Bardsey's Wildlife

Friday, 7 September 2012

The third Melodious Warbler of the year trapped in the New Plantation midday provided a bit of excitement on a day that was otherwise very quiet. After being ringed and released at Cristin, the Melodious Warbler showed reasonably well in the damson and willow bushes in the back garden.

On the rest of the bird front, seven Grey Wagtails and 12 alba Wagtails passed overhead, a Reed Warbler was seen in Ty-Pellaf Withy and a Collared Dove flew around the lowlands. A single Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel were present around the Narrows.

Melodious Warbler- the third of the year

The Reed Warbler in Ty-Pellaf withy was most likely to be the same bird that has been seen on and off for two weeks now

Some smart-looking Wheatears are passing through now

Stonechat

Setaceous Hebrew Character

And now for a Hippo Photo Fest- by Steve

On Bardsey we are very fortunate to get our fair share of Hippolais Warblers. Today we trapped our third individual of the year. We have, as yet had no Icterines this year.

Today's Melodious was one of the first I have seen in a few years that had genuine fleshy tones to the legs. As a result of this I thought I would trawl through some of my images and share them with you as a brief ID post.

Some of the Melodious Warblers on here were initially identified incorrectly by observers who had, at the time, limited or no experience of the species pair; their ID was been based on the fact that the legs of the birds appear to be blue, and if you read the field guides, Melodious are supposed to be fleshy brown. Today's bird was, well sort of fleshy, but we have had many other with good blue legs.

I will point out key features on each bird in the photo with captions below the image (and apologise if it becomes repetitive). You will see that there are the usual structural differences in wing length and bulk of Icterine, compared to the slighter Melodious.

So lets start with some shots of todays bird and then work back through time (note the phot quality becomes poorer...in the main!)

Nice yellow face and little if any supercillium. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Very short Primary extension. Note the general brownish tones to the upperparts, compare with the powdery grey of Icterine later. Note here lack of fringing to secondaries and pale tips to primaries. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Even here the upperparts looking brown. Note how small the bird looks. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Here we can see the pale flesh tones in the legs in both these shots in today's bird. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Note the lack of Supercilium behind the eye on today's Melodious. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Now for a few Icterines

Note here the big strong and powerful steely blue feet and legs. A flick of a supercilium behind the eye and greyish wash to the upperparts. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

The long primaries are clearly visible here. Also note the fresh white fringes to the primaries which are often shown on young Icterines, but seldom on Melodious. Also a hint of a supercilium here. (see todays bird) and blue feet. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Even in thick cover the wing panel on a fresh Icterine is obvious. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Note size difference between Icterine and Willow Warbler above. Icterine is much larger. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

And Melodious and Willow Warbler above. Not quite as large and noticeable in the hand.

Also note the brownish colour of the Melodious compared to the greyish cast of the Icterine above. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Biometrics - the boring stuff!

The wing length on Icterine Warbler is 73 to 82mm and on Melodious Warbler it is 62-71mm (Svennson, 1992).

Of the 50 or so Icterine Warblers I have handled over the past 22 years most have had wings of 76-80mm, whereas the 22 Melodious I have trapped have had wings of about 64-68mm; so I have never trapped and tiny Icterines nor large Melodious. Willow Warblers have wings of 64-73mm

More Melodious now

This adult Melodious was initially identified as an Icterine based on its blue legs and feet and an apparent wing panel. (worn autumn adult - see same bird later)

The bright adult Melodious trapped this spring had both blue legs and white pale fringes to the secondaries, but general appearance (colour) , size and primary extension clinched ID. (this bird was initially identified in flight!) (Spring adult)

Note the short primary extension on this Melodious back on, it also lacks the silvery panel of Icterine. Its feet are blue grey. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

The same bird front on showing quite blue but weak legs. also note lack of supercillium. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Icterine wing panels and flight feathers

This shot is burnt out, but you can see a clear wing panel formed by the pale-fringed secondaries. Also the tertials are fringed white as are the primary tips. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Another bird showing all the features mentioned in the last caption (Fresh autumn juvenile)

And another (Fresh autumn juvenile)

The wing panel on this bird is slightly subdued, but still there. note the pale primary tips too. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Slightly more obvious here (Fresh autumn juvenile)

Note how long the wings are and the pale fringing and tips (Fresh autumn jevenile)

A good strong panel, long wings and chunky blue legs (worn adult in spring)

Good panel and long wings, but no pale tips realy as they have worn off (worn adult in spring)

Now note the amount (or complete lack of) panel and flight feather markings on these Melodious

This is the same worn adult Melodious pictured above with blue legs that caused some confusion with less experienced observers. This bird has some fringing to the tertials and three new secondaries, which created an apparent panel, but nothing like that of an Icterine. (worn adult in autumn)

Another bird with a little fringing to the primaries and secondaries, but again not a lot. (Fresh, but slightly worn juvenile in autumn)

This very fresh juvenile (earlier this autumn) could possibly cause confusion for the less experienced observer as it shows a bit of fringing on the wing (and it did look like it had a pale diffuse panel in the field), it had blue legs, but it was very small and short winged which was enough to make ID straight forward even before it was trapped.

This bird shows little of no marking on the wings and is very straightforward. (Fresh autumn juvenile)

And another lacking pale tips to primaries (Fresh autumn juvenile).

.........and now for something completely different!

A Blast from the past

In Late August 2005 (31st) I had trapped a Melodious WArbler in the morning. Later in the day I went to the south end of the island and saw for about two seconds a hippo at a range of 30 metres that I was certain was a Booted Warbler.....then I find myself looking at a Melodious Warbler seconds later without a ring on. Was it the light? Was I mad? or just crazy, there were two hippos together and was was a milky tea colour? Now that's me just being mad! I stayed with the melodious for a while taking notes on it as it was a little skulky, but I kept going back to the two second view of 'it' when I first found it. This was wrong, the bird was creamy and tea coloured not yellow. OK leave the melodious, they're common. Find this other thing, probably just a Chiffchaf, cant be a Booted, that's just MAD! An hour late I saw again at great distance and very briefly my quarry, it was not a Chiffer, nor a Melody, it has to be a Booted or Sykes type thing.

My first views after an hour of searching, in the open but distant.

I managed to creep through the gorse to get closer (ouch!), but it was worth it!

I got on the radio and called for backup (just like on the police shows on TV!!). Soon a mist net and two poles were on their way (along with an Assistant Warden and other interested parties). By now I had managed to get closer and decided it was a Booted and it needed to be trapped.

Eventually, views were good and in the open!

It eventually gave is self up.....what a releif! what a day, two Melodious and a Booted Warbler (and two Wrynecsk whils trying to find the Booted too!!!)

Cute, what more can one say?!!

Note the very short primary projection, colour and blunt stubby bill. This stubbyness and 'less spikey look' amongst other features were enough for the bird to be accepted as a Booted rather than a Sykes.

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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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Friday, 7 September 2012

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