BTO Cymru

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Thursday 24 November 2011

John Lloyd Honorary Wales Officer

It was a great pleasure to hear that John Lloyd our Honorary Wales Officer was recognised for his sterling voluntary work on Tuesday 9th November. Below is John receiving his award from Graham Benfield OBE, the Chief Executive of the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action. I am aware that the BTO is only a small part of John’s volunteering, so on behalf of us all well done.


Mi oedd yn bleser clywed for John Lloyd ein swyddog anrhydeddus dros Gymru, wedi cael ei gydnabod am ei holl waith gwirfoddol. Uwch ben mae llun o John yn derbyn ei wobr gan Graham Benfied, prif weithredwr y WCVA, ar  nos Fawrth 9fed o Dachwedd . Rwyf yn wybodus fod John yn gwneud llawer o waith gwirfoddol  nid i BTO yn unig. Mae rhaid llongyfarchiadau John ar ein rhan i gyd.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Llangors Ringing Group

The Llangorse Ringing Group organised a successful winter bird fair/ringing demo on Sunday 20th November, with a grant provided by the Powys Environmental Partnership.  Promotion was very local to the “Llangorse catchment” only.  There were displays about Garden Birdwatch, foods and feeding, bird & moth identification, ringing and the proposed new bird hide for the Lake.  Organisations attending included the BTO, RSPB, Brecknock Wildlife Trust, the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and PC Thomas (Wildlife Liaison Officer). 



Present and former Group members gathered for a 30th Anniversary bbq” by Jeremy Richards

The Ringing Group was formed in 1978 and have, to date, ringed some 58,000 birds of 102 species - all but a few hundred at the Lake itself.  Our rarest bird was Wales’ first Paddyfield Warbler, caught on 11 Sept 2004, whilst tape luring Blackcap.
As well as the usual ringing activities of Constant Effortringing (one of the longest running sites in the UK), nest box monitoring and training, the group have run many specific projects.  A concerted effort to catch migrant Aquatic Warblers using the area in August, has resulted in just 6 birds, but these represent about one third of all Welsh ringed Aquatic Warblers in the past decade.  The Lake is the most important inland site in Wales for this increasingly rare migrant, on its passage from Polish breeding grounds to West Africa.
The reed beds at Llangors support one of Wales’ largest populations of Reed Warblers, which have been subject to several research projects: migration fuelling, impact of capture and handling, and Cuckoo brood parasitism.  Cuckoos at Llangors (and across the rest of Wales) do not parasite Reed Warblers as they do elsewhere in Britain, making the population an ideal candidate for studying host/cuckoo interactions.
For Further details about the group and their activities, contact group secretary Jerry Lewis at



Friday 18 November 2011

Cynnig Aelodaeth Iolo membership Offer


Mae Iolo Williams wedi cynnig diwrnod o wylio adar yn ei gwmni fel gwobr mewn raffl i pob aelod newydd sydd yn ymuno o Gymru. Ymunwch rhwng nawr a diwedd Medi 2012 a chewch gyfle i ennill diwrnod hefo’r dyn i hyn. Ymunwch heddiw  i gael eich gwobr aelodaeth ac i gael eich cofrestru yn y raffl.





Iolo Williams has offered a day of birdwatching with him as a raffle prize for new members joining from Wales. Join between now and the end of September 2012 and have the opportunity to have a days birdwatching with the man himself. Join today to get your membership offer and to be entered in the raffle.