Sea
passage dominated today’s sightings as the wind increased throughout the day. A
morning gazing over choppy seas produced excellent counts of 51 Fulmars, 152 Manx Shearwaters, 153 Gannets, 107 Common Scoters, 2412 Kittiwakes, seven Arctic Skuas, one Great Skua, 17 Sandwich Terns, 22 Common Terns, 59 Arctic Terns, five ‘commic’ Terns, and 300 Razorbills. Coming through with them were a decent haul of
scarcities with a Sooty Shearwater found first off gliding past
the North End. A fine juvenile Long-tailed
Skua put in a brief appearance chasing Kittiwakes south along the West
Coast. Two separate first-winter Little
Gulls were picked out along the
streams of endless Kittiwakes, as well a flock of three Black Terns, and yet
another Little Tern for the year. A winter plumaged Black Guillemot speeding
past completed the set in an excellent sea-watch.
Not to
be outdone by the sea, the inland bushed pulled one back with the discovery of
juvenile Icterine Warbler in Nant
Withy. The bird put in a few very brief appearances before hiding amongst the
rather windy vegetation. The Melodious
Warbler continues its Bardsey
holiday allowing helpful comparison with the previous species. Singles of Teal and Kestrel were recorded as well as the first Skylark of the autumn. More passage included eight Sand Martins, 50 Swallows,
three Tree Pipits, one Whinchat, ten
Chiffchaffs, nine Willow Warblers, and 14 Goldcrests.
Waders
today proved interesting with one Ringed
Plover, 17 Sanderlings, five Dunlins, five Snipes, 76 Turnstones, and
a massive 73 Bar-tailed Godwits
recorded. The total of 53 Oystercatchers
is the highest count for a few weeks.
A confiding Bar-tailed Godwit that has been feeding on Solfach the last few days
One of the 70-90 Turnstones seen most day on the Narrows
In the
non-avian world Grey Seal pups now number three whilst an
impressive seven Speckled Woods at Nant probably constitutes a
new island record. More research is needed. Lastly, a Hummingbird Hawkmoth
flew along the track between Plas and Carreg Bach.
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