Promoting observation, free range exploration, sense of place and citizen science, through the field notes of a naturalist.







Friday 4 May 2012

Local ornithological ephemera


Now I'm a bit of a collector, not that it's out of control you'll understand, but progressive rock/metal albums and local ornithological/natural history ephemera are my subjects of particular interest. Having almost the complete run of Monmouthshire/Gwent Bird Reports, with the exception of numbers one and three, I've been keeping an eye out for the small number of reports produced by the Gwent Ornithological Society (GOS) founding group, the Pontypool Ornithological Society (POS). So my excitement was palpable when I nervously entered a 99p bid into Ebay for a copy of POSs  1964 report. Thankfully no one bid against me ( not much competition for old bird reports from this corner of Wales) and I duly won said item. 


Flicking through the typewritten report I found an entry for an Icterine warbler. Seems back in the days before Nobby Stiles did his little jig of happiness at Wembley  rare bird identification didn't need any optical support just a call was enough. Nowadays such a claim would be laughed out of a Gwent Rarities Committee meeting. By the time the Birds in Gwent was published in the 1970's this record was noted as a 'doubtful occurence'.

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