Sunday 26 April 2020

The early hours of today saw Sam and George head to the Narrows to try and dazzle the year's first Whimbrels and whatever else may be on offer down there. They were successful and returned to the Observatory with two Whimbrels, two Dunlins and a female 'Greenland' Wheatear.
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Whimbrels are colour ringed on Bardsey as part of an ongoing project, here is one colour ring combination 

colour rings increase the chance that these birds will be re-sighted and therefore increasing the recovery rate of these birds - here is the other combination

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Dunlin, their short beaks mean they are adapted to feed on foods at different depths, allowing them to access a different niche to that of Whimbrels and Redshanks for example, therefore reducing competition between the wader species.

Today's weather was rather grim, when we got up there was thick fog surrounding the Obs, making it feel very damp and cold, we couldn't see past the end of the garden!
looking down to the track below the Obs from the garden, rather grim!

The fog only started to shift late morning, at around 10:30am, and as the fog began to lift, it seemed like there had been a small arrival of birds in the garden, with Phylloscopus warblers fly-catching in the open areas and a few Blackcaps feeding on the lawn. George decided to open the nets at the Obs, it turned out to be a case of quality over quantity, but still, it is not to be sniffed at! (Totals at bottom).
this Willow Warbler was the 200th to be ringed so far this season!

Sam headed out once the fog had lifted, away from the Obs, totals of warblers were poor with only a few Sedge WarblersBlackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers noted across the island. However, a new species for the year was added when a Cuckoo started singing in the Lowlands. For many people, these are a traditional herald of spring and for me this is no different, their evocative call takes me back to the first time I heard one quite a few years back.

Other than that, today was very quiet until George headed out dazzling again in the evening. It started pretty normally, after catching a single Dunlin on Solfach, he then then headed over to Henllwyn. A Whimbrel was seen at first, but attention was then diverted to a Grey Plover which it walked past in the torchlight, mega! The Grey Plover was then caught and brought up to the Observatory with the Dunlin to be ringed and processed.
this is only the fourth Grey Plover to be ringed on bardsey, and the first since 2008, making it all the more special, beautiful birds.

the black auxiliary feathers are one of the easiest ways to identify this species in flight, giving them the look of a 'black armpit'.

The Grey Plover and the Dunlin were then taken back down to the Narrows to be released. On the way though, George caught another 'Greenland' Wheatear, a male this time, and managed to catch another Whimbrel near the South End. Again, both were brought back to the Obs and duly ringed and processed, then released. What a great night's work!
another Whimbrel caught last night complete with its set of colour rings, keep an eye out on an estuary near you!
a male 'Greenland' Wheatear, this bird had a fat score of 5, probably suggesting it won't be around for much longer before continuing on its migration. 

Other birds of note today were: eight Shelducks, 83 Oystercatchers, one Purple Sandpiper, five Dunlins, one Snipe, one Bar-tailed Godwit, two Curlews, one Robin, three Sedge Warblers, two Whitethroats, seven Chiffchaffs, 18 Willow Warblers, three Goldcrests and two Great Tits.

Ringing today produced: Blackcap 3, Whitethroat 2, Goldfinch 2, Willow Warbler 7, Chiffchaff 3, Whimbrel 3, Dunlin 3, Wheatear 2, Grey Plover 1. Total 26 birds of 9 species. 

The moth trap last night was productive after being empty for a few consecutive nights. 2 Double-striped Pug, 4 Common Quaker, 3 Hebrew Characters, 1 Angle Shades, 1 White Ermine and 1 PUSS MOTH
a rather tatty individual, with absolutely shot wings, but this represents only the second record of this stunning moth for the island - mega record. 

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