In December 2026 and January 2027, the BTO are running a Non-Estuarine Waterbird Survey (NEWS).
The survey (which runs approximately every 10-years) aims to monitor the population size and distribution of waders and other waterbirds along the non-estuarine coastal habitats of the UK and Ireland.
"NEWS provides crucial data on species that use open coast rather than estuaries, helping to inform conservation strategies for wintering populations"
Observers are asked to make a single count of waterbirds (i.e. waders, wildfowl, divers, grebes, cormorants, shags, herons and egrets) along sectors of non-estuarine coasts on any date between 1st December 2026 and 31st January 2027.
Other species (e.g. peregrine and chough) are also listed, and it would be good to have information on where these are present along the Pembrokeshire coast during the winter period.
There are still quite a few sites available around the Pembrokeshire coastline and it would be great to have more coverage.
Here is a link to the Vacant sites map. You will need to
zoom in to see the available sites on the Pembrokeshire coast.
Please also read the instructions before setting out.
We've had excellent coverage for the previous NEWS, so would like to keep up the good work.