Bardsey's Wildlife

Thursday, 30 October 2025

The day began with a welcome lull in the weather and clearer calmer conditions overnight. Winds were lighter than they’ve been for some time, and the early calm brought a brief window of decent visibility and dry conditions. However, by mid-morning things had deteriorated rapidly, with heavy rain and strong gusts making for horrendous conditions across the island.

The moon over the courtyard at Cristin © Steven Stansfield

A gloomy old day! © Steven Stansfield

In the midst of the worsening weather, a dramatic event unfolded when the Coastguard rescue helicopter arrived and hovered over Ogof Diban on the South End. One man was winched down into the Ogof, and shortly afterwards, two men were lifted out, maybe I missed the first one go down?? The nature of the incident remains unclear and I've not heard anything, so it was probably just a training exercise.

The Holyhead Coastguard rescue helicopter typically operates out of Caernarfon Airport,
callsign Rescue 936, the Sikorsky S-92A is maintained by Bristow Helicopters Ltd © Steven Stansfield

One man in... © Steven Stansfield

...two men out! © Steven Stansfield

The overnight calm spell appeared to encourage a few new arrivals among the passerines. One Manx Shearwater was heard calling over Tŷ Pellaf just after midnight.

The first Yellow-browed Warbler since 19th was found at Nant, unringed and actively feeding. Two new Firecrests were also present there, along with a Great Spotted Woodpecker at the Observatory. The Cetti’s Warbler remained at Nant, continuing its stay.

New un-ringed Greater Spotted Woodpecker © Steven Stansfield

Offshore, one Great Northern Diver was seen off the West Coast. Two Cormorants and four Shags were also logged offshore.

Raptors included a Sparrowhawk and a Merlin, both seen at Nant.

A rather dull morning had me using slow shutter speeds, but it gave an arty impression to this near-adult male Sparrowhawk (and Goldcrest!) © Steven Stansfield

Water Rails were heard calling in Withies and Nant, and five Moorhens were recorded; three at the Observatory and two at Pwll Cain.

Wader counts included 18 Oystercatchers and 14 Curlews on the Narrows. Gull passage was steady, with 34 Mediterranean Gulls off the West Coast, two Common Gulls, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 14 Herring Gulls, and 29 Great Black-backed Gulls all noted around the Narrows.

Some of the 29 Great Black-backed Gulls on the narrows © Steven Stansfield

Among the passerines, five Skylarks were over Nant, 12 Meadow Pipits were on the Lowlands, and five Rock Pipits were on Solfach. Wrens totalled 12 and nine Dunnocks were recorded with eight Robins, with birds at the Observatory, Tŷ Bach, and Nant.

Five Blackbirds were present, mostly around the Observatory and Nant, and one Song Thrush was seen at the Observatory. Two Blackcaps were at Nant, along with two Chiffchaffs and one new Siberian Chiffchaff. Goldcrests were active, with 16 at Nant, and the two Firecrests were also there. Eight Long-tailed Tits between the Observatory and Green Lane, and singles of Blue Tit and Great Tit at the Observatory.

Some of the Long-tailed Tits have been here for a while and are wearing rings © Steven Stansfield

Corvids included 14 Magpies and 27 Choughs around the Narrows, eight Carrion Crows across the Narrows, Observatory, and Nant, and two Ravens between the Mountain and Observatory.

Finch passage brought 79 Chaffinches, with 45 at Nant and 34 at the Observatory. Fourteen Goldfinches and 12 Siskins were also logged at the Observatory.

Grey Seal counts were high again for the time of year, with 70 hauled out at Henllwyn and 120 on Solfach, both counted from the Observatory so there were probably more!

Some of the Grey Seals on Solfach © Steven Stansfield

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Click to see inside!

Edited by Mike Archer, Mark Grantham, Peter Howlett and Steve Stansfield and published by T & AD Poyser, this fabulous book describes how much has changed since the first edition of Bird Observatories in Britain and Ireland was published in 1976. There are detailed accounts of the history and work carried out at each of the 18 observatories, with personal accounts by wardens and staff of the excitement of discovering a rarity, watching thousands of migrants attracted to a lighthouse after dark, and the pleasure and experiences that working at some of the country’s most remote and beautiful locations can bring. Click the picture of the book to see inside or to buy your copy.

Migrants

Being sited on the main migration route of many species, Bardsey (or Ynys Enlli in Welsh) is a well-known site for migrant birds, turning up many scarcities and rarities, as well as large numbers of common migrants. The island’s list now stands on 326, after the recent addition of Citrine Wagtail in October 2012.

Although Bardsey’s reputation for rare birds may not quite match that of some observatories, it is almost certainly the best site in Wales for rarities. Among Bardsey’s rarer visitors are the first Summer Tanager (1957) and Yellow Warbler (1964) to have been recorded in Britain and Ireland, as well as American vagrants such American Bittern, Sora, Kildeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Grey-cheeked Thrush, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Blackpoll Warbler. To add to this impressive list of rarities, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Lanceolated Warbler, River Warbler, Western Orphean Warbler, Booted Warbler, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Eyebrowed Thrush, Thrush Nightingale, Red-flanked Bluetail, Isabelline Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Collared Flycatcher, Blyth’s Pipit, Pine Bunting, Rock Bunting, Yellow-breasted Bunting and White-throated Sparrow have all been recorded.

Besides the rarities, Bardsey regularly attracts large numbers of weary migrants during 'fall' conditions in Spring and Autumn, largely a consequence of the fully operational Bardsey Lighthouse. In 2011, for example, a single grounding of migrants resulted in over 1000 Willow Warblers making groundfall on the island in August. In the not-so-distant past, a single attraction of 40,000 Redwings occurred in late October at the end of the last century.

Breeding birds

Bardsey is home to some 26, 000 pairs of Manx Shearwaters, which can be heard on dark nights from mid-March to August. They breed in their excavated burrows, which are scattered all over the island. Chough is the most important species of conservation concern, with between four to eight pairs nesting around the coastal cliffs most years, and a wintering flock of up to 50 individuals. A pair of Peregrines breed on the island, and a 1-2 pair of Ravens also nest most years. There are several species which nest only occasionally, such as Sparrowhawk and Little Owl, along with Afro-Palearctic migrants like Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. Up to ten pairs of Stonechats can nest in the isolated gorse patches around the island, along with many Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Corncrakes were once a common breeder on the island, although since 1970 there have been no confirmed pairs nesting. In recent years the likes of Lapwing, Yellowhammer, House Sparrow and Starling have also all become extinct as breeding species. In contrast, Shelduck, Puffin, Long-eared Owl, Grasshopper Warbler and Goldcrest have been added to the breeding bird list since 1998.

Ringing

Ringing is a very important part of the observatory’s role on the island. Since 1953, the observatory has ringed over 315,00 birds of 198 species. The highest number ringed in a single year was 1988, with a total of 11, 301 birds ringed of 93 species. There have been many days in the observatory’s history when several hundred birds have been ringed in one day; these occasions have mostly involved breeding seabirds, although these numbers can also easily occur with migrant species.

Lepidoptera

A total of 561 species of moths have been recorded on the island. Bardsey is not an overly good location for scarce moths, although the existence of Thrift Clearwings (Nationally scarce) has been established on the Thrift plants around the coast in recent years, after first being recorded in the years 1980 and 1996. Migrant moths arrive in small numbers every year, for example the annual arrival of Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the autumn; rarer immigrants in the past have included Death’s Head Hawkmoths, Vestals, Crimson Speckled and Red-necked Footman.

In recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on recording and identifying the so-called ‘micro-moths’, which has resulted in the finding of 41 new species for Bardsey since 2011. In 2012, the coastal subspecies of Eana penziana (E.p.colquhounana) was re-found on the island, which was the first time that this Nationally Scarce species had been recorded on Bardsey since 1966. Apotomis semifasciana is also amongst the scarcer species of micro-moths to inhibit the island (also Nationally Scarce).

Butterflies are present on the island in small numbers, with species such as Common Blue, Small Copper and Small Tortoise-shell being the most common. A scarcer breeding species is the Grayling, which can be found in small numbers on the top of the mountain. Migrant butterflies such as Painted Lady can arrive in their hundreds, although other migrants such as Clouded Yellow and Dark-green Fritillary are quite rare.

Bardsey's Wildlife

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Thursday, 30 October 2025

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