The last day of strong gusting south-westerlies for the week, with highlights being limited to five Golden Plovers over the Narrows, 11 Mediterranean Gulls, six White Wagtails and a Lesser Redpoll over the Wetlands. Eight Swallows passing along the coast were our first sightings for a while with Goldcrests and Robins only numbering 15 and nine respectively. In the Observatory garden, keen eyes found the feather of our first Long-eared Owl of the season, clearly it is hiding somewhere in the vicinity. Interestingly, Magpies appear to be doing something with a big group of 17 on the South End this morning with other birds scattered around the island during the day. 

Robin (C) Greg Lee

The Seal pups are relaxing now the wind is dying down (C) Greg Lee

The winds mercifully dropped just enough to finally allow for a changeover day and it was indeed a very pleasant autumnal morning with sunshine and a light breeze off the sea. The distinctive dry rattle of a Mistle Thrush alerted us to its presence as it briefly passed through the garden. Our first of the year of this nationally declining species. The bird would later drop down into the Wetlands. Overhead, small numbers of Siskins and Chaffinches flew over heading south, with a couple of the latter dropping into the Cristin garden through the course of the day. Both Robins and Goldcrests appeared to be in similar numbers to recent days, though were a bit more vocal in the pleasant sunlight.  A Hobby over the Observatory garden was our first record of the year of this migratory falcon and a male Ring Ouzel was seen at Nant early in the morning. In the Wetlands, there was a minor skirmish between a Merlin and Sparrowhawk, clearly in competition for any migrating passerines that come our way. 

The island from the South End (C) Greg Lee

Offshore, birds were a bit quieter but a flock of Gannets plunging into the turquoise sea got our attention that there was a feeding frenzy going on and sure enough, there was at least 35 Common Dolphins hunting offshore, though they weren't the easiest to see. A Red Admiral at Nant was the first butterfly sighting for a few days. 

Seawatching was the continued theme of the day with the wind still blowing strong for the meantime. Watching through the morning delivered counts of four Sabine's Gulls, two Grey Phalaropes, two Little Gulls, three Great Skuas, two Great Northern Divers, two Arctic Terns, two Leach's Petrels, nine Arctic Skuas, a Pale-bellied Brent Goose, our first Yellow-legged Gull of the year, 20 Mediterranean Gulls, seven Sandwich Terns, eight Golden Plovers, nine Common Scoters and six Manx Shearwaters. Not to forget the 3119 Razorbills, 2015 Kittiwakes and 259 Gannets. It is particularly pleasing to see more Great Skuas around than the past few years after their struggles with HPAI. Likewise, a multitude of chocolatey brown first-year Gannets has been quite evident, on the other hand immature Gannets in their third and fourth-calendar years (hatched during the peak of the bird flu troubles) are much less common. 

Great Black-backed Gull (C) Rosie Durrant

On the land, there seemed to be a few birds around, it'll be interesting to see what happens when the wind calms down later next week. Two Blue Tits remained on the island, the Spotted Flycatcher remained at Nant, 27 Goldcrests were assorted in the bushes, three Blackcaps were at Nant, four Chiffchaffs were in the Withies along with two Willow Warblers, eight White Wagtails were on the South End and a Grey Wagtail flew over the Wetlands. 

A good spot from Rosie was a colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gull from Dublin found during a Seal count. 

Seal and the Observatory behind. (C) Rosie Durrant

Amy continued to rage over night and into the day. As a result, it was a quiet affair on the land for migrants, with most things reluctantly hiding deep into cover. Once the rain had passed and the visibility had improved, it became clear that there was a good movement offshore of displaced seabirds. Totals over several hours in the afternoon amounted to three Leach’s Petrels, two Sooty Shearwaters, a Balearic Shearwater, two Long-tailed Skuas, two Pomarine Skuas, five Great Skuas, 13 Arctic Skuas, 22 Grey Phalaropes, 1272 Gannets, 417 Razorbills, 298 Kittiwakes, 370 Manx Shearwaters, 11 Common Scoters, 21 Golden Plovers and a single Arctic Tern.

The island in the storm (C) Greg Lee

A count of the seal pups in the marginally better conditons in the afternoon thankfully revealed all pups to be present and correct, despite the risk of the heavy storms. Some had even managed to displace themselves in quite impressive locations. 

Seal Pup in a safe location (C) Greg Lee

Storm Amy really came into effect and it was a horrible day with near constant rain and the wind stretching up to an F10 southerly, gusting up to F12 and preventing guests from leaving the island. With such conditions, it was rather fruitless for the birds with totals including 33 Goldcrests, 14 Robins, seven Chiffchaffs and singles of Firecrest and Spotted Flycatcher. 

A very foreboding sky as the storm ramped up during the night (C) Greg Lee

 A quiet day in the strong southerly-breeze, with birds generally hiding in cover. A Turtle Dove was the highlight of the day, with a bird seen at Nant our first record of the year for this ever scarcer migrant. The Siberian Lesser Whitethroat also remained in Cristin Withy. On the South End, a colour-ringed young Stonechat was revealed to be a bird ringed in the early spring on Pen Cristin as a youngster. We hadn't seen any of our colour-ringed Stonechats since they had fledged in late May and early June. Where had this bird spent the summer? Other migrants included singles of Firecrest and Spotted Flycather, 24 Goldcrests, Four Chiffchaffs, a single of Coal Tit and Blue Tit. The Wigeon remained in Solfach.

Wigeon (C) Greg Lee

Stonechat (C) Greg Lee

With the horrible weather coming in overnight, a bit of lamping was very successful with three Common Snipe and a Water Rail trapped. Interestingly, the Water Rail was an adult, which are seldom caught on the island. 

Water Rail (C) Steve Stansfield

A quieter day to hail the arrival of October, a month that has potential to be very exciting in the British birding calendar, with strong winds, thick cloud and a healthy dousing of rain during the early morning. Of note, despite the sea being nearly bereft of any movement, a pair of Pintails were spotted heading south amongst a flock of Teals, with three of the latter species also enjoying the Wetlands alongside a Wigeon. Robins and Goldcrests numbers continue to dwindle in the strong southerlies with 24 and 42 still lingering in the bushes along with six Chiffchaffs and a single Willlow Warbler. Two Blue Tits and a single Coal Tit were most likely earlier arrivals that are waiting for a break in the weather, the latter bird being seen in various locations across the island during the day. Singles of Firecrest and Spotted Flycatcher also remained at Nant and the Water Rail continued to squeal, occasionally giving away its presence in the rank vegetation. The Siberian Lesser Whitethroat also remained in Cristin Withy, where the thick cover reduced the gusts of the wind enough for various small birds to glean insect prey from the leaves. Singles of House Martin and Swallow off the North End were our first Hirundines for a couple of days, many watchpoints on the South Coast have been reporting some large movements in the past week, so it is likely only a few stragglers will be passing through Bardsey from now onwards.

Turnstone (C) Greg Lee

13 Turnstones on Solfach was a healthier count though still down whilst Snipes were flushed from the South End and the Wetlands. Six Curlews and five Whimbrels remained conspicuous and a Grey Heron was rather mobile during the day. 

The breeze is beginning to ramp up as the wild weather predicted at the weekend begins to take effect. As a result, it was a bit of a quieter day on the land with a reduction of Goldcrests, Robins and Chiffchaffs with 42, 35 and 11 respectively. The Withies held the quality though with a perhaps belated first for the year in Yellow-browed Warbler, with a brief individual uttering the distinctive contact-calls before vanishing in Plas Withy as quickly as it appeared. With the nets set-up, it was then surprising that a Siberian Lesser Whitethroat was trapped along with a couple of Willow Warblers. Hopefully some DNA analysis confirms the race in the near future. Elsewhere, a tardy Yellow Wagtail flew over, a Firecrest was at Nant, a Water Rail remained at Nant and a Grey Wagtail was over Ty Pellaf, even briefly landing in the farmyard. A Coal Tit also continued to do the rounds across the island and two Blue Tits remained. On the Narrows, there were 19 White Wagtails and a two Wheatears.

Siberian Lesser Whitethroat (C) Steve Stansfield

Siberian Lesser Whitethroat (C) Steve Stansfield

The recent increase in wildfowl continued with a pair of Teals in the Wetlands whilst waders included 18 Curlews, two Whimbrels, two Snipes and (bizarrely) our first Turnstone sighting for a few days, where are they? A pair of Peregrines were noisily squawking over the Mountain, the male even doing a spectacular flypast for our last guided walk of the season! 

We've recently passed the milestone of 50 Seal pups for the season with quite the variation in development and sizes of pups across the island (C) Steve Stansfield

Overcast cloud and fairly gentle winds did the trick and it was quite the day for variety on the island. Goldcrests were most numerous with 96 around the island, the majority of which were at Nant. These tiny sprites were backed up by impressive totals of other migrants including 57 Robins, 13 White Wagtails, 22 Wheatears, 32 Stonechats, 19 Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers and 16 Blackcaps. An arrival of Tit species was also prevalent with five Long-tailed Tits, seven Blue Tits and a single Coal Tit at Nant. Elsewhere there were singles of Redstart, Garden Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, our first Treecreeper of the year, Spotted Flycatcher and Firecrest. Two showy Ring Ouzels were well received, with the birds hanging around the withy near Ty Capel and demonstrating their distinctive "chakking" call. Yesterday's Wryneck also remained on Pen Cristin where it still favoured hiding in the Gorse. 

Ring Ouzel (C) Steve Stansfield

Treecreeper (C) Ewan Turner

Visible migration was also in full effect with no less than 45 Skylarks, seven Grey Wagtails, 13 Chaffinches, 13 Siskins, two Lesser Redpolls and our first Twite of the year over the Narrows. Offshore, a juvenile Sabine's Gull was sat on the calm waters whilst in the Wetlands, the first Wigeon of the autumn was on Pwll Ty Pellaf. The Merlin continued to hang around on the South End and two Peregrines were over the Mountain, whilst two Sparrowhawks were seen at Nant. A Golden Plover flew over and a Snipe was on the South End. At least three Water Rails were now present on the island in addition. 

Stonechat (C) Steve Stansfield

Lovely and calm today on the island with a reasonable mix of birds present. A Wryneck early doors on Pen Cristin proved to be elusive, but was a welcome sighting anyway. At Nant, three Coal Tits were the first for the year and were joined by a Redstart, Blue Tit, a Water Rail, two Firecrests and a Spotted Flycatcher. Another Firecrest was down in the Withies where the loitering Great Spotted Woodpecker was also present along with another Blue Tit. A Reed Warbler and a Blackcap were also present, with another of the latter also at the Observatory. Commoner migrant totals included 17 Goldcrests, ten Stonechats, nine Chiffchaffs, eight Wheatears and 22 Robins. Visible passage included a Skylark over the South End, two Grey Wagtails, four Siskins, 13 Goldfinches and three Chaffinches. 

A flock of 27 Curlews was off the North End and seven Whimbrels were off the West Coast. A Guillemot off the North End was also a sporadic sighting for this time of year.

In the moth-trap, a Brindled Ochre was new for the year, this is a rather local species to rocky coastal areas. 

Brindled Ochre (C) Greg Lee

A strong southerly blew in over night and remained well into the morning making the morning birding difficult in the conditions. 39 Curlews were around the Narrows and West Coast and seven Ringed Plovers were on the South End. A Bar-tailed Godwit was on the West Coast and two Redshanks were on Solfach. A Mediterranean Gull passed over Henllwyn. Passerine migrants were rather limited with totals including 13 Goldcrests, five Chiffchaffs, five Swallows, six Wheatears, 13 Robins, five White Wagtails, ten Goldfinches, a Blue Tit in the Withies and a Firecrest at Nant.  

The sunset from the Observatory (C) Greg Lee

In the moth-trap, a Light Emerald was only the ninth island record of this otherwise quite widespread species on the mainland. 

Light Emerald (C) Greg Lee

The calm and clear conditions continued with the winds blowing from the east during the day, whether any of the drift migrants currently making landfall on the East Coast find themselves this far out west over the next week or so remains to be seen. Yesterday's Great Spotted Woodpecker and Blue Tit remained at Nant with the party of three Starlings still amongst the sheep on the Narrows. Migrants were slightly on the quiet side with 24 Robins and 19 Goldcrests leading the totals with additionals including two Firecrests, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Blackcap at Nant, a Redstart on the Mountain, eight Chiffchaffs and seven Wheatears. 

Starlings (C) Greg Lee

A small movement of Black-headed Gulls was noted offshore with 25 passing off the West Coast during the morning along with five Common Gulls and five Mediterranean Gulls. 40 Curlews were on the Narrows and two Snipe were flushed off the Wetlands, which are now holding some small bodies of water once more. A Water Rail at Nant was the first record since the spring and a Merlin flew over the South End. 

The Great Spotted Woodpecker remains elusive, though it likes to keep an eye on observers whilst its up in the trees. (C) Greg Lee

After a week or so with no sightings, a Migrant Hawker was flying in the sunshine in the Observatory garden and at least two Large Whites were around the island, including an individual roosting on the LSA Hut during the night. 

A day of interesting sightings, mostly of otherwise relatively common mainland birds but only occasional visitors to the island. A Great Spotted Woodpecker perching on top of the Lighthouse was a good start to the day, before later relocating to the more typical habitat at the Nant plantation where it proved to be rather elusive. On the Narrows, three Rooks were raucously calling and three Starlings were feeding on the grass. 

Rook (C) Greg Lee

Down in the Wetlands, a Blue Tit appeared on the Green Lane before being ringed in the Observatory garden with a second unringed bird found later at Nant. Only our second record for the season. A few Skylarks were on the move with 13 moving through during the day. Robins totalled 24 and 17 White Wagtails were on the Narrows, there was also a reduction in Wheatears and Goldcrests with 10 and 14 respectively. In the afternoon, a Spotted Flycatcher was loitering in the Observatory garden, particularly favouring the Heligoland as perch between sallying and a single Blackcap was at Nant. In the Wetlands, a pair of Teals were using the recently restocked pools and a Snipe was flushed off the South End. 

Blue Tit (C) Greg Lee

The moth-trap was relatively busy in the calm weather, the highlight being the first two records of The Brick since 2017, it seems this widespread species occasionally has good years on the island. 

Settled and calm with the sun shining throughout the day. Just after midnight, a Quail was heard calling from the Wetlands, our second of the season after the brief bird in late spring. In the bushes, there was a Reed Warbler and a Willow Warbler in the Withies, two Blackcaps, 19 each of Chiffchaff and Goldcrest, 31 Robins and eight Dunnocks. 13 Wheatears and 13 White Wagtails were on the Narrows and 11 Stonechats were around the Wetlands and the South End. Finch passage was also noted with 43 Chaffinches and 16 Goldfinches around the island. Three Grey Wagtails passed through in addition. A male Sparrowhawk caught in the garden at Cristin was the highlight of the morning's ringing. 

Sparrowhawk (C) Ewan Turner

Waders were in quite low numbers with two Lapwings briefly on the South End, a Bar-tailed Godwit on the Narrows, a Purple Sandpiper, two Redshanks and three Turnstones on the Narrows/West Coast and three Ringed Plovers on the South End. Turnstone numbers in particular seem to be much lower than normal at the moment for this time of year. 

A Hummingbird Hawk-moth routinely visited the Observatory garden throughout the day and two Painted Ladies were on the island with a small number of Red Admirals and a single Large White. 

A quieter day for migrants with the clear skies overnight creating a clearout over an arrival. A smattering of Skylarks remained with three on Pen Cristin and 12 on the South End, whilst Wheatears numbered 16. Goldcrests and Robins were still fairly represented with 27 and 42 in the bushes. 20 Chiffchaffs were joined by two Willow Warblers and a Blackcap, mostly around the Observatory, Nant and the Withies. A Collared Dove was at Nant and 17 White Wagtails were present on the Narrows with four Grey Wagtails flying over.

A Purple Sandpiper was on the South End and a Bar-tailed Godwit was amongst the Oystercatchers and four Turnstones on the Narrows.

There appeared to be an increase in Peacock Butterflies, with four seen around the various gardens during the sunny afternoon. In the moth-trap, Large Wainscot and the Anomalous were new for the year, the latter not often appearing in the Cristin trap. 

The Anomalous (C) Greg Lee

Continued pleasant weather with a very brief spell of rain early in the morning. It was another good day for migrants with Goldcrests continuing to come through with 79 recorded across the island and Robins similarly were enjoying an influx with 58 in the various bushes. Interestingly, there seemed to be a clear increase in Dunnocks and Wrens with 26 and 66 logged, not species many tend to think of as migrants but notable passage of both species can and does occur at migration watchpoints. 

Rainbow off the South End (C) Greg Lee

34 Wheatears were mainly concentrated on the West Coast and there continued to be an array of other migrants including a Firecrest and Pied Flycatcher at Nant, a Reed Warbler in the Withies, a Grasshopper Warbler on the Mountain, two Willow Warblers, 34 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blackcaps and 28 White Wagtails. Overhead passage remained strong with 13 Grey Wagtails, 71 Skylarks, 171 Swallows, six House Martins, 32 Goldfinches, 18 Chaffinches, six Siskins and a single Tree Pipit passing through. A male Merlin was seen off the North End with an immature bird over the South End.

Pied Flycatcher (C) Greg Lee

Waders included two Black-tailed Godwits off the West Coast, a Bar-tailed Godwit on Solfach, 47 Curlews, five Whimbrels, a Redshank, two Turnstones and a Snipe near Traeth Ffynnon. 

Offshore, 248 Razorbills, 31 Sandwich Terns, 20 Kittiwakes, six Common Scoters, five Commic Terns and a Guillemot were off the West Coast.

A couple of good sightings were had with the butterflies with Commas seen at Nant and the Observatory. This species is quite scarce on Bardsey with only a few records although September is quite a good time on mainland to see this species, which often feeds on fruit such as Blackberries. 

Comma (C) Steve Stansfield

The wind switched over to the north and calmed down considerably overnight. As a result, there was a welcome increase in birds on the island and perhaps one of the best days so far this autumn. Notably, an influx of Wheatears occured with 54 mainly concentrated on the Narrows and the South End, the majority of them being Greenland-race birds. In the bushes, there had been a clear influx of Robins and Goldcrests onto the island with 36 and 26 logged respectively. Additionally there was an admirable variety of other common migrants which included 23 Chiffchaffs, four Willow Warblers, 13 Blackcaps, three Reed Warblers, a Redstart in the Wetlands, a Pied Flycatcher at Nant, a Garden Warbler in Cristin Withy, a Spotted Flycatcher at Plas Withy, a Whitethroat in the Wetlands and a Whinchat on the South End. Meadow Pipit numbers also swelled with 89 birds recorded across the island. 

Redstart (C) Greg Lee

Whinchat (C) Greg Lee

Overhead, there was a notable passage of Skylarks and Grey Wagtails with 21 and 12 flying overhead, a flock of the former on Pen Cristin also containing our first Lapland Bunting of the year. Four Siskins also heralded the start of autumn finch migration and pestering the moving passerines, our first Merlin of the autumn was seen zooming over the Wetlands. 

Reed Warbler (C) Greg Lee

Offshore, seven Little Terns were our first for the year and a mixed flock of Brent and Barnacle Geese was an interesting sighting off the West Coast. As perhaps expected, given the influx over the past few weeks into the UK, a Glossy Ibis flying off the North End into the Sound was a good sighting, so it was good to feel as though we weren't missing out!

Rain lashed down for the majority off the day, rising the water table on the island considerably, but, coupled with changeover day would limit coverage. On the birding front, two Ringed Plovers and a Golden Plover were grounded on the South End and 62 Swallows dropped in and even started perching in Ogof Diban to avoid the rain! 49 Linnets were on the Narrows along with four Curlews. 

The ponds are starting to reveal after a long absence during the summer (C) Greg Lee

On a different note we also said goodbye to Phoebe who has concluded her fieldwork on the Marine Mammals for the season and has made excellent inroads into the Seal pup monitoring for the autumn. Thank you for your hark work Phoebe!

A fine rain appeared and lasted the whole day, making coverage very difficult in the constant wet!. Sightings were limited with a Reed Warbler on the South End thankfully showing itself long enough before diving in the gorse to cast away aspersions of it being anything else. Two Chiffchaffs were hiding in the Withies with another couple hiding in the Observatory garden. A Blackcap and a Willow Warbler were also in Plas Withy with nine Robins in the Withies. On the South End, eight Ringed Plovers were enjoying the turf along with two White Wagtails. Only one Stonechat remained on the South End after the small influx the previous day. 

Reed Warbler (C) Greg Lee

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the day was delivered by the insects, with our first Convolvulus Hawk-moth being trapped by a diligent trapper despite the less than ideal conditions. This striking migrant occasionally appears on Bardsey providing a splash of size and colour. 

Convolvulus Hawk-moth (C) Greg Lee

It was misty start today with the wind calming down overnight, though it would pick up again in the afternoon. A couple of new birds for the year were around with a Cattle Egret briefly materialising through the mist before vanishing northwards and a Great Northern Diver sitting off the West Coast. Other highlights included a  brief Common Rosefinch which sang close to the Observatory before vanishing and an adult Sabine's Gull off the West Coast continuing an excellent showing for the species this autumn.

In Solfach, there was a gathering of terns with six Sandwich Terns and juvenile Arctic and Common Terns whilst a Black Tern was briefly on Carreg yr Honwy. With the drop in wind and low cloud, there was a notable movement of Swallows with 948 passing through during the course of the morning, amongst them five House Martins and a single Sand Martin were picked out. Nine Chiffchaffs were in the bushes along with four Goldcrests and 11 Robins and six Wheatears were on the Narrows/South End. Interestingly, there was a small arrival of Stonechats on the South End, with six birds all amongst the Gorse. A lone Kestrel was near the Observatory.

Arctic Tern (C) Greg Lee

Common Tern and Arctic Tern (C) Greg Lee

Waders were also in good form with six Ringed Plovers and a Golden Plover on the South End, four Bar-tailed Godwits were on the West Coast and singles of Dunlin and Purple Sandpiper were on the Solfach. Curlews totalled nine with two Whimbrels also seen. 

Small parties of Lesser Black-backed Gulls have been heading south in recent days (C) Greg lee

A Red Admiral briefly battling the wind on the South End constituted the only butterfly sighting of the day. Two Risso's Dolphins were also briefly off the West Coast.

A rather quiet day with the heavy rains and strong wind overnight preventing much stuff from moving though it allowed staff to dive deep into the end-of-season paperwork. Sea passage was also reduced with the highlight being a Pomarine Skua off the North End in the murky visibility, a small flock of  12 Sandwich Terns also passed off the South End. A Grey Phalarope briefly dropped into Solfach where a small gathering of other waders could be found including a Bar-tailed Godwit, three Redshanks and a Turnstone. 

The bushes remained quiet with singles of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler in the Withies. Three Wheatears remained on the South End.The lamping session in the evening was more about quality than quantity with the first Turnstone and Common Sandpiper to be ringed this year along with another Ringed Plover and Dunlin. 

Common Sandpiper (C) Ewan Turner

Turnstone (C) Ewan Turner

A Buff-tip caterpillar was found trying to breach the Observatory to find somewhere to pupate.

The wind continued overnight and remained quite strong from the west into midday. As a result, the seawatching proved to be excellent with two Pomarine Skuas, one Long-tailed Skua, one Great Skua, 19 Arctic Skuas, 151 Gannets, six Sabine's Gulls (including some smart adults), 12 Grey Phalaropes, 23 Dunlins, five Ringed Plovers, 97 Sandwich Terns, 20 Arctic Terns, nine Common Terns, a Black Tern, 206 Razorbills, 1076 Kittiwakes, 41 Common Scoters, 22 Fulmars, 370 Manx Shearwaters, a Balearic Shearwater and our first two Leach's Petrels of the year. Despite all this action, the best bird offshore would come late in the day when Steve and Ewan went down to the North End to assess the hide for the upcoming repairs, after the damage last winter during Storm Darragh. Despite the sea being quiet, Steve picked out two Shearwaters heading south close in, one of which was a Manx, however, the other bird appeared to have dark axillaries and markings on the underwing coverts, a white vent which was dusky on the outer edges along with feet projecting beyond the tail. Features that would suggest it was a Yelkouan Shearwater! Despite the good views, a picture unfortunately wasn't obtained which makes submitting a description for this species ultimately harder. Yelkouan Shearwaters breed in the eastern and central Mediterranean with most spending the winter in the sea, however, a small portion of birds have been found roaming around in the waters of the North Atlantic.

View from the South End (C) Greg Lee

And a similar view from the North End (C) Steve Stansfield

Aside from this major excitement, two Grey Phalaropes remained in Solfach during the day and other waders included two Golden Plovers and two Ringed Plovers on the South End, three Turnstones on the Narrows/Henllwyn. A pair of Kestrels over the South End were the first sightings for a couple of days, with one bird trying to get quite close to a Great Black-backed Gull. A Blackcap, Reed Warbler, three Willow Warblers, two Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest were in the Withies. At Nant, there were another three Blackcaps and three Goldcrests. Seven White Wagtails were on the Narrows and Solfach and three Grey Wagtails would be seen flying over. 

After yesterday's gale, a few butterflies were on the wing including a Painted Lady, three Small Coppers and singles of Small Tortoisehell and Common Blue. A Hummingbird Hawk-moth was a surprising discovery in the washroom. 

The F8 south-westerly blasted in overnight decided to remain today. All the various coves were filled with ample amounts of sea foam with more catching the breeze and floating over the island.

Lots of sea foam (C) Greg Lee

It wasn't until later on, however, that the birds would begin to show with a Sooty Shearwater being the main highlight of the morning seawatch. A visit to Solfach late afternoon by a guest was rewarded with excellent views of two Grey Phalaropes spinning in the churning waters and flying close to shore. Like many Grey Phalaropes that often turn up in such conditions on sheltered water bodies on the coast or even inland, they proved to be very tame and approachable. Things then picked up offshore with another seven Grey Phalaropes heading south joined by 13 Arctic Skuas, six Great Skuas, single Pomarine and Long-tailed Skuas, three Balearic Shearwaters, a juvenile Sabine's Gull and 545 Manx Shearwaters. 

Grey Phalarope (C) Greg Lee

Grey Phalaropes (C) Greg Lee

It was also a good day for waders with two Golden Plovers on the South End, with another two on the West Coast, 47 Curlews, one Dunlin, three Sanderlings, five Ringed Plovers and two Bar-tailed Godwits. 

A Wryneck was discovered on the South End, though proved to be more elusive, it feasibly is the same bird seen four days prior given that they can hide away if they wish. Four Goldcrests remained at Nant, two Wheatears were on the South End and 49 Linnets were on the Narrows. A bit of after dark dazzling proved to be successful with the first Sanderling of the year caught, four Ringed Plovers and singles of Dunlin and Redshank. 

Sanderling (C) Ewan Turner

We experienced the stillest conditions overnight for some days but it was soon a return to normal with the spells of rain and wind beginning to gust for the upcoming upheaval in the weather on Monday. Highlights of a period spent watching the sea included an adult Sabine's Gull, a Sooty Shearwater, a Balearic Shearwater and our first Curlew Sandpiper of the year, perhaps not surprising given the recent wave of these elegant waders to Britain. Despite, a decent bout of wader passage, Solfach appeared to be relatively quiet save for the day-by-day increase in Seal pups. A Bar-tailed Godwit and seven Sanderlings were grounded and feeding up in the frothing surf. 

Sanderling (C) Greg Lee

A decent stakeout in the Withies did yield some passerines, notably Plas Withy which was concealing singles of Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher and two each of Goldcrest and Willow Warbler. A second Pied Flycatcher also remained in the Observatory garden. Another Goldcrest was also sheltering in the small withy by Ty Pellaf. 

On the insect front, a Hummingbird Hawk-moth briefly zoomed through the Observatory garden and Buff-tip caterpillar was found in Ty Pellaf Withy. 

Buff-tip Caterpillar (C) Greg Lee

A rather unusual start with a brief window to get the guests off the island and bring our next set in meant for a very early start for staff to do the weekly changeover. 

On the sightings front, things were a bit limiting with the continuing strong winds but despite conditions that don't hold much promise rather dominating the start to September, we've done rather well for ourselves which was further proved today with the discovery of our seventh (!) Hoopoe of the season briefly on Pen Cristin before vanishing around the East Side. The two Pied Flycatchers remained on the island, two Willow Warblers were in the Withies and several Goldcrests were scattered around. A Sparrowhawk was feasting on an unfortunate Woodpigeon in the garden. 47 Linnets were congregating on the South End and three Wheatears were still hanging on. 

Hoopoe (C) Steve Stansfield

Sanderling (C) Steve Stansfield

On the beach, a Knot, two Sanderlings and three Bar-tailed Godwits were present, three Grey Herons were loitering in the Wetlands and two Whimbrels were on the Narrows. Offshore, two Great Skuas passed off the North End. 

The Grey Seal Pups have had a recent surge in number with 24 now around the islands. A Silver Y was on the mountainside and four Small Coppers were on the wing.

Seal Pup (C) Steve Stansfield