Ten Common Scoters flying by at sea was the highlight of a very uneventful day. Three Starlings were seen and the Parakeet and Grasshopper Warbler both remained.

Although the majority of Razorbill chicks have now left the colonies and set out to sea, a few stragglers, such as this one, are only just hatching. Photograph (c) Beth Else

Guillemots seem to have a very good breeding season, and there are lots of chicks still in the colonies.

(c) Beth Else

A Spotted Flycatcher at the plantation was the most interesting sighting of the day – perhaps a very early returning migrant. Eight Dunlins, 11 Starlings, a Collared Dove and the Parakeet were also seen, as well as the Grasshopper Warbler.

First heard at 2300 two nights ago, this Grasshopper Warbler continued to sing throughout last night and into this morning. Yet another photo of a bird on a barbed wire fence. (c) Richard Brown

Wader numbers crept up slightly, with Curlews and Redshanks reaching 16 and nine respectively. A Lapwing was on the Narrows, 19 Black-headed Gulls flew south at sea, a Collared Dove and the Parakeet remained and the Grasshopper Warbler began its nocturnal song again late in the evening.

The long spell of fine weather continued and another Hobby was seen – this time flying south past the lighthouse. A flock of 26 Starlings appeared on the South End, a Buzzard was over the mountain, three Swifts flew over, two Collared Doves were still present and the Parakeet was still visiting the peanut feeder at Cristin. A surprising find at 11 o’clock in the evening was a Grasshopper Warbler reeling near the little reed bed, and proceeding to sing away incessantly into the night.

An unexpected Turtle Dove seen in the afternoon was the bird of the day. The first Buzzard for some time also arrived, along with a Starling and 13 Swifts. The Siskin, the Parakeet, nine Curlews, a Whimbrel and two Redshanks all remained.

A reported Hobby was the best sighting of the day. A Siskin was visiting the garden at Cristin, four Redshanks roosted on Carreg yr Honwy, a single Grey Heron was seen, two House Martins passed through and the Parakeet was still present.

Two Grey Herons were still present along with the nine Curlews, a Whimbrel and a Redshank.

Four Grey Herons flew along the west coast in the morning and the Curlew flock increased to nine. A Whimbrel and the Parakeet remained on the island and six Redpolls were also seen.


Six-spot Burnet moths have emerged en masse in recent days and over 100 have been counted buzzing around the meadows near Ty Pellaf during the sunny afternoons.

Six-spot Burnets seem to have been recent colonists of Bardsey, only appearing in any number in the last few years. 2010 has already been the best year ever for this species on the island. Burnet moths exhibit a good example of aposematic colouration: their bold black and red markings provide a warning to potential predators that the insects do not make a pleasant meal. Photographs (c) Richard Else

Although it seems that the odd Black Redstart can almost be expected in every month of the year, it was still a pleasant surprise to find one hopping around the abbey ruins. A Lapwing was also found in the morning, a couple of Swifts flew through and the Parakeet remained an increasingly elusive visitor to the peanut feeder.

A Golden Plover was seen again, along with the Turnstone, four Curlews and the first Redshank for a while. A juvenile Cuckoo was in the lowlands, raising the question of whether the species had bred on the island again this year. As it was flying strongly and no suspicious Cuckoo activity was seen during the spring we will probably have to assume that it hatched off the island and arrived here as a migrant. A Black-headed Gull was seen and a couple of Redpolls, a Goldfinch, a Collared Dove and Freddy were still present.

A Golden Plover flew over the South End in the morning and other waders seen included an unseasonal Turnstone, a Whimbrel and the lingering quartet of Curlews. A Grey Heron, a Collared Dove, a Black-headed Gull, the Parakeet and a Swift were seen in the morning, while the best passerines of the day were the Blackcap, a House Martin, two Goldfinches and a Redpoll.

23 Common Scoters, two Sandwich Terns and four Swifts were the highlights of sea passage. A Collared Dove, the Blackcap and the Parakeet all remained on the island.

There was not much change amongst the landbirds on the island, so a bit of attention was turned to the sea in the hope of some offshore passage. Four Sandwich Terns and three distant ‘Commic’ Terns went by, along with seven Common Scoters. Four Curlews were on the coast and the Lapwing, the Blackcap, two Collared Doves and the Parakeet remained present from previous days.

The pleasant weather continued and bird movement was minimal. A Garden Warbler was with the Blackcap at Nant and a Starling, a Heron, a House Martin, two Collared Doves and a Lapwing were present. 15 Common Scoters flew by at sea and Freddy was seen several times visiting the bird feeders at Cristin.

The calm and Sunny conditions prompted a successful search for Thrift Clearwing moths on the South End and West Coast, with at least 24 being found.

A minimum of 24 Thrift Clearwing were recorded today. (c) Richard Brown

A Hobby flying over the island at lunch time was the highlight of the day, and a new bird for the island year-list. Two Grey Herons spent a while circling slowly above the withies, the Ring-necked Parakeet and Cuckoo remained and a rather late Turnstone was in Henllwyn. A Swift and a House Martin passed through and birds lingering from earlier in the week included four Redpolls, three Goldfinches and a Siskin. 

New additions to the list of bird species seen on Bardsey don’t come around very often these days, but the second new bird for the island this year was found early in the morning. It took the surprising shape of a female Ring-necked Parakeet flying around high above the lowlands before settling at Nant for the rest of the day. It may be not be considered a very genuine wild migrant, but it is allowed in ‘category c’ (fully naturalised introduced species) and therefore still ‘counts’ – as much as Canada Geese and our resident Little Owls do anyway.

This Rose-ringed Parakeet answers to the name of Polly but may apparently go on to supplement a feral breeding population... apparently. (c) Richard Brown (the owner can contact us through this blog)

The Cuckoo was still present form the previous day, a Collared Dove was seen and a Siskin, two Goldfinches and two Lesser Redpolls also remained.

The rarity double-act of the previous day appeared to have departed overnight, leaving very little in the way of noteworthy birds behind them. A Cuckoo was the best sighting of the day, with other migrants including a Starling, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Swift and a House Martin. A couple of Siskins, two Goldfinches and four Lesser Redpolls were present around the plantation.

A very regular sight at the moment is of Meadow Pipits provisioning young. Here good numbers of hoverflies were being taken (c) Richard Brown

What looked very much like another unexciting day was suddenly enlivened mid-way through the morning by the astonishing surprise appearance of a White-throated Sparrow at Nant. After perching on top of a fence in front of its stunned finder for a few seconds, the bird flew into the dense cover of the plantation and, although excited Observatory staff and visitors were soon on the scene, it remained stubbornly concealed amongst the foliage.

While waiting for the bird to reappear, the assembled observers became aware of an unfamiliar song coming from the nearby withy. It was quickly identified as the song of Greenish Warbler and, eventually, the bird revealed itself well enough for its identity to be confirmed as it flitted from garden to garden singing repeatedly.

The mist nets were opened and amazingly, a short while later, both the sparrow and the warbler found their way into them at the same time. There is no way of knowing what circumstances led to two vagrant birds from such very different parts of the world – a White-throated Sparrow from North America and a Greenish Warbler from Asia – both finding their way to Bardsey on the same morning, but it must be an incredibly rare event for these species to be seen side by side.

Besides the rare duo, there was really nothing much to report. Four Redpolls and three Siskins were flying around the island, a couple of Collared Doves remained and the three Dunlins were still on the beach.

The first view of this stunning White-throated Sparrow was as it popped up on a fence at Nant for approximately 5 seconds before disappearing into the Plantation (c) Richard Brown

Whilst searching for the sparrow this Greenish Warbler was heard in song! Although very mobile it eventually found a mist net (c) Richard Brown

The best bird of the day was an Arctic Skua – the only one of the year so far – harassing the local Kittiwakes off Pen Cristin. It was otherwise a very quiet day with just the Reed Warbler remaining from the previous day worth mentioning.

A Reed Warbler was singing at Cristin in the morning, and later in the day it was trapped and ringed in Plas Withy. Swifts were a particularly noticeable species during the afternoon, with a screeching flock of 61 feeding high above the island and a number of smaller parties noted passing through. A couple of Willow Warblers, four Chiffchaffs, a Spotted Flycatcher and three Redpolls were seen, and a couple of Golden Plovers were on the South End.

Rain in the night brought in little besides three Sanderlings and a couple of Dunlins. A Heron flew north in the afternoon, 10 House Martins passed through and the single Kestrel and Willow Warbler remained.

A flava Wagtail seen flying overhead was the highlight of the day. Three Redpolls were also seen, along with single Siskin, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, House Martin, Dunlin and Kestrel.

Nine Common Scoters past at sea, a Lapwing on the South End and a single Kestrel were the only bird sightings worth mentioning during an uneventful day.

A late Turnstone and a couple of Kestrels were the highlights of a day that was uneventful even by the standards of the previous few days. Two Collared Doves remained with four Chiffchaffs and a couple of Goldfinches, and three each of Swifts and House Martins went by. A clutch of Skylark eggs on the west coast hatched recently and the chicks were ringed this morning.

Perhaps not the cutest of chicks up close... 

...but Skylark chicks are very well camouflaged in the nest (c) Richard Brown

A Black Redstart at the abbey ruins was the best bird of the day, with other new arrivals very thin on the ground. Six Collared Doves were in the various gardens, along with a Willow Warbler, four Chiffchaffs, two Spotted Flycatchers, four Goldfinches and five Lesser Redpolls. A Kestrel, two Swifts, a Sand Martin and four House Martins flew over, and two Curlews were with a lingering trio of Whimbrels on the coast.

The first trip of the year was made to the nearby Gwylan islands to do some seabird ringing and counting. Many of the Shags and Cormorants were already too big to ring, but the Great Black-backed Gulls and some of the Herring Gulls were at the appropriate stage. A couple of adult Puffins were also caught, and a chick was found in one of the burrows.

Puffins at sea around the Gwylans (c) Richard Brown

Puffin (c) Richard Else

The highlights of the day waited until late in the afternoon before revealing themselves to observers: a Turtle Dove was at Nant and a Cuckoo was on Pen Cristin. Four Lesser Redpolls were present with a couple of Goldfinches, a Sedge Warbler (in addition to the territory-holding birds) was found at Cristin, five Chiffchaffs remained and four Spotted Flycatchers were seen. A couple of Collared Doves, two Whimbrels and a Curlew were still around.

The sunny spell continued and it was another quiet day for birds, although a Firecrest at Nant was a good surprise find in the morning. A female flava Wagtail was seen again, as was the White Wagtail; the number of Dunlins on Solfach rose to 16 and a Sandwich Tern and a ‘Commic’ Tern flew past at sea. A couple of Collared Doves were still around, a Siskin and a Lesser Redpoll were seen and counts of other migrant passerines included three Spotted Flycatchers, a Blackcap, 11 Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler.

Firecrest (c) Steve Stansfield

In past years the first day of June has produced some very good birds and, with this precedent in mind, it was with optimistic anticipation that the island’s birders were out in the field from early in the morning. Sadly, this year it was not to be. A single flava Wagtail was just about as exciting as it got, with very few other new arrivals at all. A lingering White Wagtail was on Solfach, six Spotted Flycatchers, seven Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and a couple of Whitethroats were counted around the island, a couple of Sand Martins and four House Martins were seen and 12 Dunlins were on the beach.