Bardsey's Wildlife

Thursday, 16 July 2026

We had a calm start this morning, with winds from the north picking up into the afternoon. The sea remained flat calm with a sea state one and good visibility.

With the conditions working in our favour, we had an exciting sighting of eight Harbour Porpoises off of Pen Cristin. This large nursery group was composed of five adults and three calves. They moved slowly southwards in their characteristic rolling motion. We also had three species of jellyfish in Cafn: Lionsmane, Blue and Moon.

Pen Cristin © Phoebe Moss

Butterfly activity was still high, with two Small Whites still around Cristin along with 51 Meadow Browns, 11 Graylings, ten Painted Ladies and two Peacock butterflies. We also had three Common Blues between the Observatory and Pen Cristin. For day-flying moths, we had six Yellow Shell, six Silver Y, three Rosy Tabby and two Hummingbird Hawk-moths. An Emperor Dragonfly also made an appearance on Pen Cristin with its distinctive blue colouration.

Small White Butterfly © Joel Tragen

In the afternoon, Joel and Ezra went round the East Side to continue the Manxie census. While there, a Marsh Harrier flew over the contours of the cliff whilst getting mobbed by Kittiwakes and large gulls. After a few minutes of being harassed by our resident seabirds, it flew back to the mainland. Whilst around the East Side, Joel found a bird of prey pellet containing a Storm Petrel recovery, this bird was ringed by Ewan last July on the 25th on the Narrows.

We also had 20 Black-Headed Gull and ten Common Gulls are still around on Henllwyn and Solfach.

We also had a Grey Heron fly over the Narrows and eight Curlews around the island. A Sand Martin and six Swallows were spotted in the Wetlands. Four Sedge Warblers, two Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler were all found in the Withies.

Wednesday, 15 July 2026

Today felt like a classic mid-summer day throughout, largely cloudless with highs of 26°C and a gentle F3 Easterly breeze. The sea for the most part remained glassy smooth also.

This morning, we had eight Common Dolphins co-foraging with Gannets off of Pen Cristin. They were active at the surface, moving in circles with leaps and bows visible from the south end. Later in the afternoon, we also had a lone Risso’s Dolphin at the very southern tip of the island.

Risso's Dolphin © Phoebe Moss

A Gannet's view of the South End © Phoebe Moss

The warm weather produced an abundance of butterfly across the Island, of which some highlights included six Small White, 13 Painted Lady, seven Red Admiral, one Speckled Wood.

Some new arrivals had come in overnight with a juvenile Cuckoo and the first Grasshopper Warbler of the autumn spotted at Nant.

Other Warblers noted included a Sedge Warbler at Cristin, three Blackcaps at Nant with one being a freshly fledged young bird, 11 Chiffchaffs and three Willow Warblers split between Nant and Cristin. Two Goldcrests were also spotted, one at Nant, the other at Cristin.

There was a small influx of Hirundines today with one Sand Martin on the South End, and 37 Swallows and 20 House Martins spread across the Island. Two were also recorded up the mountain.

Wagtail movement was also apparent with two Grey Wagtails moving through on passage, one over the Narrows, the other over Nant, both heading South. Seven Pied Wagtails and one “alba” wagtail was also seen around the Island.

Finch numbers were generally low today with three Linnets recorded; however, a single Lesser Redpoll was heard flying over the plantation in the morning.

Gull and waders movement was still prominent with 32 Black-headed Gulls, eight Common Gulls, one Dunlin, six Curlews, two Common Sandpipers and one Redshank noted, largely split between Henllwyn and Solfach.

Counts of 168 Puffins and 159 Kittiwakes rafting off the East were taken during East Side monitoring, and a single Kestrel was also observed hunting in the area.

Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Today’s weather was hot and sunny throughout peaking at around 25°C with a cool F3 Northerly breeze.

A decent number of Small Whites remained, with 25 recorded around the island, 20 of which were in the garden at Cristin.

Wader passage remained prominent today with Common Sandpiper numbers rising to a total of seven on Solfach. Other wader sightings included singles of Lapwing, Whimbrel and Redshank all on the South End. Three each of Curlews and Grey Herons were around the Narrows.

The variety of Gull species on the Island has risen to seven with the arrival of five Common Gulls and one Mediterranean Gull joining the usual Great Black-backed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Kittiwakes around the island and a reduced count of 16 Black-headed Gulls.

Common Gull © Ezra Sherwell

Good numbers of hirundines were noted with 41 Swallows and 27 House Martins.

A single Sedge Warbler was still calling in the Withies and four Linnet were observed on the South End.

Monday, 13 July 2026

Today was another hot one on the island, but with strong north easterly winds providing some much needed relief. Visibility was ok as heat haze was once again a challenge and the sea was a little rougher at a sea state three.

Butterfly and day-flying moth activity was exciting today with a Clouded Yellow and a Comma butterfly seen! The comma was the definite highlight, seen twice at Nant and is a rarity on the island. This lined up with a huge arrival of Small Whites on the island with 81 recorded, 50 of which were around Cristin. We also had five Magpie moths and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth. A Migrant Hawker dragonfly at Nant was the first sighting of the year, likely having blown over from the mainland.

Small White © Joel Tragen

In the afternoon, Joel and Ezra went round the East side to continue the Manxie census. While busy counting burrows, they discovered the first Storm Petrel chick of the year and were treated to a Kestrel hovering just off the coast.

Wader activity is still high today, with a Lapwing and Snipe on the South End. Eight Curlews were also scattered around the island and three each of Redshanks and Common Sandpipers were recorded between Henllwyn and Solfach.

Another good day for Black-headed Gulls across the island with 14 seen, with a good mixture of juvenile and adult birds seen, three Sandwich Terns were also recorded.

Swallows were spotted all over the island, with a total of 43 recorded, many of which likely recent fledglings. We also had 26 House Martins seen between Cristin and the South End. Whilst eight Swifts were seen overhead.

Fresh juvenile Sedge Warbler caught at Cristin © Joel Tragen

A Grey Wagtail flew over the South End in the morning. Two Stonechats, four Wheatears and a Sedge Warbler were all seen today. Seven Chiffchaffs, two Goldcrests and 18 Linnets were also recorded.

Sunday, 12 July 2026

It was another very warm day, with temperatures of 26°C and very little wind. Visibility was good and the sea was calm, peaking at sea state two.

We were treated to two dolphin sightings! In the morning, 24 Common Dolphins were foraging for nearly an hour off the West Coast, with leaps, head slaps and breaches all seen from shore. Gannets also made an appearance, co-foraging with the dolphins. Later, a group of six Risso’s Dolphins made a very literal and very large splash also off the west coast. Leaping and ‘rushing’ a few kilometers off the north-west, the group were exhibiting potential mating behaviours.

A view of the Enlli of the West Coast with Ogof Morlas in the bottom left and Solfach just visible on the right © Joel Tragen

The overnight easterly winds brought over some exciting visitors to the island with a lot of new birds moving through. Highlights included the Red Kite seen on Henllwyn and an influx of waders, namely three Lapwings, three Redshanks, three Common Sandpipers, 68 Oystercatchers and seven Curlews. 34 Black-Headed Gulls were also seen between Solfach and the West Coast. Two early female Teals were getting hassled by the Moorhens on Pwll Gareth and a Kestrel was hovering around the East Side.

We had 40 Swifts flying overhead, 20 Swallows and 10 House Martins seen at Cristin. In Nant plantation a Spotted Flycatcher and Song Thrush were seen.

Across the island five Sedge Warblers, a Whitethroat, two Blackcaps, a Goldcrest and 16 Chiffchaffs were recorded. Two Goldfinches and 23 Linnets flew across the Narrows.

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.