Monday 19 October 2020

The wind really picked up today but the rain didn't come until later this afternoon so Steve, George and Alex headed out to do census this morning. The strong southerly winds meant that conditions weren't ideal for birding, with many of the birds hunkering down out of the wind.

With this in mind, George sea-watched from the North End for two hours and counted 22 Common Scoter, two Teal, 450 Razorbills, seven Mediterranean Gulls, 49 Black-headed Gulls, seven Common Gulls and 121 Kittiwakes

High tide in Cafn

There was also a large number of gulls around the Narrows taking shelter from the rough conditions, most of which were sat on the sea in Solfach. These totalled seven Mediterranean Gulls, 94 Black-headed Gulls, 14 Common Gulls and 99 Herring Gulls

Quite a few waders were also sheltering and feeding around the Narrows and the South End, including two Purple Sandpipers, one Dunlin, one Bar-tailed Godwit, one Whimbrel, 70 Curlews, 19 Redshank and 65 Turnstones. 14 Common Snipe were also seen, 11 of which were in the Wetlands.

With a good number of waders and rough conditions, George and Alex decided to go dazzling this evening. However, once on the Narrows, it seemed that conditions were in fact too rough as most of Solfach and Henllwyn were covered by the sea and thus devoid of birds. George decided to carry on along the coast and spotted a Grey Heron down on the rocks. After clambering down to get to it, he was able to catch it. The bird was then taken to the Obs to be ringed and is only the 7th ever to be ringed on Bardsey, but the second this year! 

Grey Heron

A loose grip is required around the neck for both the safety of the bird and the ringer

Elsewhere, three Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen today, two Swallows were at Nant along with a Brambling, two Siskins, three Fieldfares and a Song Thrush. Other thrush totals from today were 22 Blackbirds and nine Redwings.

Other sightings include: two Merlins, 57 Oystercatchers, two Blackcaps, 40 Chaffinches, two Lesser Redpolls and a Reed Bunting.

Henllwyn covered by the high tide


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