Wednesday 25 December 2013

Happy Christmas from Bardsey!

Christmas eve saw gale-force winds pummelling the island throughout the day, and churning the sea into a seething mass of white water and foam. The seascapes were utterly breathtaking in some areas, although the wind made it hard enough to stand up, let along take images and see what birds may be braving the gales. Most avian wildlife were sheltering in sensible places, and thus rather hard to observe. Nevertheless, a single Jack Snipe was flushed from the southern end of the Ty Pellaf Wetlands, although did not fly far before touching down in the short grass. The flock of Curlews were present in Henllwyn, along with the usual Whimbrel and flock of 64 Oystercatchers.

Christmas day dawned calm, with not a breath of wind in the early hours. This made for a bit of respite, and allowed for a few of the island's smaller birds to appear. A check of the Plantation revealed that Goldcrests had increased in number from a lonesome individual three weeks ago, to five birds today. A small selection of thrushes saw nine Blackbirds and a Song Thrush calling from the island's gardens, whilst seven Starlings toured the lowlands. Out to sea, a feeding flock of 130 Kittiwakes were seen to the West of Solfach, with a single Black-headed Gull amongst them.


Some pictures from yesterday's gale:

 Steve Porter giving the waves some scale, although the true size can never be captured in pictures!
 Herring Gull
 Great Black-backed Gull
 Kittiwake
 Herring Gull battling into the wind, and a sky full of sea foam
 Some more wave scapes
 Razorbill
Herring Gull

1 comment:

  1. After seeing the photos........ WOW! mainly because of the waves rather than the quality of the pictures. I am though impressed by the bravery of the photographer . Have a Happy New Year

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