Sunday 3 May 2015

After almost a week of relatively unsettled weather, there was a calm enough respite today to allow for the week's staying visitors to dash across the bouncy Bardsey sound and onto the island. This respite in wind strength and rain also produced some reasonable birding around the island: there was an excellent count of five Garden Warblers made during the day, two of which were trapped, and the first Common Swift of the year darted northward mid-afternoon. Besides the Garden Warblers, there were also 10 Sedge Warblers, three Whitethroats, 23 Blackcaps, 19 Chiffchaffs and 14 Willow Warblers in the vegetated areas . Some more passerine migrant counts comprised 23 Swallows, four House Martins, six White Wagtails and 32 Wheatears. In terms of non-passerines, singles of Black Guillemot, Sandwich Tern and Bar-tailed Godwit were the highlights, although a good show of waders also produced one Ringed Plover, nine Dunlins, 24 Whimbrels and five Curlews.

After a little drop of rain, the vegetation on the island is beginning to spring up, and the wetlands are beginning to liven up with the appearance of Cuckoo Flowers Cardamine pratensis

 
After a lot of coming and going, it seems that the alcids have now settled down onto the cliffs of the East Side, and it will not be long until many are on eggs

A surprised Dung Fly

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