Tuesday 21 October 2014


The island was a tad windswept today, at times it was difficult to stand, especially on The Narrows. The forceful westerly winds took foam and sea spray right to the Cristin garden.

Bird-wise, these crazy winds provided the best sea passage seen this year. The first Grey Phalaropes of the year sped past over tumultuous seas with a total of six individuals passing over the course of the day. An impressive four adult Long-tailed Skuas (together in a single flock), six Pomarine Skuas, seven Arctic Skuas, and 12 Great Skuas were seen heading south along the West Coast. There was plenty of gull action too, with three juvenile Sabine's Gulls, five Mediterranean Gulls, three 1st winter Little Gulls, 106 Black-headed Gulls, 177 Herring Gulls, and 1262 Kittiwakes recorded during the day. As if that wasn't enough, one Leach's Petrel passed the North End briefly, one Black-throated Diver headed south, and a superb summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver came past too. And finally, 3638 Razorbills, one Common Tern, four Golden Ploversone Fulmar, nine Manx Shearwaters, six Wigeons, two Common Scoters, and two Mallards completed the days epic tally.

Unsurprisingly, the winds made it extremely difficult searching for migrants inland, with just two Chiffchaffs and three Goldcrests around the island. The Narrows were even harder to census but 16 Oystercatchers, 50 Curlews, seven Redshanks, and eight Turnstones could still be seen. One interesting bird did manage to show itself on the island today though. A single Greenland White-fronted Goose was spotted as it cruised south over Cristin, touching down on the South End, before finally settling in Traeth Fennon. An excellent addition to the year. Though recorded almost annually as a flyover, this is the first bird to set foot on the island since 1996.

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