Sunday, 19 August 2018

It was another breezy morning and a riled up sea. The impressive white horses forming off the west coast didn't make conditions ideal for spotting dolphin fins, but it did mean we got some more exciting sea passage. The impressive run of scarce shearwaters continued with the fourth Great Shearwater of the year passing by off the South End along with two Balearic Shearwaters and two Sooty Shearwaters. Two Arctic Skuas (one pale, one dark) and 30 Arctic Terns spiced things up, and a Greenshank flew along the west coast early in the morning. On the land, Robin numbers increased to seven - the highest count of the year so far.

The sea did flatten out towards the end of the day, and the WDC team were eventually treated to prolonged views of Risso's Dolphins far out into the Irish Sea, as the sun dropped below the Wicklow Mountains far away in the distance.

Other birds today included 34 Fulmars, 2485 Manx Shearwaters, 101 Gannets, two Cormorants, 23 Shags, a Grey Heron, two Common Scoters, a Kestrel, a Peregrine, seven Ringed Plovers, two Sanderlings, 12 Dunlins, seven Whimbrels, 18 Curlews, a Greenshank, 35 Turnstones, two Mediterranean Gulls, 25 Black-headed Gulls, a Common Gull, four Common Terns, four Guillemots, 132 Swallows, 45 House Martins, a White Wagtail, four Stonechats, five Wheatears, six Sedge Warblers, a Whitethroat, 20 Willow Warblers, two Spotted Flycatchers, two Chaffinches and 53 Linnets.

 Common Blues can struggle in some years on Bardsey, but in 2018 they seem to have emerged in fantastic numbers over a prolonged flight season. The second generation is still flying at the moment, with Nant Valley being one of the patches of grassland to find them. 

It was another 'classic' Bardsey sunset, with the Wicklow Mountains just visible in silhouette across the water.

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