatcher, and our Manx Shearwaters are of global importance. Looking to the future, it finds that one-third of Welsh breeding species are projected to lose some or all of their geographic range here by the end of the century. It will have an essential place on the bookshelf of everyone with an interest in birds in Wales.
The Birds of Wales will be published, in
English, by Liverpool University Press on 1 July 2021, price £45. It can
be ordered at the pre-publication price of £25, plus p&p until 30 June. Use
the code WALES50. liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/r/birds-of-wales
or phone 07766 472078.
Vice County Recorder for dragonflies in Radnorshire, Bob Dennison, has produced the 2020 report, which you can download here.
The latest community update from the BBNP.
The first official red list for mammals has been compiled by the Mammal
Society. It's sobering reading with 11 of the 47 native mammals at
imminent risk of extinction.
There is a separate list for Wales, click below. There's more information on the Mammal Society website.
NRW have published this list following IUCN Regional Guidelines, compiled from a wide range of data-sets including NRW monitoring data, citizen science and previous projects
The latest INNS newletter details the latest on non-native invasives. This edition includes articles on a Crassula biological control trial in Llanelli and the Living Wales Reseach Project along with events coming up later in the year.
The newly launched Wales Moth List has an impressive 1836 species that have been recorded in Wales. Of these 697 species have been recorded in all 13 Welsh vice-counties.
George Tordoff of Butterfly Conservation said 'I’d like
to express my deep gratitude to the County Moth Recorders of Wales. With a list
of this size there will almost inevitably be some errors; if you do spot any
then please me know.'
A new report by renowned insect expert Dave Goulsen commissioned by the South West Wildlife Trusts. It explains why insects declines are of serious concern and suggests measures to address the decline.
Following the launch of the Nature Recovery Action Plan for the Brecon Beacons National Park at the Welsh
Show, it is now available to view online or download as a pdf. The Plan
is intended to guide the work of the BBNP Local Nature Partnership, a
new collaboration which is open to all who want to contribute. View and
download your copy here or click below.
West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre newsletter for May 2019 is available from the link below. It's full of informative articles and useful information for recorders.
