Bardsey's Wildlife

Tuesday, 15 September 2020

Conditions today were very hot indeed, very little breeze meant that it was muggy, but clear skies in the morning were pleasant; these disappeared in the afternoon though and were replaced with a thick haar which rolled in off the sea, and knocked the warm conditions back considerably.

Today's clear skies produced reasonable overhead passage, but from a little later on than usual, with proper passage only really picking up from about 08:30, but being some of the best passage so far this year. Totals from across the island were: 505 Meadow Pipits, one Tree Pipit, 93 Skylarks, 157 White Wagtails, 52 Grey Wagtails, one Yellow Wagtail and 178 Linnets. On the ground, 18 Wheatears included a few of the Greenland race 'leucorhoa'.

Unusually, a few of today's Grey Wagtails stopped to feed around the rocky coastline.

Skylarks passed low over the island

A few of the Skylarks also stopped to feed today, as did some of the Meadow Pipits (below)

Steve headed South, as a lot of the birds seemed to be passing over the South End; when he reached the southern end of the Narrows, a group of Turnstone flew over to Carreg yr Henwy with another bird showing a white-rump, a Curlew Sandpiper! This is the first of the year, and the 65th record for the island. It was later seen again over the Soth End with two Dunlins. Further on, two Ringed Plovers flew south over the South End with two comparatively tiny waders, on closer inspection, these were two Little Stints, another bird new for the year, and a good one to get, with these only occurring every few years. Soon after, a Great White Egret was seen passing over the centre of the island, it quickly circled round and headed back across to the mainland, though - this is just the eighth island record.

A Curlew moving past the South End

juvenile Peregrine on the South End rocks

George had opened nets at Ty Pellaf, if it hadn't been for Meadow Pipits, it would have been a quiet morning, with 36 of the 50 birds caught being Meadow Pipits. A Grey Wagtail added nice variety though, with this still being a comparatively rare bird to catch on the island. Down in the Withies, Alex had caught three Grey Wagtails, and two new species for the year's ringing list too, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a Reed Warbler, both are scarce migrants through the island.

On the South End, an Arctic Skua had moved South along with two Great Skuas, one of which actually passed over the South End itself. A Wryneck was in the northernmost gorse bush on the South End too, and three Golden Plovers passed over, with one stopping off to feed on its way South. Four Teal in Solfach represent the highest count of this species so far this autumn. Back towards the Lowlands, a Whinchat was present in the sunflower field, and a Long-eared Owl and a Water Rail were in Cristin Withy.

one of the Teal in Solfach

A Wheatear on the South End

Two of the Golden Plovers flying over the South End

one Golden Plover that stopped to feed up on its way

Later on, Alex and George headed back to the farm to try and catch some White Wagtails going in to roost in the Withy. It was the most successful night yet, with eight being caught, encouragingly all were juveniles, so perhaps they have had a good breeding season this year. A large female Sparrowhawk was also caught consequently, clearly having come wise to the arrival of easy food in the withy in the evenings!

A Sparrowhawk and a suitably unsettled flock of hirundines over the farm

Ringing totals today: Dunnock 2, Goldcrest 3, Wren 9, Meadow Pipit 37, Linnet 2, Grey Wagtail 4, Robin 5, Lesser Redpoll 1, Reed Warbler 1, Stonechat 1, Goldfinch 1, Siskin 1, Blackcap 2, Whitethroat 1, Chaffinch 1, Willow Warbler 3, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, White Wagtail 8, Sparrowhawk 1. 84 birds of 19 species.

Meadow Pipit

Grey Wagtail

White Wagtail

juvenile female Sparrowhawk

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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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Tuesday, 15 September 2020

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