Blackbird - 1980s winter

GHR

The BTO winter atlas showed that Blackbirds were present in all 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 115 birds recorded per day.

Ring recoveries confirm that the large winter presence includes Continental birds.

Black Redstart - 1980s winter

The BTO winter atlas shows the 10km squares where Black Redstarts were recorded 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 3 birds seen in a day.

Mainly recorded around buildings.

GHR 

Bittern - 1980s winter

The darkest colour on the map for the BTO winter atlas of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84 represents 3 or more birds in a day. In Pembrokeshire 4 at Bosherston was the maximum.

GHR

Bewick Swan - 1980s winter

The BTO winter atlas showed that Bewick’s Swans were present in seven10km 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 9-29 birds, the maximum in Pembrokeshire during the period being ten in 1981 during a cold weather influx.

GHR 

Bar-tailed Godwit - 1980s winter

 The BTO winter atlas showed that Bar-tailed Godwits were present in a few coastal and estuarine 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 19-175 birds, with the highest count being in SM 80.

The distribution is consistent with the Birds of the Estuary Enquiry (BoEE, now WeBS) at that time, with the majority of birds in Angle Bay, part of the Cleddau Estuary complex. .

The Nevern and Teifi estuaries provided winter records in the north of the county.

GHR 

Barnacle Goose - 1980s winter

Up to three birds were recorded in one 10 Km square during the 1981 – 1984 Winter Atlas.

The National Nature Reserve of Skomer was managed by a Warden from March to October during the Atlas years but not in the winter, when only occasional visits were made. These few visits indicated that up to 39 Barnacle Geese over wintered on the island but this information was not made available to the Winter Atlas, so is not represented on the map. 

GHR

http://blx1.bto.org/atlases/BY-atlas.html

Barn Owl - 1980s winter

The Winter Atlas showed that Barn Owls were recorded in 14 out of 27 of the county’s 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 3 birds recorded in a day.

This species can be difficult to detect in the winter when it is mainly nocturnal and silent, which despite being a resident, has resulted in a 40% lower registration than in the 1970 breeding atlas survey.

LACK, P.C. (1986) The atlas of wintering birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser

Red-throated diver - 1980s winter atlas

Gavia stellata

The BTO atlas covering the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84 shows a similar distribution to that described above.

The darker the colour, the higher the relative total count for each 10km square.  The darkest blue represents 8+ birds, with the highest count being 16 seen at Strumble.

Redshank - 1980s winter atlas

Tringa totanus

The BTO winter atlas showed that redshanks were present in several coastal and estuarine 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 121 birds, with the highest count being 165 in SN01.

The distribution is consistent with the Birds of the Estuary Enquiry (BoEE, now WeBS) at that time, with the majority of birds in the inland parts of the Cleddau Estuary complex.  However, the maximum counted by BoEE in winter 1982-83 was 1048 throughout the whole estuary.

The Nevern and Teifi estuaries provided the main wintering grounds in the north of the county.

LACK, P.C. (1986) The atlas of wintering birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser

Chaffinch - 1980s winter

Fringilla coelebs

The BTO winter atlas showed that chaffinches were present in virtually all 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 360 birds, with the highest count being 1258 in SM80.

However, it should be noted that the figures show a high correlation with the number of recording cards returned (therefore related to recording effort) for each 10km square. 

LACK, P.C. (1986) The atlas of wintering birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser