Bardsey's Wildlife

Thursday, 10 September 2026

South-to-southwesterly force 6 winds brought sea state 4 conditions, good visibility, and moderate rainfall until late afternoon, with a maximum temperature of 16°C.

Coastal waders and waterbird sightings included 30 Curlews at Tryfan, alongside nine Turnstones, four Whimbrels, four Ringed Plovers, two female Teal at Pwll Gad, a Dunlin, a Redshank, and a Common Sandpiper. The day's single raptor sighting was a male Sparrowhawk around the Observatory. An evening catch on the Narrows produced two Ringed Plover, one of which was a recaptured bird from earlier in the week and the other was new.

Whimbrel (c) Steven Stansfield

Songbirds and small migrants noted across the island featured a Spotted Flycatcher at Nant, five Chiffchaffs, four Blackcaps, three Willow Warblers, three Goldcrests, five Wheatears, nine Robins and a Song Thrush. Visible movement overhead and resident counts included 19 Swallows, a House Martin, seven White Wagtails, two unassigned alba wagtails, two Grey Wagtails, 21 Rock Pipits, 12 Meadow Pipits, 20 Linnets,

Marine mammal activity was highlighted by three Risso's Dolphins off the West Coast and Grey Seal counts reached 106 individuals across the island.

Wednesday, 9 September 2026

Fresh northwesterly force 6 winds brought sea state 5 conditions, good visibility throughout the day, dry weather, and a maximum temperature of 16°C.

Evening view over the South End (c) Ezra Sherwell

Seawatching passage was highlighted by an adult Sabine's Gull passing south off the North End. Movement offshore also included three Red-throated Divers heading south off the West Coast, 488 Kittiwakes off the North End, 41 Common Scoters off the North End, 40 Gannets heading south off the West Coast, 35 Manx Shearwaters, six Fulmars, 25 Razorbills, 12 Guillemots, 56 Sandwich Terns, nine Arctic Terns, and seven Common Terns. Shorelines and wetland sites produced 30 Curlews, nine Turnstones, seven Knot, six Ringed Plovers, three Redshanks, two Common Sandpipers, a single Whimbrel and two Teal. Raptors logged were a male Sparrowhawk at Nant and two Peregrines on the Mountain.

Passerine migration saw a noticeable influx in warbler counts, headlined by 23 Blackcaps and a single Garden Warbler at Nant. Additional grounded migrants and songbirds included seven Chiffchaffs, seven Willow Warblers, six Goldcrests, two Spotted Flycatchers, 20 Robins, 13 Wheatears, eight Stonechats, two Song Thrushes, 32 Rock Pipits, 20 Meadow Pipits, 24 Linnets and a Blue Tit at the Observatory. Overhead movement and resident counts featured 47 Swallows, 11 House Martins, a Sand Martin, a Tree Pipit over the Observatory, 32 unassigned alba wagtails, four Grey Wagtails, a Pied Wagtail.

Cetaceans featured six Risso's Dolphins off Henllwyn. Invertebrate activity was well-represented despite the wind, including 12 Painted Ladies, eight Red Admirals, six Small Coppers, three Clouded Yellows, three Commas, three Speckled Woods, three Humming-bird Hawk-moths, two Green-veined Whites and three Migrant Hawkers.

Tuesday, 8 September 2026

Today saw strong westerly winds, sea state 5 and good visibility overall. The temperature reached a high of 16°C and there was no rain.

Seawatching produced the main highlights of today, with good numbers passing through. Five Sabine’s Gull, two Little Gull, five Leach's Petrel, two Storm Petrel, and 18 Arctic Skua all passed south along the west coast. The total number of Kittiwakes reached 2256, as well as 581 Manx Shearwater, 348 Sandwich Tern, 23 Common Tern, three Arctic Tern, and a single Black Tern. Other seabirds included 20 Fulmar, 173 Gannet, 18 Guillemot, 142 Razorbill, two Cormorant, and 13 Shag. A total of 12 Common Scoter were also seen, along with 13 Mallard, and two Teal, making it a good day for waterfowl.

Arctic Skua (C) Steve Stansfield

Waders included 17 Dunlin flying south along the west coast, two Whimbrel, 11 Turnstone, one Ringed Plover, and two Common Sandpiper at Traeth Fynnon. Landbirds included two Peregrine seen flying over the mountain, 20 Meadow Pipit, and 20 Rock Pipit. There were healthy numbers of migratory passerines today, with one Grey Wagtail, 30 White Wagtail, 10 Wheatear, one Blackcap, three Willow Warbler, three Goldcrest, one Spotted Flycatcher, and 25 Swallow.

It was a good day for butterflies, with a total of 10 Clouded Yellow seen around the island, as well as one Small Copper, one Peacock, one Comma, and two Speckled Wood. A single Migrant Hawker and a total of three Humming-bird Hawk-moth completed the recorded insects.

Monday, 7 September 2026

Fresh southwesterly force 6 winds brought sea state 5 conditions, good visibility throughout the day, and rain arriving in the evening, with a maximum temperature of 18°C.

Seawatching passage off the West Coast included 149 Kittiwakes, 150 Manx Shearwaters, 50 Gannets, 44 Common Scoters, five Fulmars, and a single Arctic Skua. Terns moving along the coast included 54 Sandwich Terns, 24 Common Terns, 16 Arctic Terns, 11 unassigned Commic Terns, 25 Razorbills and seven Guillemots. Wader passage along the West Coast brought good diversity, headlined by two Curlew Sandpipers, a Golden Plover, and a Knot moving south in the morning. Additional coastal wader counts featured 30 Curlews, 16 Dunlin, nine Turnstones, seven Ringed Plovers, five Whimbrels, and a single Redshank. Other wetland and coastal species included 18 Shags, and five Cormorants.

Kittiwakes (c) Steven Stansfield

Visible movement and grounded passerines included 32 White Wagtails, 16 Grey Wagtails, four unassigned alba wagtails, one Pied Wagtail, 42 Swallows, eight House Martins, 29 Linnets, 22 Rock Pipits, 17 Meadow Pipits, 11 Robins, five Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers, a male Blackcap on the Mountain, four Wheatears, three Goldcrests, three Stonechats and a Song Thrush.

Butterflies and insects active during the clearer parts of the day included 20 Painted Ladies, eight Clouded Yellows, five Red Admirals, three Small Coppers, two Large Whites, two Small Whites, two Speckled Woods, and a Humming-bird Hawk-moth.

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Click to see inside!

Edited by Mike Archer, Mark Grantham, Peter Howlett and Steve Stansfield and published by T & AD Poyser, this fabulous book describes how much has changed since the first edition of Bird Observatories in Britain and Ireland was published in 1976. There are detailed accounts of the history and work carried out at each of the 18 observatories, with personal accounts by wardens and staff of the excitement of discovering a rarity, watching thousands of migrants attracted to a lighthouse after dark, and the pleasure and experiences that working at some of the country’s most remote and beautiful locations can bring. Click the picture of the book to see inside or to buy your copy.

Migrants

Being sited on the main migration route of many species, Bardsey (or Ynys Enlli in Welsh) is a well-known site for migrant birds, turning up many scarcities and rarities, as well as large numbers of common migrants. The island’s list now stands on 326, after the recent addition of Citrine Wagtail in October 2012.

Although Bardsey’s reputation for rare birds may not quite match that of some observatories, it is almost certainly the best site in Wales for rarities. Among Bardsey’s rarer visitors are the first Summer Tanager (1957) and Yellow Warbler (1964) to have been recorded in Britain and Ireland, as well as American vagrants such American Bittern, Sora, Kildeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Grey-cheeked Thrush, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Blackpoll Warbler. To add to this impressive list of rarities, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Lanceolated Warbler, River Warbler, Western Orphean Warbler, Booted Warbler, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Eyebrowed Thrush, Thrush Nightingale, Red-flanked Bluetail, Isabelline Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Collared Flycatcher, Blyth’s Pipit, Pine Bunting, Rock Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting and White-throated Sparrow have all been recorded.

Besides the rarities, Bardsey regularly attracts large numbers of weary migrants during 'fall' conditions in Spring and Autumn, largely a consequence of the fully operational Bardsey Lighthouse. In 2011, for example, a single grounding of migrants resulted in over 1000 Willow Warblers making groundfall on the island in August. In the not-so-distant past, a single attraction of 40,000 Redwings occurred in late October at the end of the last century.

Breeding birds

Bardsey is home to some 26, 000 pairs of Manx Shearwaters, which can be heard on dark nights from mid-March to August. They breed in their excavated burrows, which are scattered all over the island. Chough is the most important species of conservation concern, with between four to eight pairs nesting around the coastal cliffs most years, and a wintering flock of up to 50 individuals. A pair of Peregrines breed on the island, and a 1-2 pair of Ravens also nest most years. There are several species which nest only occasionally, such as Sparrowhawk and Little Owl, along with Afro-Palearctic migrants like Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. Up to ten pairs of Stonechats can nest in the isolated gorse patches around the island, along with many Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Corncrakes were once a common breeder on the island, although since 1970 there have been no confirmed pairs nesting. In recent years the likes of Lapwing, Yellowhammer, House Sparrow and Starling have also all become extinct as breeding species. In contrast, Shelduck, Puffin, Long-eared Owl, Grasshopper Warbler and Goldcrest have been added to the breeding bird list since 1998.

Ringing

Ringing is a very important part of the observatory’s role on the island. Since 1953, the observatory has ringed over 315,00 birds of 198 species. The highest number ringed in a single year was 1988, with a total of 11, 301 birds ringed of 93 species. There have been many days in the observatory’s history when several hundred birds have been ringed in one day; these occasions have mostly involved breeding seabirds, although these numbers can also easily occur with migrant species.

Lepidoptera

A total of 561 species of moths have been recorded on the island. Bardsey is not an overly good location for scarce moths, although the existence of Thrift Clearwings (Nationally scarce) has been established on the Thrift plants around the coast in recent years, after first being recorded in the years 1980 and 1996. Migrant moths arrive in small numbers every year, for example the annual arrival of Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the autumn; rarer immigrants in the past have included Death’s Head Hawkmoths, Vestals, Crimson Speckled and Red-necked Footman.

In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on recording and identifying the so-called ‘micro-moths’, which has resulted in the finding of 41 new species for Bardsey since 2011. In 2012, the coastal subspecies of Eana penziana (E.p.colquhounana) was re-found on the island, which was the first time that this Nationally Scarce species had been recorded on Bardsey since 1966. Apotomis semifasciana is also amongst the scarcer species of micro-moths to inhibit the island (also Nationally Scarce).

Butterflies are present on the island in small numbers, with species such as Common Blue, Small Copper and Small Tortoise-shell being the most common. A scarcer breeding species is the Grayling, which can be found in small numbers on the top of the mountain. Migrant butterflies such as Painted Lady can arrive in their hundreds, although other migrants such as Clouded Yellow and Dark-green Fritillary are quite rare.