Today was another one of those special Bardsey days that we have come to know and love, sunny throughout with just a slight breeze - pretty ideal, really. It calmed as the day went on too, to leave a pretty flat sea by this evening!

Sam and George both headed out first thing as it was slightly too breezy to open the nets at the Observatory. On leaving, there were two Sedge Warblers and two Willow Warblers singing in the garden, giving hope that some more birds may have arrived overnight.

George headed North and there was another Sedge Warbler singing on the mountainside along with a Common Whitethroat - these are birds that certainly weren't there the day before, so there'd definitely been some sort of arrival since yesterday. Once at Nant, it was quite evident there were more birds around than there have been of late - there were a further three Whitethroats feeding amongst the newly-emerging Bracken and once a walk around the whole plantation was completed, seven were counted in total. There were also a few more Blackcaps and Willow Warblers, with a single Chiffchaff singing from the top of the spruces, too. Two Rooks flew over heading North, and these were quickly followed by a Reed Bunting, our first of the spring and an uncommon bird here on the whole, though slightly more regular on Autumn passage.

Sedge warblers were recorded in their largest numbers so far this year

Sam walked up to Ty Pellaf and had a Whitethroat of his own along with a Sedge Warbler singing in the Willows at the end of their garden. He then headed onto the South End where the long-staying female Lapland Bunting was still present. The first Oystercatcher nest of the year was also found not too far away, it won't be long now until most of the birds on the island are sat on eggs. On the Narrows, there were a few less waders than usual, but still reasonable variety with Curlew, Whimbrel, Oystercatcher and Turnstone. The Wetlands held a few more warblers though, and Ty Pellaf Reedbed held host to six singing Sedge Warblers, with a further seven through the Withies nearby and two Whitethroats here too.

this was the Lapland Bunting's eleventh day on the island - will she stay for two weeks?

an Oystercatcher nest tucked into the clifftops

When George and Sam got back to the Obs, they opened nets in the garden as there were more birds around than there had been earlier on and the wind had died out. Catching was slow, but steady and helped to break up entering this year's ringing data into the BTO's online database 'DemOn'. A Grasshopper Warbler was probably the best bird of the day caught, this is the fifth ringed this year, and a good increase on last year, when only one was ringed.

Grasshopper Warbler

these warblers have a characteristically long beak

On one of the net rounds, Sam spotted (no pun intended) a Spotted Flycatcher in the Sycamore tree at the top of the garden, this is another new bird for the year list, and one we've been expecting over the last couple of days. The highlight of the day was probably a Sedge Warbler caught in the garden which was already wearing a ring, it. was inscribed "WTBIRDS.ORG" - it is currently unknown where this bird was ringed as there was no country on the ring, which perhaps makes it even more exciting! We will add it onto the blog when we find out.

the Sedge Warbler, hopefully we will receive the details of when and where it was ringed soon!

Other birds of note today were: one Peregrine, 91 Oystercatchers, 17 Whimbrels, one Curlew, four Turnstones, two Sand Martins, 33 Swallows, eight House Martins, one Robin, 28 Wheatears, 20 Sedge Warblers, 13 Whitethroats, 25 Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs, 18 Willow Warblers, two Great Tits and one Hooded Crow.

a spectacular Bardsey sunset this evening...

Ringing in the garden produced: Blackcap 8, Willow Warbler 5, Goldfinch 2 and Grasshopper Warbler 1. Total 16 birds of 4 species.

The moth trap caught only two moths last night: 1 Dark Sword Grass and 1 Spectacle.

''The Spectacle."

this view shows why the moth has its name!