Highlight of today was yesterdays Hoopoe which reappeared at Ty Pellaf in the afternoon and showed reasonably well but was still flightily! Ringing in the morning was successful with our first Pied Flycatcher of the year and first few Spotted Flycatchers of the year as well. Three were trapped and ringed and 9 were seen in total.

Pied Flycatcher © Ewan Turner

15 Sedge Warblers, two Whitethroats, one Garden Warblers, seven Blackcaps, 17 Dunlins, 21 Whimbrels and two Common Sandpipers were also recorded. We also colour-rinnged our first Stonechat chicks of the year this afternoon!

First Stonechat chick colour-ringed © Ewan Turner

Hoopoe © Dylan Donnely

Hoopoe © Steve Stansfield

The warmth and still weather was almost akin to the Mediterranean on the island today but the question hung over our heads, would the birds respond to the improvement in conditions?

The answer was relatively quick with a lovely Nightingale found singing deep in the scrub in the Observatory garden, before being trapped and ringed early in the morning, an excellent life-tick for Ewan and an irregular migrant on the island. 

Nightingale (C) Steve Stansfield

Greg, who had been trying to rustle something up on the South End, decided to miss out on the Nightingale but managed to make his own luck when on his umpteenth scan of all the fences and bushes on the island, his binoculars fixed onto a superb Woodchat Shrike on a fence west of Ty Pellaf! The first record since 2021 of this colourful and much hoped for southern overshoot. Fortunately, the bird stuck around for an admiring crowd and showed very well along the fenceline, despite getting a bit of stick from the local Stonechats. However, it soon flew north into the central lowlands of the island and disappeared.

Woodchat Shrike with a Chiffchaff photobombing (C) Greg Lee

Woodchat Shrike (C) Steve Stansfield

The Mediterranean theme was not done for the day just yet, however, as whilst attempting to refind the Shrike, Ewan then discovered the fifth Hoopoe of the season in the North-west Fields which would then head south after giving everyone some flight views. Whilst walking along the West Coast to catch up with the Hoopoe, it was then Steve's turn to tap into the spring overshoot vein with a Red-rumped Swallow blasting northward over the island in the company of two Sand Martins!

Other notables on the island during the day included yet another Hooded Crow loitering on the Narrows with the Carrion Crows, two Ringed Plovers, a Kestrel around Pen Cristin, two Dunlins over the South End and an increase in Blackcaps and Sedge Warblers. Up to 49 Whimbrels were feeding around the South End, West Coast and Narrows in the morning. 

Whimbrel (C) Steve Stansfield 

It wasn't just the scarcities on the bird-front either, with a Water Carpet in the Observatory moth-trap just the seventh record for the island. 

Water Carpet (C) Greg Lee

A rather quiet day today with the highlight being a Bar-Tailed Godwit on Solfach this morning. 11 Whimbrel were seen across the island, four of which were trapped and added to our colour-ringing project this evening. Four Turnstone and a single Curlew were the only other waders recorded today. One of the Whimbrels seen today was already wearing colour-rings and was ringed on the island in 2022! Great to see this bird passing through the island once again whilst on its way to its breeding grounds in the north!

Whimbrel ringed on the island in 2022 (C) Ewan Turner

Another Whimbrel added to the project! (C) Greg Lee

Five Sedge Warblers, four Chiffchaffs, seven Willow Warblers, 30 Swallows, five House Martins and a Red Kite were also recorded today.

A rather blustery, grey day on the island but there were a few highlights to be had for those who ventured out. Our first Arctic Terns of the year were recorded with a pair heading north offshore mid-afternoon and our first Sanderling of the year in Henllywn was hopefully an advance party for the upcoming May wader passage. A Garden Warbler and a Sedge Warbler were in the Withies, two White Wagtails were at Solfach and common migrants were in relatively short supply with four Willow Warblers, five Blackcaps and eight Chiffchaffs making up the rest of the slim pickings. Whimbrels had also cleared out with just 15 recorded across the island.

Dazzling bycatch! A Wood Mouse on the Narrows last night. (C) Greg Lee

There are still some nest-sites to be claimed this year but a recent uptick in activity for our Choughs has sparked promise that these vacancies won't be occurring for too much longer. (C) Greg Lee

An early start today to get the Obs cleaned and ready for the next group of guests to arrive. We said goodbye to the 12 Bangor University who joined us for the first of this years University weeks. A fantastic week with some great birds and we hope that all the students had a great time! 

A fairly quiet day for birds with 34 Whimbrels, three Black-Headed Gulls, two Sandwich Terns, one Dunlin, 35 Swallows, 18 Sand Martins, four House Martins and 18 Wheatears the only birds of note.

The end of the Bangor University week! (C) Steve Stansfield

 The last full day of the trip from Bangor University and the weather unfortunately was rather dark and dreary. On the plus side though, the migrants seemed to have come in with at least one Cuckoo having passed through, first seen on the Mountain but a smart feather was found in the Withies. There was also a couple of new birds for the year with a Lesser Whitethroat and two Garden Warblers in the Withies which were joined by a new male Firecrest. Other migrant totals included 40 Willow Warblers, 23 Chiffchaffs, 26 Blackcaps, six Sedge Warblers, three Grasshopper Warblers, three Tree Pipits, seven Lesser Redpolls and one Whitethroat. A large Pipit sp. was disappointingly elusive and vanished into the Gorse on the Mountain before it could be clinched. 

Firecrest (C) Nathan Jackson

Garden Warbler (C) Nathan Jackson

The Whimbrels continue to increase with up to 40 favouring the South End and the Narrows at times, two of which were caught after dark and ringed. Other notable sightings included a Ringed Plover, a Purple Sandpiper, a male Chaffinch, a Collared Dove and the lingering Gadwall pair. 

The skulking Sedge Warbler at Nant in the evening murk (C) Greg Lee

The day of the University bird race and as such, coverage of the island was almost constant throughout the day as three teams competed to get the highest bird total. 

Highlights found during the race included two Canada Geese off the North End, two Rooks on the South End, the Gadwall pair, our first Black-headed Gull of the year touring just offshore, a Ringed Plover, a Purple Sandpiper and flyovers of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll. Migrant totals included three Grasshopper Warblers, four Sedge Warblers, 12 Willow Warblers, six Chiffchaffs, three White Wagtails, 55 Swallows, 32 Sand Martins and four House Martins. The results were very close with the winning team captained by Greg achieving 53 species and also proving that the early bird catches the worm, as they were out at 6am to join Greg for his breeding bird census up on the Mountain! This is despite missing out on some expected species such as Peregrine and Merlin. 

Purple Sandpiper- one of the highly prized species sought by our teams (C) Nathan Jackson

In the evening, it was time for the quiz with a very close result with a sudden death round needing to determine who was the winning team, rounds included feather ID, botanical knowledge, invertebrates and even a topical bonus round on the papacy! Ewan's team just managed to clinch victory with some extremely impressive anagram solving speed on display from all teams.

The teams ready for action (C) Steve Stansfield

A still, calm morning after a lashing from the rain overnight. As the rain had only stopped at dawn, there seemed to be less birds about with 19 Wheatears, eight Willow Warblers, four Chiffchaffs, one White Wagtail, 45 Swallows, four House Martins and seven Sand Martins. Whimbrel numbers are beginning to increase with up to 18 recorded around the island today. A trip around the East side for the students on the boat courtesy of Gareth allowed views of the seabirds colonies which are beginning to build although numbers where slightly low in the mid-afternoon. 

Kittiwakes on the cliffs (C) Nathan Jackson

The Puffins proved to be popular with close views on the water. (C) Greg Lee

In the afternoon, a rockpooling session with the students was successful with a Risso's Crab being the first documented record for Bardsey, this species usually being found further south.  

The rather smart Risso's Crab (C) Steven Stansfield

A photo in it's natural habitat (C) Yolanda Evans

Gem Anemone (C) Steven Stansfield

In the evening, the students were taken out to do some more Manx Shearwater ringing, with plenty of these birds founds in the North West Fields. 

 Calm weather today with not a great deal of movement. A long seawatch by some keen students produced 136 Manxies, 58 Gannets, 49 Kittiwakes, 123 Puffins and 200 Auks over the course of the day. 13 Whimbrel and one Curlew were recorded across the island, along with 71 Oystercatchers on the Narrows. 

A few passerines wee seen with one Skylark, four Sand Martins and 24 Swallows were recorded overhead. 25 Wheatears, 11 Chiffchaff, 17 Willow Warblers, two Siskins and two Redpolls were also recorded.

After dark two Whimbrels were colour-ringed which many of the students were excited to see!

Colour-ringed Whimbrel (C) Steve Stansfield 

Students getting some Whimbrel ringing experience (C) Ewan Turner

Rain first thing this morning but it had soon cleared into a bright day. The Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll was still present feeding down near the Boathouse early morning but presumably had moved off of the island once the weather had improved. On the migrant front, a single Grasshopper Warbler was at Ty Pellaf, ten Willow Warblers and five Chiffchaffs were across the island, the Sedge Warbler was still in the reedbed. Around the South End, the young Peregrine was performing well for the students as was the regular Merlin.

Perhaps overlooked but the Green Tiger Beetles are stunning creatures, especially when photographed as well as this. (C) Nathan Jackson

The young Peregrine continues to loiter around the island with some great views to be had. (C) Nathan Jackson

Today the weather finally turned favourable! A mad rush during changeover to prepare for the 12 Bangor University Students who arrived at mid-day, ready to take part in the first of this years University weeks. They spent the first couple of hours getting settled in  before Greg and Steve took them for a guided walk around the island. The students had only been on the island a few hours before they got to jam in on a rare bird, when Greg spotted a chunky white bird feeding with Linnets on the Narrows during the guided walk. It was a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll, a first for Wales!

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll (C) Steve Stansfield

Next to a Linnet! (C) Steve Stansfield

(C) Steve Stansfield

We watched the bird for quite some time and even got to hear it sing, before it headed off towards the Withies with the flock of Linnets. A pretty good start to the uni week!

Students listening to introductory talks!

A good supporting cast were also on the island today, firstly with a Greenshank over the South End this morning. The first Sedge Warbler of the year was singing in Ty Pellaf reedbed and three Grasshopper Warblers were recorded across the island. 35 Willow Warblers, 27 Chiffchaffs and 12 Blackcaps were recorded along with a Black Redstart on the Narrows. 20 Sand Martins, 18 Swallows, 26 Wheatears, nine Whimbrels two Goldcrests, one Firecrest and two Skylarks were also recorded. The Gadwall pair still remain on the island, splitting their time between the pond in the Wetlands.

Another wet day on the island with little promise of movement occurring with just 14 Willow Warblers, two Whimbrels, two Sandwich Terns, a Grasshopper Warbler and the first Pied Flycatcher of the year, which was seen at Nant as well as the resident Firecrest. Tomorrow the University of Bangor are arriving for a week to hopefully enjoy the best of spring migration as well as the many perks Bardsey has to offer.  It is going to be a busy week! 

The recent rains have restocked many of the streams and wetlands on the island and reminded staff to not ditch their wellies just yet! (C) Greg Lee

 Another rather wet day today with South Westerly winds, however there were a few migrants dotted around the island. The small amount of wind allowed for a little bit of sea passage to be visible from the South End hide, highlighted by the first Arctic Skua of the year chasing one of 36 Manx Shearwaters seen during the seawatch. A Gannet, three Kittiwakes and a single Fulmar were also seen.

Two Whitethroats were seen on the island today with one in the Withies and one at Nant, ten Blackcaps were seen across the island along with 24 Willow Warblers, three Chiffchaffs and the Firecrest remained at Nant. Three Whimbrel were on the Narrows and two Sparrowhawks remain at Nant.

A wet day brightened up by some Marsh Marigold in the Withies! (C) Ewan Turner 

A calm and sunny day was very welcome for residents, visitors and birds alike. A Whitethroat by the Lime Kiln was our first for the year and a small representative of a modest arrival in warblers on the island with 67 Willow Warblers, 31 Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps and a Grasshopper Warbler. A pulse of hirundines was noted in addition with 93 Swallows joined by up to 19 Sand Martins, many of which were hawking along the West Coast in the afternoon. 

Elsewhere, a Tree Pipit flew over the Observatory, the Firecrest remained at Nant, the Gadwall pair were still lingering though they appeared to warp space and time as they were sighted throughout the day in various locations and a Hooded Crow flew northwards before being seen later flying out to sea towards Ireland, which was clearly visible in the early evening. Finch movement also seemed to be occurring with several Goldfinches ringed at the Observatory through the morning and two Lesser Redpolls and a Siskin flying overhead.

Linnet (C) Greg Lee

 After rain all night and into the early morning there was a handful of Willow Warblers active in the garden during a brief dry and calm period this morning. 11 were recorded and a few were trapped and ringed. However, the weather soon turned again and became very wet for the remainder of the day, so there were few sightings of note.

The Gadwall pair were present for their second day in the wetlands along with a single Snipe. Two each of Whimbrel and Redshank were recorded on the Narrows along with a single Common Sandpiper. Six Swallows, 15 Wheatears and 24 Goldfinches were also seen across the island.

The thick cloud cover made it a dark enough night for some Manx Shearwater ringing, with 70 new birds ringed and 41 re-traps. The highlight was a bird ringed as an adult in 1999!

Manxy originally ringed in 1999! (C) Ewan Turner

 

An improvement on the weather front but only slightly as the heavy rain conveniently decided to delay its arrival until later in the day. Though most expected migrants were in short supply, there was some quality to be had with a flock of four Hooded Crows first spotted at the North End, before reappearing as a trio over Solfach before landing on the Narrows. In addition, a pair of Gadwalls flushed up from the Wetlands was our second sighting of the year of this scarce visitor to the island. Other sightings of note consisted of a pair of Teals at Henllywn, two Sandwich Terns at Solfach and an increase to Whimbrels with seven noted around the island this morning. 

Hooded Crow (C) Greg Lee

The weather turned abjectly foul once darkness had fallen complete with lashing down rain and swirling winds. Still, attention was turned to some lamping resulting in our first Meadow Pipit to be ringed this season followed by a dedicated wander for Manx Shearwaters, many of which have alighted onto the island during the recent poor weather with 18 ringed.

Meadow Pipit (C) Greg Lee

Persistent rain and strong south westerlies made birding rather difficult today, with little of note. However the rain did drop in our first two Yellow Wagtails of the year, one of which was a Blue-Headed Wagtail. These were seen briefly on the Narrows before heading north.

A rather grey and wet day!

The wind pushed some Manx Shearwaters close to shore with 25 seen passing Solfach this morning in the space of about ten minutes. 

The only other migrants seen today were four Swallows battling the elements as they headed north, three Willow Warblers, and three Whimbrel around the Narrows.

A single Purple Sandpiper was on Henllwyn and 33 Oystercatchers were on the Narrows. A Merlin was sheltering from the rain behind a wall on the South End.

A much quieter day on the island with a clearout of migrants in the fine weather overnight. Migrant totals for the day included 13 Willow Warblers, seven Chiffchaffs, seven Blackcaps, four Swallows and singles of Grasshopper Warbler and Common Sandpiper. Yesterday's Firecrest was still at Nant, a White Wagtail was at Solfach and the Merlin was around Pen Cristin. 

The increasing moon has made the night so bright that you don't need a torch at all! (C) Greg Lee

A busy day for more reasons than one, with our first big group of guests arriving at the Obs today. We also have good numbers of migrants with 117 Willow Warblers recorded across the island. A Tree Pipit flew south over Nant and a second over the South End, 17 Wheatears, 11 Blackcaps, 13 Chiffchaffs one Grasshopper Warbler, one White Wagtail and a Firecrest were the other passerine highlights. 

One of 117 Willow Warblers recorded today (C) Ewan Turner

It was a goo day for Wildfowl with a Dark-Bellied Brent Goose in Henllwyn and a mixed flock of three Greylags and 2 Canada geese which flew south over the South end.

Other birds of note from today include three Sand Martins, one Swallow, one Merlin and four Whimbrel.

Although a haze had appeared as night yesterday, waking up to a thick fog shrouding the island in the morning was certainly not expected. Despite the gloom, three Bar-tailed Godwits on Solfach continued our run of wader year-ticks, two of these birds were adorned in their spring finery before flying off into the murk. A Sandwich Tern flying over the island towards Nant was perhaps also disoriented by the poor visibility. Other than these two snippets, migration was brought virtually to a standstill although we are now seeing the local Wheatears carrying nest material and it appears some of our Swallows have returned back to the island for the season. It is worth noting that the fog only lifted off the South End for a couple of hours in the late afternoon!

The Lighthouse in the fog (C) Greg Lee

Whilst the moth-season hasn't been exactly flowing with the actinic trap having to compete with the very large and very bright moon, a chance sighting in the field of the colourful micro Esperia sulphurella was enough for one of our Assistant Wardens to get his needed lepidoptera fix.

Esperia sulphurella (C) Greg Lee

Today continued to be fairly quiet but there was still some migrants on the ground and passing overhead. A single Black Redstart remained at Nant and 24 Wheatears were recorded along with 20 Blackcaps and 14 of each Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

The first Golden Plover of the year passed overhead on the South End this morning and the first Common Sandpiper of the year was on Henllwyn. A Whimbrel was on the South End and a second was on the West Coast this morning. A Ringed Plover was on Solfach, as was a single White Wagtail.

Overhead there were 25 Sand Martins, 17 Swallows, 1 House Martin, a Tree Pipit and two Red Kites. They were joined by a few finches including 19 Goldfinches, two Siskins and two Redpolls. Linnet numbers are building with 71 recorded today.

The first of this years Stonechats are on eggs now, with one female incubating and another with an incomplete clutch, that has partly lined her nest with Woodcock feathers!

Stonechat nest with complete clutch (C) Ewan Turner

Stonechat nest partly lined with Woodcock feathers (C) Ewan Turner

 The wind swung around to the north and as a result it was a quieter day on the island with a chill in the breeze. Two Dunlins at Henllwyn indicated the start of increased wader migration. From now on and into late May, small flocks of Dunlins, Sanderlings and Ringed Plovers should be stopping off on the beaches before continuing their migration to their Arctic breeding grounds, with the outside chance of a scarcer passage species amongst them. 

Blackcap (C) Greg Lee

A Red Kite drifted over the island in the afternoon and the first Marsh Harrier of the year quartered over the Wetlands before appearing to drop down into the gorse bushes. A Tree Pipit was also found on the ground near Plas. Despite the bright moon, an evening trip up Pen Cristin revealed c.5000 Manx Shearwaters flying around offshore. Once the current lunar cycle begins to wane, we should see a big arrival of these seabirds back onto the island. Common migrant totals were limited to six Chiffchaffs, ten Willow Warblers, eleven Wheatears, two White Wagtails, two Lesser Redpolls, nine Blackcaps, six Sand Martins and five Swallows. The most notable bird of a morning ringing session at the Observatory was a Great Tit, this is a scarce species on the island. 

Great Tit (C) Ewan Turner

Another  busy day today with quite a lot of movement. Our first two Grasshopper Warblers of the year turned up, with one at the Obs and one at Traeth Ffynnon. We also had our first Redstart of the year, a lovely male, also at Traeth Fynnon. Five Ring Ouzels were recorded across the island, along with five Black Redstarts, one of which was trapped and ringed.

Black Redstart (C) Steve Stansfield

We had our biggest fall of Willow Warblers so far this year with a total of 102, many of which were in the Withies. they were joined by 24 Chiffchaffs, 14 Blackcaps and 22 Wheatears. There was also small amounts of Overhead passage, highlighted by two Crossbills heading south over the obs. A single Red Kite, ten Sand Martins, six Swallows, two House Martins, three Goldfinches, two Redpolls and a Siskin were also recorded.

Other sightings of note included two Whimbrels flying over the Narrows, one Ringed Plover on Solfach, 54 Oystercatchers and two Merlins.

 A drop in the wind was welcome after the breeze experienced last week. In the fine conditions there were a few birds around with our first Sandwich Tern of the year offshore, a smattering of Sand Martins moving overhead and a few warblers in the bushes. The nets around Cristin were opened for the first time in a few days delivering more Chiffchaffs than Willow Warblers (a theme echoed across the island with 35 and 11 respectively),  eight Blackcaps and also a Lesser Redpoll, another two were reported across the island. A new Robin also hinted at small numbers of this familiar bird making their way through. A Black Redstart was at Nant and a Collared Dove was singing around the Lighthouse before moving onwards to the Observatory.  

Lesser Redpoll (C) Ewan Turner

Another busy day with good numbers of migrants, highlighted by two of yesterdays Hoopoes still being on the island. One was seen briefly at the obs and the other was still at Ty Pellaf, showing frequently but was still very flighty. 

A female Ring Ouzel was seen at Pen Cristin along with one of two Black Redstarts, the other was on the West Coast. 64 Wheatears were dotted around the island along with 28 Chiffchaffs, 22 Willow Warblers and 17 Blackcaps. Hirundines are still trickling through with eight of each Swallow and Sand Martin recorded, along with a single House Martin. 

Black Redstart (C) Ewan Turner

A White Wagtail was on Henllwyn with a Redshank and a Turnstone; a Grey heron was just the other side of the Narrows and a Ringed Plover was on the south end along with three Whimbrel.

31 Chough were on the island today, the majority of which were on the East side including some colour-ringed birds. After reporting one of the ringed birds to Adrienne Stratford we found out that it was ringed as a chick by me (Ewan) in the Aberystwyth area in 2022 whilst I was helping Tony Cross with his Chough work for the Cross and Stratford Welsh Chough Project! Fantastic to have re-sighted this bird and see that it is doing well, and a funny coincidence that I have the old ring from this bird's father on my binoculars after it needed replacing a couple of years ago!

Re-sighted Chough (left) (C) Ewan Turner