Friday 8 August 2014

It was the best day of Autumn 2014 so far today, with clear skies and calm south-easterly winds provoking a good amount of visible migration, as well as the arrival of a smart rarity. First up in the early morning was a Green Sandpiper, which was flushed from the muddy scrape at the edge of Pwll Pellaf. At about 0710, a bird dropped into Cafn giving out the now familiar buzzy call that is characteristic of Citrine Wagtails. A brief search of the shoreline revealed nothing but a male Pied Wagtail, but then another bird popped up, and sure enough it was a smart juvenile Citrine Wagtail. This is only Bardsey's third ever record, but is the second so far this year! After disappearing for most of the morning, the wagtail settled down onto a couple of the ponds, and then favoured Pwll Cain towards the end of the day. In a certain de ja vu situation, the Citrine Wagtail spent the rest of the day happily feeding atop the lilly pads on Pwll Cain, in the exact same place as the May female did on its second day.

In other news, a steady movement of birds southward over the West Side and South End in the morning comprised 348 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, two Mediterranean Gulls, two Sand Martins, 374 Swallows and 188 House Martins. Passerine migrants on the island were centred primarily on the coastline, with relatively few warblers flitting around in the withies or gardens (just six Willow Warblers were seen). Wheatears saw a resurgence in numbers, with 54 recorded, whilst two White Wagtails were amongst small flocks of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits. Two Reed Warblers were seen in the Reed Bed and Cristin respectively, and singles of Spotted Flycatcher and Grasshopper Warbler were also noted.

Bardsey's third Citrine Wagtail, and the second (so far...) this year

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