Bardsey's Wildlife

Friday 30 September 2016

Inland a good variety of species were represented although not in huge numbers. A 'Flava' Wagtail called as it flew north through the centre of the island, appearing to head towards the cattle gathered there but was lost out of sight and not seen again. A Lapland Bunting took a similar path over the island just minutes beforehand but instead carried on and didn't appear to stop over. Amazingly the two Melodious Warblers, the long staying bird at the observatory and the recent addition in the Withies, were still present. The latter of the two, the unringed bird, finding its way into an open mist net later in the day. A Pied Flycatcher, new in, put in a brief appearance at the Plantation where Goldcrests were still in good numbers, 38 in total, most of which were at Nant.

Blackcaps had risen to five individuals today whilst Phylloscopus numbers trailed off with just three Chiffchaffs and three Willow Warblers seen. Passage of finches occurred again, not in great numbers but the start of the main passage to come. Chaffinches recorded came to six birds, four Siskins spent the morning at Nant and 56 Goldfinches were seen. Pipits were represented in decent numbers again with 125 Meadow Pipits and 51 Rock Pipits, whilst wagtails amounted to three flyover Grey Wagtails, ten Pied Wagtails situated mostly around the Narrows along with seven White Wagtails, and 12 'Alba' Wagtails which also passed overhead. One of the highest counts of Skylarks so far this Autumn totalled 12, with most of them favouring in the stubble fields in the North West of the island. A Kestrel continued to hunt through the Lowlands and along the mountainside whilst a Peregrine stooped overhead and a Sparrowhawk stalked Meadow Pipits over Nant. Corvids were again present in good numbers, in particular Ravens of which 18 were recorded today in a flock over the mountain during the morning. Magpies roosting in the older trees of the Plantation numbered 22, 14 Choughs and 22 Carrion Crows were also recorded.

Other birds noted included 33 Mallards on the West Coast, two Grey Herons, a Water Rail, three Little Owls, 18 Swallows, 22 Robins, 17 Stonechats and seven Blackbirds.

Late in the day a bird was discovered up at Nant favouring the willows adjacent to the Plantation and the side of the mountain. It was extremely difficult to pin down with most views of the bird skulking amongst the vegetation there, however this un-streaked Acrocephalus Warbler showed many plumages features of Blyth's Reed Warbler, pale uniform grey-brown upper parts, short primary projection, plain tertials and short supercilium not extending much past the eye. The bird's call Was also good for Blyth's Reed Warbler. However as the light faded viewing became almost impossible and the bird soon disappeared or settled down to roost. Lets hope it decides to stick around until tomorrow!!

Skua passage past the island in the last weeks has been fantastic with individuals being seen on most days of the week, today was again another good day of skua passage. A Pomarine Skua in the morning was a treat as it powered past the north hide at a fairly close range, and by the end of the day 13 Arctic Skuas and three Great Skuas had been counted. The most numerous species off the coast today were Kittiwake and Razorbill, 1,740 and 1,345 logged respectively. Other species although not so numerous were seen in respectable numbers, 65 Manx Shearwaters, 167 Gannets and 46 Common Scoters. Additional birds seen included a small passage of waders, 38 Dunlins and 12 Ringed Plovers. A dapper adult Mediterranean Gull, 87 Black-headed Gulls, three Commic Terns and three Guillemots.

Number of Waders still held a presence, although dropping off slightly. An additional seven Ringed Plovers were around the Narrows, six Purple Sandpipers hid amongst the rocks close by and 42 Oystercatchers, two Snipes, 62 Curlews, four Redshanks and 44 Turnstones were also seen.

A Common Dolphin off the West Coast was a pleasant addition to the day as was the presence of a Migrant Hawker. To add to the that three Hummingbird Hawk Moths buzzed around the Fuchsia's franticly feeding and two Small Coppers, six Red Admirals, a Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell and Silver Y were the only Lepidoptera to be recorded.

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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.

Bardsey's Wildlife

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Friday 30 September 2016

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