Bardsey's Wildlife

Monday, 3 March 2014

March 1st

The numbers of some passerines were noticeably higher than in previous weeks- early signs that spring must be on its way! A count of 49 Meadow Pipits was the highest of the year so far; larger numbers of Wrens, Dunnocks and Robins were apparent around the island, with many males singing out over their proposed territories. A small number of finches seen in the morning included 19 Linnets, a Goldfinch and the first two Greenfinches of the year, whilst a minor corvid passage consisted of 28 Carrion Crows, a Hooded Crow, six Jackdaws and six Ravens. Singles of Merlin and Sparrowhawk were seen around the coast and along the mountainside respectively; two Goldcrests in the island's gardens included one at Cristin and one at Nant. A Red-throated Diver was the most noteworthy bird seen passing by out to sea. A Little Owl was seen near Ty Pellaf during the night.

There have been plenty of male Blackbirds singing on territory around the island in the last few days

Manx Shearwaters usually choose to arrive back on the island during March's new moon. The new moon at the moment may just be a little too early for the iconic birds to return onto the island. However, Manx Shearwaters have been heard as early as the 1st of March (in 2005).

March 2nd

It was back to rather miserable weather on the 2nd, with strong south-westerly winds accompanied by driving rain for much of the day. To suit the downcast mood of the weather, birding was also rather depressing: in conjunction with reports from all across the UK's shores, many seabirds were found dead on the island's beaches, having died of starvation and exhaustion during this winter's stormy weather. A low-tide count of Henllwyn and Solfach revealed a total of 15 dead Razorbills, 1 Guillemot and three Shags (two of which were adult birds).

In terms of living birdlife, a small movement of birds out to sea included 14 Common Scoters, eight Kittiwakes and 15 Guillemots. The pair of Ringed Plovers remained on the The Narrows, whilst six Purple Sandpipers flew around Henllwyn at high tide. A female Sparrowhawk was seen on the hillside above Nant, and a Water Rail was heard in The Withies.

The constant storms of this winter have severely affected huge numbers of seabirds. The numbers of dead seabirds washing up in France have numbered over 20, 000. More information can be found here, here, here, and here. Above: one of about 12 dead Shags recorded since December

The usual pair of Ringed Plovers have returned to the island after their winter's absence. Hopefully they will succeed in raising a brood of chicks this year, which they failed to do last year. This ringed male (above) has returned to the same area for the last three years at least.

The Ringed Plover's adopted pose when two Ravens come careering overhead!

March 3rd

A beautiful day with clear skies and calm winds saw a scattering of slightly different birds around the island: the first Kestrel of the year was seen in Traeth Ffynnon; the Hooded Crow was amongst a few Carrion Crows near Solfach; and four Ravens spent the day flying around the island in pursuit of one and other.

An unfortunate Raven spent the day being pursued ravenously (excuse the pun...) around the island by one of the breeding adults. The new arrival certainly looked somewhat more ragged by the end of the day, having frequently lost feathers to the pursuer.

This smart Kestrel was the first of 2014

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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.