On the final day of NGB Trip both the NGB and Staff had eyes fixed on the coast with a grand total of 6228 Manx Shearwaters hugging the islands coast; else where 83 Fulmars, 232 Gannets, one Great Skua, three Black-headed Gulls, 1412 Kittiwake, four Sandwich Terns, three Razorbill, six Guillemot, one Common Tern, two Arctic Tern, one 'Commic' Tern.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) - Elliot's Birding Diaries

Meanwhile waders for the day consisted of 74 Oystercatchers, seven Ringed Plovers, five Sanderlings, 13 Dunlins, four Purple Sandpipers, one Snipe, 17 Whimbrels, 17 Redshanks, 65 Turnstones and 47 Curlews.

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritime) - Elliot's Birding Diaries

Other migrants dotted about the island today included seven Mallards off Solfach, two Sparrowhawks, one Buzzard,one Little Owl, three Sand Martins, one Reed Warbler, ten Willow Warblers, three Goldcrest, two Chiffchaff, one Chaffinch and 146 Linnet.

With our Next Generation Birders leaving tomorrow, we'd like to say a massive thank you to the BTO for providing this years young ornithologists with the money to be to pay for the trip via the YBOF Grants.

Both NGBs and Staff enjoying Chilly Night at the observatory

Today the Irish sea was alive with Manx Shearwaters, with 5121 noted (evening counts reached an excellent 100per 1min when the visibility was good enough to see the sea!), and amongst them a single Balearic Shearwater headed south along the West Coast. Furthermore 33 Shags, 15 Cormorants, 152 Gannets, 28 Common Scoters, one Arctic Skua, 4 Black-headed Gulls, 841 Kittiwakes, 3 Sandwich Terns and 1 Puffin were also noted. With Puffin being an uncommon autumn migrant, each sighting now could well represent the last of the year.

Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) -  Elliot's Birding Diaries 

Amongst the waders counted on the Narrows, undoubtedly the most notable sighting was a total of 29 Whimbrels, a very high count for an already above-average autumn. Also noted were 56 Oystercatchers, six Ringed Plovers, five Purple Sandpipers, six Dunlins, 28 Curlews, 29 Whimbrel, 11 Redshanks and 43 Turnstones

Passerine migration today was again poor. Overhead 63 Swallows and 15 House Martins were noted, with 133 Linnets, 12 nominate-race Wheatears, two Greenland Wheatears, two Blackcaps and singles of Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler noted on land. A Little Owl was heard calling too.

Next Generation Birders out at Nant Valley assisting the observatory's studying of Manx Shearwaters - Image Steve Stansfield

In other news, the night before whilst NGB's George Dunbar & Elliot Montieth (our autumn intern), were presenting their fantastic talks about "Birding Iberia" & "Birdinghead" to the BBFO Staff, NGB's & BBFO committee members, a fall of 5 Convolvulus Hawk Moths invaded the island. Other sightings from the moth trap included a Purple-bar and the second Orange Swift of the year (and first to be recorded in the trap), but otherwise little was noted.

NGB George Dunbar presenting his talk about his recent birding trip to Iberia with fellow NGB Jacob Spinks - Image Steve Stansfield

Convolvulus Hawkmoth (Agrius convolvuli) - Image George Dunbar

Another blustery day saw scopes pointed out to sea for most of the daylight hours. However, rewards were rather less than yesterday. Kittiwakes numbered a season high of 1948, while Manx Shearwaters were down to just 1405, with 200 Gannets a good count. Variety came in the shape of 19 Fulmars, four Arctic Terns, three Common Terns, two Sandwich Terns and singles of Great Skua, Arctic Skua and Guillemot, the latter becoming more notable in August as Auks generally have become thin on the ground!

Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) - Elliot's Birding Diaries 

A decent selection of waders featured as it's most notable member a single Black-tailed Godwit, found on the South End and relocating to Carreg yr Honwy. 51 Curlews and 37 Turnstones were the most numerous, with Oystercatchers down to a remarkably low 27. 17 Whimbrels was a pretty good count for Bardsey in the autumn, with the best of the rest being 11 Dunlins, six Ringed Plovers, five Redshanks, four Purple Sandpipers, three Snipes (flushed from a wet patch on the South End), and two Common Sandpipers.

Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus), trapped and ringed in the Heligoland trap as part of the island

colour ringing project (Image - Ben Porter)

BBFO Staff out with NGBs  Jacob Spinks, Kate Fox, Luke Ozsanlav-Harris & Eleanor Grove showing them the island portable Heligoland Trap used for trapping and studying the Rock Pipits & Waders (Image - Ben Porter)

A Great Spotted Woodpecker trapped at the Plantation was the highlight on the land, with the commonest migrant again being Linnet, numbers were again on 117. 12 Willow Warblers were mostly at the Plantation, with three Sedge Warblers and a Blackcap the only other warblers noted. Three Goldcrests and three White Wagtails were also on the deck, while overhead were 78 Swallows, 38 House Martins and a single Tree Pipit heading south. Singles of Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, the latter an immature female, were also new in.

NGBs out ringing Manx Shearwater chicks as part of the BBFO census work (Image - Steve Stainfield) 

A quiet day for migrant insects did see two Migrant Hawkers and singles of Painted Lady and Silver Y encouraged by a slight improvement in the weather. One Speckled Wood at the Plantation was the most notable of the resident Lepidoptera to be seen.

Sea-watching proved quite productive today with 3760 Manx Shearwaters logged, as well as 1089 Kittiwakes, an excellent 290 Gannets, 14 Fulmars, ten Common Scoters, four Razorbills, two Sandwich Terns, one Common Tern, 11 Arctic Terns, one Guillemot, four Razorbills and three Arctic Skuas. Three Teal heading south was a good record, while the highlight was a Storm Petrel off the South End early in the morning. While we catch good numbers during the summer months this is a species logged very infrequently while seawatching, but our second record of this year. While not what you might think of as a migrant, 26 Great Black-backed Gulls logged today included twelve heading south out to sea, which presumably indicates some movement.

Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) - Elliot Birding Diaries 

A variety of waders were seen today: 55 Oystercatchers, 56 Curlews, 40 Turnstones, 34 Redshanks, eight Whimbrels, seven Ringed Plovers, four Purple Sandpipers, eight Dunlins, one Greenshank (heard calling overnight) and one Sanderling.

NGB Kate Fox happy after ringing her first Storm Petrel on Bardsey

Elsewhere a Long-eared Owl found in Cristin Withy was the third record of the year, while the first White Wagtail of the autumn was on Solfach. 50 Swallows, 20 House Martins and two each of Sand Martin and Swift moved south. On land 16 Wheatears included one first-summer male of the Greenland race Leucorhoa, with a small selection of warblers including one Grasshopper Warbler in the Obs garden, and a bizarre sighting of a Reed Warbler on the rocks at Henllwyn! Two each of Willow Warbler and Sedge Warbler were also noted, plus a single Whitethroat. Meanwhile Linnets had increased to 117. The only insect sighting of note on a blustery day was a single Hummingbird Hawk-moth in the Obs Garden, while even the Moth trap was quiet.

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritime) - Elliot's Birding Diaries 

After a long night ringing Manx Shearwaters and Storm Petrels, this morning our NGBs were set out in force for a combination of ringing and census work.

Migrants for today came in all shapes and sizes, with an increase in migration signalled by a good selection of birds on the move on land and sea. Overhead 386 Swallows, 80 House Martins, 24 Sand Martins and four Tree Pipits were logged. 37 Willow Warblers was the best count for some time, while an obvious increase to 194 Linnets was logged.

A calm sea provided ideal conditions for viewing cetaceans, with a total of 19 Risso's Dolphins, three Common Dolphins and nine Harbour Porpoise. A good diversity of seabirds were recorded, the highlights being singles of Great Skua and Arctic Skua. 65 Common Scoters, one Mediterranean Gull, eight Black-headed Gulls, 106 Gannets, 637 Kittiwakes, 32 Sandwich Terns and one Arctic Tern were also logged, representing reasonable reward for a good day's coverage of the sea.

On the Narrows, Curlews were up to 67, but recent Oystercatcher counts reveal something of an exodus of late, with just 45 seen today. Whimbrel passage this autumn has been better than usual, and 13 today was a fairly good count for the time of year. Other waders included an excellent 52 Turnstones, as numbers continue to build. 47 Redshanks was another high count, and 20 Black-tailed Godwits moving south was probably the most notable sighting. Ten Ringed Plovers, seven Dunlins, two Purple Sandpipers and a single Common Sandpiper completed an excellent day for waders, capped by an overnight Golden Plover heard at 03:45.

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) - One of the birds from the mist nets in the withies this morning that was ringed by NGB Kate Fox 

Eight members of the Next Generation Birders (NGB) arrived on the island today for their week-long trip. After an introductory talk and some lunch, they were taken on a guided walk. The route went from the Obs up to Nant, where a moth trap was checked, then headed west through the NW fields, and south towards Solfach, before returning to the Obs.

NGBs checking the contents of the Nant moth trap (Image - Josie Hewitt)

After the guided walk, the NGBs were treated to a BBQ to give them lots of energy for Storm Petrel ringing up on Pen Cristin. Ten Storm Petrels were ringed, providing a great opportunity for the NGBs to see them up close.

NGBs watching Porpoise off the North End (Image - Josie Hewitt)

Highlights of the day's sightings were two Razorbills, one Mediterranean Gull in Henllwyn and a count of 900 Manx Shearwaters off the West Coast.

Storm Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) - Image: Josie Hewitt

NGB Trip 2017

Tomorrow, the island welcomes eight Next Generation Birders (NGB) for their annual week-long trip to Bardsey, where they will experience life at one of the UK's 19 fully functioning and registered Bird Observatories.

For the past 4 years NGBs have been coming to the island, with most of the trip costs paid for by the BTO's Young Bird Obs Volunteer Fund. During the trip, the NGBs will be carrying out a range of tasks to gain an insight into life at an observatory. This will include assisting with census counts, bird ringing and monitoring the Manx Shearwaters.

Long-term monitoring of bird populations and migration is one of the Observatory’s primary aims and so the daily bird counts recorded by the NGBs during their stay will be contributing to this. Bird ringing is also an integral part of the Observatory’s work, and those NGBs with appropriate licenses will be able to assist with the various ringing activities that will be going on throughout the week.

Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) - Image: Sorrel Lyall

From the 12th to the 19th August the BBFO blog will be managed by two of the NGBs currently staying at the observatory: our autumn intern Elliot Montieth, and volunteer Josie Hewitt, who have both returned to the Obs after falling in love with the island on previous visits.

Storm Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) - Image: David Hunter

To see what our NGBs are getting up to throughout the week make sure to follow the hastags #YBOVF and #BardseyNGB on Facebook and Twitter.

NGBs on Bardsey in 2015

Two Red Knots on Carreg yr Honwy first thing this morning got the day off to a good start. Waders continued to put on a good show throughout the day with 37 Oystercatchers, 15 Turnstones, 11 Curlews, nine Redshanks, five Whimbrels, two Ringed Plovers, two Purple Sandpipers, one Dunlin and one Golden Plover seen.

Sea-watching produced 450 Manx Shearwaters, 25 Gannets, 11 Shags, ten Cormorants, three Common Scoters and one Fulmar. While raptors seen today included Peregrine, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.

Non-avian highlights of the day included a washed-up Tope Shark near Solfach, Migrant Hawker at Nant, Emperor Dragonfly in the Wetlands and a Silver Y moth in the Plantation.

Tope Shark (Galeorhinus galeus) - Elliot's Birding Diaries

Kick-starting the day was a Tree Pipit heard passing over the Mountain on this morning's census, whilst shortly after a Little Egret was spotted flying low over the South End and west out into the Irish Sea. Meanwhile a Emperor Dragonfly was seen briefly a Pen Cristin and a Greenshank made a quick stop off at the Narrows.

Little Egret - Elliot's Birding Diaries 

Out at sea little was noted apart from a flock of 24 Common Scoter heading south off the West Coast along with 3 Sandwich Terns fishing off Pen Cristin and on the rocks at the South End 456 Kittiwakes were counted.  

Waders today included: 11 Ringed Plover, 43 Oystercatcher, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 29 Turnstone, 20 Redshank and rather surprisingly a single Dunlin was flushed from the small grassy pool located on the South End.

Manx Shearwater - Elliot's Birding Diaries

Other birds on the island today were 3 Willow Warblers, 72 Meadow Pipits, 1 Sparrowhawk, 30 Choughs, 86 Linnets, 45 Swallows, 14 House Martins, 2 Sand Martins and rounding it all off was a Swift observed hawking over Pen Cristin.

Highlight of the day was undoubtedly a cream-crowned Marsh Harrier that was observed passing high over Pen Cristin at 1500 before heading south into Cardigan Bay.

Besides that it was another typical day on the island with waders including 1 Purple Sandpiper, six Ringed Plovers, 23 Oystercatchers, 28 Curlews, Nine Whimbrels, ten Redshanks, a Common Sandpiper and five Turnstones.

Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis Image - Elliot's Birding Diaries 

Out along the west coast seabirds were seen throughout the day gathering in huge feeding flocking with counts from throughout the day finishing at 709 Kittiwakes, three Guillemots, 2010 Manx Shearwaters, 35 Common Scoters and 283 Gannets. An adult and two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls were also seen heading north along the coastline.

Todays highlight on the island was not that of a bird, but instead came from sea with 2 Risso's Dolphin showing well off the north end and even breaching the surface on several occasions.

The lucky observers catching a glimpse of the two Risso's from the Obs garden (Image - Steve Stansfield)

Waders today came in at 52 Oystercatcher, 1 Grey Heron, 12 Redshank, 10 Turnstone, 9 Common Sandpiper, 6 Whimbrel & 45 Curlew. Meanwhile out on the sea 3 Common Scoter headed south off the west coast with the south end holding host to 310 Kittiwake and a additional 125 off the west coast. A small number of Sandwich Terns, five, and party of 6 Mallards were also spotted off Solfach.

Furthermore there was also a fairly decent selection of raptors scattered around the island today with a Peregrine seen attempting to take a juvenile Chough over the mountain, whilst a juvenile Sparrowhawk was at Solfach and a Kestrel at the south end.

Juvenile female Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) Image - Elliot's Birding Diaries

Juvenile female Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), with the Nant sparrowhawks failing to produce any young this year any juvenile to the island would have to be a migrant  (Image - Elliot's Birding Diaries)

Other notes from today included that of 10 Willow Warblers, 23 House Martin, 77 Meadow Pipit, 56 Swallow and the highest count of Linnet for the autumn with 133.

Highlights of today were two Kestrels seen over the Mountain on this mornings census, besides that all other regular migrants where recorded on the island including a small fall of three Chiffchaffs and ten Willow Warblers along with a Mediterranean Gull noted passing the West Coast.

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) - Elliot's Birding Diaries 

Bardsey's very own 'waderfest' is getting stronger by the day with today's totals coming in at 50 Oystercatchers, two Ringed Plovers, three Purple Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, 15 Turnstones,  43 Curlews, six Whimbrels, a Dunlin, 1 Grey Heron, eight Redshank  and seven Sanderling. Meanwhile finch numbers are beginning to rise with a total of 69 Linnets being counted today with ninety-three noted on the 3rd!

For those currently on the island then a temporary Photography Hide set up along the path down to the boat house have been rewarded to excellent views of some of island Stonechats which despite heavy predation by Corvids have managed to fledge several young.

European Stonechat ssp. hibernans Saxicola rubicola - Elliot's Birding Diaries  

Some 15 Common Scoters were seen past the West Coast early on today. Otherwise, all other migrants today were recorded on the island.

An impressive number and selection of waders were seen today with the highest counts of the season for Turnstones, 13 Ringed Plovers, four Sanderlings, four Purple Sandpipers, 17 Dunlins, ten Whimbrels, 18 Curlews, ten Redshanks, one Common Sandpiper, and 54 Turnstones were logged today!

Stonechat (www.ephraimperfect.co.uk)

Other migrants were scarce on the ground with only a single Willow Warbler recorded.

There was another notable movement out to sea today, a total of 2699 Manx Shearwaters, 16 Common Scoters and a Common Tern were logged.

A Kestrel made a brief appearance, as did the juv. Cuckoo. Waders once again dominated the numbers with a Ringed Plover, four Sanderlings, a Dunlin, 11 Whimbrels, 29 Curlews, nine Redshanks, a Common Sandpiper and six Turnstones recorded.

Adding to the diversity of common migrants were two Willow Warblers, unfortunately with the bad weather this week, Willow Warblers have been scarce on the ground with no days reaching double figures this week.