Thursday 7 August 2014

Persistent rain showers overnight to the 6th ensured that there were virtually no new migrants in- a single Swift overhead and a gathering of five Whimbrels, two Common Sandpipers, nine Turnstones and two Ringed Plovers was noted around The Narrows. After almost two month's of absence, a Sparrowhawk finally made an appearance on the island, in the form of a young female. It must have had the impression of arriving in heaven, since hundreds of unwary and unsuspecting young Linnets, Meadow Pipits and Swallows present a rather easy meal.

The 7th was a more eventful day, with a trickle of migrants highlighted by about 50 Willow Warblers, 10 Sedge Warblers and two Spotted Flycatchers. In the bright sunshine and low winds, flocks of hirundines gathered above the trackside in noisy flocks, which included 55 Swallows, 48 House Martins and three Sand Martins. Two Snipe were seen on one of the ponds, feeding rather openly on the muddy edge

This Snipe was one of two which spent much of the day feeding at the edge of 'Pwll Pellaf'. This is seldom seen on Bardsey, with a more standard view of this gallinago being a bird darting out of dense cover upon flushing, and speeding away like a bullet from a gun. It was therefore a nice change to watch this secretive species feeding so openly
Square Spot Darts, a Nationally Scarce species, have just started turning up in the moth traps recently. Numbers have reached as high as 60 a day when traps were set on the mountain top in early September 2010
Yellow-tails are a common moth attracted to the moth traps at the moment- the caterpillar of this species is pictured below an adult

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