I've lost count of the number of days we've had now recently with wall-to-wall sunshine, no wind and scorching temperatures, but today was another one. The 18 participants on today's guided walk were treated to fantastic views of Choughs and Puffins on Pen Cristin, as well as a nice selection of waders down at Solfach that included yesterday's lingering Bar-tailed Godwits. Aside from the Godwits, the avian highlight of today was probably a Robin at Nant. Ten pairs bred in 2015, eight pairs in 2016 and two pairs bred in 2017, but this year we're struggling to actually find any Robins. To put it into perspective we've logged more Subalpine Warblers in the past two weeks than we have Robins! Perhaps the cold weather in early spring is to blame, but it doesn't look like any Robin are going to breed on Bardsey in 2018.

Today lacked the rare birds we've gotten used to recently, which gave us a bit of time to dedicate to the island activities you don't hear about as much on the blog. The pumpkins were mulched, the rest of the sunflowers we've been growing were planted in the observatory garden and the first island football match of the year was held down on the Narrows. It was a nail-biting game full of wonder goals and well-timed tackles, but in the end the visiting guests beat the islanders 12-8. We let them win obviously.

Other birds noted today included 10 Fulmars, 920 Manx Shearwaters, 8 Gannets, the Grey Heron, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, a Kestrel, a Ringed Plover, a Lapwing, a Sanderling, 21 Dunlins, a Whimbrel, a Curlew, 10 Turnstones, 133 Kittiwakes, 29 Puffins, a Collared Dove, a Little Owl, 15 Swifts, nine House Martins, ten Stonechats, 14 Wheatears, five Sedge Warblers, two Blackcaps, seven Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers, 12 Spotted Flycatchers, five Chaffinches, five Goldfinches, 21 Linnets and a Lesser Redpoll.

The Thrift is starting to look its best. One of the most evocative plants of spring on the West coast.

This evening's sea haze meant that the sun almost manage to sneak below the horizon without anyone noticing. A small orange orb lingering briefly far out into the Irish Sea was all we got. 

This has turned into the spring that keeps giving, so it was perhaps inevitable that the radio call would go out at 06:00 this morning of a singing Greenish Warbler at Nant. It's the classic late spring scarcity that we were hoping would come off the back of these easterly winds. Following the spectacular occurrence of four birds in the spring of 2016, this becomes the 15th record for Bardsey.

The warbler showed fantastically well as the sun slowly rose above the top of the mountain, feeding in a circuit that covered Ty Capel, the gardens around Nant and the Plantation. We lost it on several occasions but the frequent blasts of song it was giving would quickly allow us to relocate it. As the morning wore on the bird became more elusive, but it showed itself again this evening much to the delight of North Wales birder Reg Thorpe who'd make the trip over specially to see it. He now finds himself on this magical Welsh island until Saturday. The horror! The horror!

It was a very picturesque twitch.

Billy, Mark and Ephraim spent the majority of the day continuing seabird monitoring on the nearby Gwylan islands. Puffin burrow counts were the priority, along with ringing any Shag chicks that we may have missed on our previous visit. Half way through the afternoon we were lucky enough to have Raymond come over to transfer us from Ynys Gwylan-fawr to its rarely visited smaller cousin Ynys Gwylan-bach. In the past, most of the seabird counts on the latter island have been made by looking across from Ynys Gwylan-fawr, so to actually set foot on this tiny rock was a bit of a treat. We counted 168 Herring Gull nests (most on eggs), 11 Great Black-backed Gull nests, 12 Cormorant nests (with contents ranging from full-grown fledgelings to eggs) and 22 Shag nests, as well as 122 apparently occupied Puffin burrows.

Back on Bardsey it was down to the two Steves (Steve Obs and Iccy Steve) to do the majority of today's census work and potentially dish out some serious damage with another rarity whilst the guys were off the island. Luckily they did no such thing, and today's supporting cast came to a Fulmar, 23 Manx Shearwaters, nine Gannets, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, two Dunlins, two Bar-tailed Godwits (a bit of an island scarcity), a Whimbrel, a Turnstone, 35 Kittiwakes, three Collared Doves, a Little Owl, a Swift, six Stonechats, eight Wheatears, three Sedge Warblers, two Blackcaps, seven Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers, seven Spotted Flycatchers, three Chaffinches, two Goldfinches, 15 Linnets and the two Lesser Redpolls that have been kicking around for a while now.

Puffins really are just the most fantastical looking things aren't they?

Cormorant nest on Ynys Gwylan-bach.

Looking out to Ynys Gwylan-fawr (big) from Ynys Gwylan-bach (little). A rare view!

Wasp Beetles breed in decaying wood of trees, but there are no trees on the Gwylans! This one landed on my arm as we ate our lunch, presumably having a quick wander over from the nearby mainland.

Looking out across the Sea Campion towards the tip of the Llyn Peninsula, and the faint outline of Bardsey rising from the mist in the far distance.

May has treated us well for rarities so far and the run continued today with a subtly smart-looking female Eastern Subalpine Warbler trapped by Mark at Ty Nessaf. This is the second bird of the spring, following on from the male that graced the observatory garden exactly a week ago. The last time a male and female turned up within such a short time frame was in 2010 when they paired up and started nest building in the garden!

It was yet another beautifully sunny day, but the temperature quickly picked up throughout the morning and by the mid-afternoon had become almost unbearable without a cooling sea breeze. The freezing temperatures of March and early-April certainly seem a distant memory at the moment!

Elsewhere on the island an unseasonal Lapwing toured the island for most of the day and no less than 23 Swifts passed overhead, whilst five Fulmars, 120 Manx Shearwaters, 19 Gannets, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, two Peregrines, seven Dunlins, two Whimbrels, a Curlew, four Turnstones, 118 Kittiwakes, nine Puffins, a Collared Dove, 12 Swallows, 15 House Martins, a Whinchat, three Stonechats, 23 Wheatears, five Sedge Warblers, two Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, four Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler, a Goldcrest, 18 Spotted Flycatchers, four Chaffinches, two Goldfinches, nine Linnets and a Lesser Redpoll made up the rest of the counts. 

Note the white wedge extending up T5 (the second most outer-tail feather) as well as onto T4 that support the identification of an Eastern race bird (ssp. albistriata).

We spent most of the afternoon counting Herring Gull nests and Guillemots on ledges. Many of the Gull eggs have hatched already and there are quite a few auk eggs about. Over the next few weeks seabird monitoring will dominate our daily tasks and we'll be spending a lot of time around the East Side of the island - the seabird season is definitely in full swing!

It was another calm and muggy day on Bardsey. A bank of fog rolled in off Cardigan Bay during the morning, making census a bit of struggle since we couldn't see three metres in front of us at times, but it soon lifted to reveal a beautiful day and a clear out of migrants. The second Stock Dove of the year was on the South End and a Grey Wagtail flew over, but perhaps the most unusual record of the day was a Mistle Thrush found in the gorse on the West Coast late in the evening. This species is an uncommon passage migrant in early spring and autumn, but a record in late May almost unheard of! With the island's recent spell of scarcities it briefly got the mind racing when it first popped up as a distant large thrush-shaped silhouette!

Other birds today included 815 Manx Shearwaters, four Gannets, three Cormorants, 22 Shags, a Grey Heron, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, a Kestrel, a Peregrine, a Sanderling, seven Dunlins, a Curlew, eight Puffins, two Collared Doves, a Little Owl, a Swift, two Stonechats, 11 Wheatears, a Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, three Blackcaps, three Chiffchaffs, four Willow Warblers, just three Spotted Flycatchers, four Chaffinches and 17 Linnets.

The moth trap held the first Small Elephant Hawk-moth of the year, whilst out on the coastline hundreds of migrant Diamond-back Moths (Plutella xylostella) were flushed underfoot. These are part of a wider nationwide influx taking place at the moment.

The Lighthouse was floating above the island this morning. Weird.

When the winds are coming from the right direction millions (perhaps even billions) of Diamond-back Moths can arrive in the UK. There were at least several hundred scattered along the coastline this evening. It'll be interesting to see if any turn up in the moth trap tonight.

Last night's moon was so bright that I could clearly watch the thunderstorm moving west over Snowdonia towards us as I walked back to the Lighthouse at midnight, but luckily by the time it reached us I was tucked up in bed. The worst of the weather had all but cleared by dawn, leaving behind another nice wave of migrants for us to enjoy over the course of the day. A Red-breasted Flycatcher found at Ty Nesaf mid-morning was the first since 8th October 2016 and a really nice way to start the day following an unsuccessful attempt by half the wardening team to pin down a warbler in the Withies that gave a very brief burst of song reminiscent of Melodious Warbler. 

There was a fine supporting cast of common migrants during the day, with a male Common Redstart kicking about by the Lighthouse, three Whinchats in the Wetlands, a Yellow Wagtail on the South End and a fair number of Spotted Flycatchers remaining after yesterday's influx. An Osprey flided over the mountain in the afternoon and a Pomarine Skua flew north up the West Coast. The day was rounded off when the Blyth's Reed Warbler reappeared in the garden, giving brief bursts of song (but remaining hidden) as we ate dinner!

Other birds logged today included a Red-throated Diver off the South End, 865 Manx Shearwaters, ten Gannets, a Grey Heron, a Sparrowhawk, two Peregrines, a Ringed Plover, six Dunlins, a Whimbrel, two Turnstones, three Black-headed Gulls, 156 Kittiwakes, a Sandwich Tern, two Arctic Terns, three Collared Doves, a Little Owl, ten Swifts, a flava Wagtail, five Stonechats, six Wheatears, ten Sedge Warblers, ten Whitethroats, two Garden Warblers, four Blackcaps, seven Chiffchaffs, 16 Willow Warblers, 38 Spotted Flycatchers, nine Chaffinches, six Goldfinches, 23 Linnets and two Lesser Redpolls.

Red-breasted Flycatcher is one of those scarce birds that can almost be expected annually on Bardsey. Surprisingly, 2017 was a completely blank year for the species, so everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief when Mark radioed out to say he'd found one just outside his garden this morning.

The second Osprey of the year flew over the mountain.

Perhaps the most significant record of the day was a moth. A very tatty looking Light Knot Grass found on the South End cliffs is the first record for the island of what is usually a species of moorland and bogs. It had without a doubt been blown over from the mainland (perhaps as far as Snowdonia) during last night's strong easterly gales. 

It was a day of humid and unsettled weather with huge clouds, thunderstorms and a little bit of blue sky to end with. 

No one had any trouble getting out of bed this morning after yesterday's shenanigans. Early morning radio messages from the South End suggested another good movement of migrant birds, with 16 Whitethroats, two Common Redstarts and a Short-eared Owl all noted in the gorse around the Lighthouse compound. It was a similar situation further up the island, but what was quickly becoming apparent was the sheer numbers of Spotted Flycatchers that were moving through the island. We often say it when describing decent movements of Willow Warblers but not when to comes to Spotted Flycatchers - there seemed to be a bird in ever patch of scrub today. It's always hard to accurately judge the number of birds present during an influx, but estimates suggested 35 in the Plantation, 28 in the observatory garden and 19 in the Withies alone. The final total at log was a fantastic 115 birds. There's certainly no doubting today's star bird!

Other birds logged on another busy day included two Fulmars, 85 Manx Shearwaters, seven Gannets, the first Little Egret of the year, two Sparrowhawks (the pair have a nest in the Plantation with four eggs), two Peregrines, four Sanderlings, ten Purple Sandpipers, 13 Dunlins, five Whimbrels, three Turnstones, two Black-headed Gulls, nine Sandwich Terns, three Arctic Terns (displaying to each other and even carrying fish!), two Collared Doves, nine Swifts, a Sand Martin, 50 Swallows, 75 House Martins, a flava Wagtail, a Black Redstart, three Redstarts, a Whinchat, five Stonechats (including four juveniles at Nant), nine Wheatears, 20 Sedge Warblers, 32 Whitethroats, five Blackcaps, 19 Chiffchaffs, 21 Willow Warblers, a Starling, four Chaffinches, 18 Goldfinches and a Lesser Redpoll.

Bardsey often hosts impressive numbers of Spotted Flycatchers on migration up through the Irish Sea. Whereabouts these birds are heading to is a bit of a mystery. Do they simply dissipate out across the mainland or are some of them destined for Scandinavia? 

It's been a couple of weeks since we last saw a Common Redstart.

Orange tips are a surprisingly rare sight on Bardsey given the decent populations of Cuckooflower across the island. Today's very warm weather attracted a single male onto the wing around the bluebells behind the Plantation which looks to be the first record since 2012. The fact that they can go years without showing up would hint at the possibility of vagrancy from the mainland.

The bluebells are looking great this year, turning up in places they haven't previously flowered. Just ask the Orange-tip!

I’m not sure how to start today’s blogpost. It was one of those “classic” days in late May were you just don’t know where to run, because there could be anything around any corner. The day began with a report of a strange sounding Acrocephalus Warbler singing intermittently in the South End gorse. People slowly converged on the area, but the bird unfortunately had no interest in revealing itself, staying very low, giving only occasional flight views. The bird was later identified as a BLYTH’S REED WARBLER, and was heard again in the observatory garden later in the afternoon. This is only the fourth record for the island and fifth for Wales!

This could easily have been enough excitement for one day, but barely had we finished breakfast before another enthusiastic radio call went out of a male BLUETHROAT, again on the South End. Once again we all piled into the buggy to rush back down, stopping briefly to pick up Steve from the Narrows who had just flushed a Quail! After we ran the last few hundred yards into the South End gorse we were all treated to sporadic views of a male White-spotted Bluethroat, a mega rare bird for the island with the last record in May of 2001. This will coincidently also become the fourth record for the island. The fact it was of the subspecies L.s.cyanecula was also a big surprise since this is the first confirmed record of this subspecies in North Wales and should have moved through by early April at latest with May usually only producing Red-spotted variants from Scandinavia or Northern Europe.

Today held two outstanding rarities for the island and for Britain, but the supporting cast was nothing to turn your nose up to. Waders were once again present today, with presumably a large turnover throughout the day, however today three Ringed Plovers, four Sanderlings, 13 Dunlins, three Whimbrels, one Curlew and one Turnstone were logged. Out to sea the highlights amongst the usual Auks and Shearwaters were seven Common Scoters, one Sandwich Tern and two Arctic Terns. A Cuckoo was seen at Cristin late in the afternoon, whilst overhead passage consisted of three Sand Martins, 29 Swallows and nine House Martins. A Whinchat was quite a local scarcity with only a handful of records this year surprisingly. Warblers comprised of nine Sedge Warblers, one Reed Warbler, five Whitethroats, two Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs and four Willow Warblers. Finally, some 17 Spotted Flycatchers were recorded another respectable day total.

Blyth's Reed Warbler

A veritable barrage of photographs to satisfy even the most Bluethroat centric of our followers

It was a bit of a typical May day today, the light cloud cover saw a few new migrants arrive in, but there were no real large numbers to be seen, instead it felt rare.

A small group of Waders on the Narrows contained a decent variety with two Sanderlings, seven Dunlins and eight Turnstones, also on and around the rocks were two Whimbrels and two Curlews. Overhead, a small number of hirundines made their way through with 79 Swallows and 29 House Martins logged also noted were two Swifts. A Black Redstart was the only unusual bird noted today, but a good scattering of other migrants made from pleasant birding today. Warbler totals consisted of five Sedge Warblers, one Reed Warbler, one Whitethroat, five Blackcaps, 13 Chiffchaffs and four Willow Warblers. Also logged today were a respectable 12 Spotted Flycatchers and two Lesser Redpolls.

Spotted Flycatcher have been moving through at a reasonable pace with double figures recorded for the past few days, May often sees a steady trickle of this charismatic and heavily declining species

Sedge Warbler

Today’s calm easterly airflow saw a small but noticeable arrival of migrants. It was another glorious day with scorching sun from the point the sun broke the mountain top until when it set over the West Coast in the evening. Early morning counts out to sea saw a total of 2274 Manx Shearwaters pass by, the highest count this season. On the beaches three Ringed Plovers, 22 Dunlins and eight Turnstones were the first fair arrival of waders in a few days. Overhead passage slowed down a little today, but three Swifts, 46 Swallows and seven House Martins were still recorded.

On the land however, migrants seemed to be on the up, a Black Redstart was the avian highlight of the day in the Lighthouse compound, whilst ten Wheatears were scattered around the coastline. A few migrant warblers were logged today as well, skulking around the vegetation, a total of 19 Sedge Warblers, 12 Whitethroats, four Blackcaps, 14 Chiffchaffs, three Willow Warblers and a Goldcrest were logged, finally this season’s highest count of Spotted Flycatchers was logged at 16.

Though avian diversity was reasonable today, the highlight of the day came in the form of a moth instead. A Netted Pug trapped at Cristin was only the second record for the island, and the first to be trapped at the Observatory in 40 odd years of trapping! The fact that it is a sedentary species whose food plant is Sea Campion, suggests that there is a very localised population on the island, dedicated trapping of certain areas could potentially produce more records of this attractive species.

Netted Pug

Netted Pug in its natural environment (it is in there honest)

Billy admiring the sunset

The day began with a brisk but pleasant northerly breeze, the sunshine of late remained for another day and enveloped the island for the day. Migrants were naturally scarce on the ground, but quantity was replaced by quality today.

There are some birds on Bardsey that seem an inevitability, but a much anticipated one, one such species graced the island today, a male Subalpine Warbler of the subspecies S.c.albistriata. This stunning individual was in the observatory garden for much of the day, giving off a checkering sub-song in irregular intervals. Though skulky at times, good views were enjoyed by all throughout the day. This becomes the 33rd record for the island following another male in 2016. In the past two decades the island has enjoyed an incredible run of records of this species, and is easily the best sight on the west coast to see Subalpine Warbler with at least one, near enough, guaranteed per year on the island!

Few other birds were noted today, though the evening did bring a movement of Hirundines with a Sand Martin, 133 Swallows and ten House Martins, three Swifts were also noted over the Mountain. On the land total climaxed to six Stonechats, one Sedge Warbler, one Blackcap, seven Chiffchaffs, one Willow Warbler, four Spotted Flycatchers and a Lesser Redpoll.

male Subalpine Warbler at Cristin, the obvious and bold moustache, richer red breast not extending too far onto the belly, and the white wedge in T5 all point to this being of the Eastern subspecies albistriata

Another beautiful evening looking over the Irish Sea as the sun set

Despite the promise of a calm South-easterly airflow today, migrants were incredible scarce on the ground, though at this time of year it’s about as likely to pick out a Garden Warbler as a Subalpine Warbler. Out to sea the first notable movement of Manx Shearwaters was noted with a total of 1669 recorded throughout the day. Two Sanderlings appeared briefly on the Narrows as did three Whimbrels and a Curlew. Amazingly we still have yet to get our annual Swift day, but hopefully the three logged today will bring us one step closer. Also overhead were 128 Swallows and 34 House Martins. Four Sedge Warblers, two Blackcaps, ten Chiffchaffs and a Siskin were the only other migrants noted today.

The island is looking fantastic at the moment, with Cow Parsley flowering along the edges of many of the island's footpaths.

The first Knot Grass of the year was in the moth trap along with two Foxglove Pugs, three Angle Shades and two Flame Shoulders. 

It was a mixed bag of a day today, some more beautiful sunshine and clear skies today saw a small arrival of birds on the land and a few pass out to sea. Guillemot, Razorbill and Manx Shearwaters were some of the most abundant with 432, 160 and 335 recorded respectively, but a single Common Scoter was an unusual sight at this time of year and 50 Puffins were a crowd pleaser. A Kestrel was new in, hunting along the mountain. Down by the beaches and rocks a Purple Sandpiper was the pick of the bunch amongst a Dunlin and six Turnstones. Four of the Collared Doves were still present today, an influx dare I say of this island scarcity. Overhead passage culminated to three Sand Martins, 156 Swallows, 38 House Martins and a Tree Pipit, whilst on the land, migrant passerines amounted to ten Wheatears, two Sedge Warblers, eight Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers and seven Spotted Flycatchers.

Kittiwakes back on their ledges ready for the breeding season to start