Monday, July 29, 2013 at 8:02AM Emberiza schoeniclus schoeniclus
Scarce resident. Pairs thinly scattered about waste bogs, especially St Davids area and in the hills. Wandering in winter, when it has visited Skokholm.
R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society
Friday, August 24, 2012 at 9:34PM The Reed Bunting is a largely inconspicuous bird with streaky black brown and off white plumage and white outer tail feathers. Breeding males have a striking black head and bib and broad white collar, females lack these. The preferred habitat is marsh, fen and boggy areas, in which they place their nests low down among rank vegetation.
It was estimated that about 500 pairs were nesting in Pembrokeshire at the time of the 1984-88 survey. Because this was based on experience of the species within its specialised distribution, it was thought to be a realistic assessment. The survey of 2003-07 found there had been a 38% spread in distribution, which if added to the earlier estimate suggests the population in the county had reached about 690 pairs. The introduction of oilseed rape as a crop has probably been the main factor affecting the increase in Reed Bunting distribution, permitting them to expand out of wet areas.
Graham Rees
Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed = 22
Orange = breeding probable = 101
Yellow = breeding possible = 15
Total tetrads in which registered = 138 (28.2%)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 9:26PM Breeding resident
Both Mathew (1894) and Lockley et al. (1949) regarded the Reed Bunting as a scarce resident thinly scattered about boggy places.
They are still locally distributed about the wetter parts of Pembrokeshire during the breeding season (see map), but were also found breeding in dry farmland during the 1970s, though none were reported in such places during the Breeding Birds Survey of 1984-1988. From familiarity with most of the known breeding sites the total population can be estimated at about 500 pairs. Reed Buntings bred at Skokholm in 1960 and in 1967, increasing to five pairs in 1977, but two in 1980 were the last to nest. They first nested at Skomer in 1961, the population rising to 17 pairs in 1977, but in more recent years there have only been up to four pairs.
They are more widespread outside the breeding season, often being found among mixed finch flocks, particularly at or near the coast. Up to 100 have gathered at Plumston Mountain in January and February and almost as many have joined mixed finch flocks in unharvested flax during the last two winters.
Fieldwork 1984-88 (based on 478 tetrads)
Red = breeding confirmed - 27
Orange = breeding probable - 54
Yellow = breeding possible - 19
Total tetrads in which registered = 100 (20.9%)
Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 12:32PM 
Red = breeding confirmed
Orange = breeding probable
Yellow = breeding possible
Sunday, October 9, 2011 at 8:33PM 
The BTO winter atlas showed that Reed Buntings were present in most 10km squares during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84.
The darker the colour, the higher the relative total count for each 10km square. The darkest blue represents over 20 birds.
Found within mixed finch flocks to a varying degree during wintertime.
Graham Rees
Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 9:28AM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
