Bardsey's Wildlife

Wednesday, 22 April 2020

Today was one of those special Bardsey days with wall-to-wall sunshine. It is on days like today that we really do ought to spare a thought to think about just how privileged we are to be here, with everything going on back on the mainland.

the Black Redstart was still present at the Observatory and was very obliging, too.

The day started with George heading out to conduct his third of four breeding bird surveys and Sam opening the nets at the Observatory, given the thankfully calm conditions. The breeding bird survey was quite fruitful, with a number of 'new' singing male Wheatears recorded across the North-West Fields and the North End. These songbirds are always a delight to see, it will be good to have the full breeding population back soon. Along with the territorial Wheatears, there were a large number of migrant Wheatears in the fields feeding constantly. Most of the migrants were of the Greenland race leucorhoa with a few oenanthe thrown in too, for good measure.

Over the North West Fields, three Rooks flew North, and after circling the fields a few times calling, they headed off across the Sound back to the Mainland. Three Jackdaws soon appeared and did exactly the same thing - although the volume of corvid passage in spring doesn't compare anywhere near to the Autumn numbers, it is still nice to see these birds passing through.

Jackdaws have been extinct as a breeding species since 2005

George finished up his survey at Nant and then had a look around to see if there was much about. On arriving, there was a female Pied Flycatcher doing what they do best - fly-catching! Just beyond this was a Sedge Warbler singing in Nant withy and a Grasshopper Warbler singing up on the mountainside above. Along with these were 20 Blackcaps and a few Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. There were also two Goldcrests singing in the spruce plantation, whether these are migrants, or will stay to breed as they did last year, remains to be seen. As he was leaving, the bird (or rather birds) of the day flew over - two Yellowhammers, flying North. These are the second record of this scarce Bardsey bird this year. Swallows had also started moving and 33 were recorded on the way back to the Obs.

Swallows had their best day of the year so far with 126 recorded throughout the day. Quite a few pairs have already started displaying around their usual haunts on the island

Once George was back, Sam headed out to do his Census walk and headed to the South End. Yesterday's Lapland Bunting was still present and allowing very good views as it fed closely on the track to the Lighthouse ahead. There was also a flock of 13 Whimbrels on the South End and an increase in Wheatear numbers down there too.

Lapland Bunting at the South End

Whimbrels are often found up on the grassy cliff tops at this time of year as they probe the ground for worms and other invertebrates

the short bill and slender appearance of this individual is a key identification feature when seperating Whimbrels from Curlews

many Whimbrels pass through the island in April and May and counts usually peak at around 50 individuals

Back at the Observatory, Sam had been having a good morning around the nets. The highlight was the year's third Grasshopper Warbler to be ringed, but with a supporting cast of a good number of Blackcaps and Goldfinches and a few Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, it had been a very productive session. (Full totals at the bottom of the post).

Grasshopper Warbler

The reeling song of this bird has been heard at the Observatory for the last few days, so it was unsurprising that it made its way into one of the nets today

Other sightings of note today were: one Snipe, one Bar-tailed Godwit, five Curlews, two Little Owls, one Skylark, two Sand Martins, 126 Swallows, 16 House Martins, one White Wagtail, one Robin, one Black Redstart, two Grasshopper Warblers, five Sedge Warblers, one Whitethroat, 69 Blackcaps, 26 Chiffchaffs, 49 Willow Warblers, one Blue Tit and three Great Tits.

Ringing produced: Blackcap 23, Goldfinch 8, Blue Tit 1, Chiffchaff 5, Willow Warbler 4, Grasshopper Warbler 1. Total 42 birds of 6 species.

The moth trap produced a few bits overnight: 3 Hebrew Characters, 1 Common Quaker, 1 Early Thorn, 1 Double-striped Pug, 1 Diamond-back moth and 1 Marbled Coronet.

this Marbled Coronet was slightly early with its flight season actually starting in May

A trip to the south end and back with Steve

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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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Wednesday, 22 April 2020

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