Bird recording

Recording areas

In July 2008, British Birds published a definitive list of the Bird Recording Areas of Great Britain, which aimed to be acceptable to all national and local authorities and which could be generally recognised.

The following updates have been made since the paper was published in 2008.

East Glamorgan and Gower
Following discussions between the Welsh Ornithological Society and the local societies concerned, it is now recommended that Glamorgan should be treated as two Recording Areas at both national and local level: as East Glamorgan (UAs of Bridgend, Rhondda/Cynon/Taff, Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil and the west part of Caerphilly) and Gower (UAs of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot). This updates the paper by Ballance & Smith (Brit. Birds 101: 364–375) to reflect local practice, which at present is strongly in favour of separating the two areas.

County recorders

The following list (which can be downloaded as an Excel sheet here) provides the key point of contact for that area. In the majority of cases, the Recorder will be the appropriate person to deal with all aspects of bird records from that area, including rarities and rare breeding birds, but if not they will be able to redirect your query. In a few cases, a separate contact is shown as being the main contact for rarities.

Updated: October 2024

If you find contact details that don't work, or can see an update we've missed, please e-mail editor@britishbirds.co.uk