It was another largely quiet day, with low numbers of common migrants remaining on the island. A scattering of waders around the coast in the morning included five Ringed Plovers, a Red Knot, a Dunlin, three Whimbrels and a Turnstone. A single male Whinchat was seen at the Plantation, whilst numbers of other passerine migrants saw 20 Sedge Warblers, 10 Common Whitethroats and only 11 Spotted Flycatchers.

It was an incredibly quiet day on the bird front, with literally no new arrivals. A healthy 16 Spotted Flycatchers remained around the island, whilst warbler numbers were reduced to eight Sedge Warblers, 12 Common Whitethroats, four Blackcaps and seven Willow Warblers. 38 Lesser Redpolls passed overhead in the early hours, along with 14 Goldfinches.

Spotted Flycatcher

Many pairs of Swallows are now nest-building in the island's out-houses

Shelduck

Oystercatcher

Sedge Warbler numbers have drastically declined to single figures now, although a control was trapped at Cristin in the morning, illustrating that they are still moving through

Common Carpet

It was a disappointingly quiet day, despite very light Easterly winds and cloud cover in the early hours. There was hardly anything of note present during the day, although a Hooded Crow flew over the mountain, along with a Common Buzzard. Visible migration was also in evidence in terms of hirundine movement, with a total of 357 Swallows and 48 House Martins seen passing overhead, along with three Swifts. Spotted Flycatcher numbers remained in their double figures, with 28 individuals recorded; a Whinchat, 27 Common Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, a Reed Warbler and a handful of Sedge and Willow Warblers were also seen.

 Spotted Flycatcher

 Common Whitethroat

 Sedge Warbler

Hooded Crow

After yesterday's deluge of migrants, a large clearance overnight saw much fewer birds remaining into today. Plenty of Spotted Flycatchers remained on the island, with 26 scattered all over. A Black Redstart, a Common Redstart, a Reed Warbler and a female Whinchat were all recorded during the day. A scattering of common warblers saw 36 Whitethroats, seven Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers and 34 Sedge Warblers. A small passage of Lesser Redpolls overhead in the morning amounted to over 60 individuals.

 The female Cuckooo from yesterday evening

Spotted Flycatchers were still in abundance today, with some even seen along the rocky coastline

Garden Warbler

Wheatear numbers have been healthy in recent days, with just shy of 60 seen; here a female is pictured with Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory in the background

A fantastic bird-filled day saw hundreds of common migrants once again passing through the island, as well as a few scarcities thrown into the mix.
By far the highlight of the day was a Honey Buzzard which was seen very briefly above the mountain in the afternoon. This species is surprisingly rare on Bardsey, and the last record was over eight years ago.
The second Hen Harrier of the year also glided over the mountain midday, along with a single Buzzard. A Blue-headed Wagtail was seen briefly on the West Side in the afternoon, where it was joined by a female flavissima moments later.

A nice selection of other notable species included a Common Redstart, two Black Redstarts, three Whinchats, a Cuckoo, four Reed Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat.

The numbers of common migrants was an incredible sight, and was certainly experienced at Cristin during the morning’s mist netting. In total, 236 birds were ringed during the day, an incredible 150 of which were Sedge Warblers!
A grand total of 309 Sedge Warblers were seen during the day, whilst final figures for other common warblers amounted to 191 Common Whitethroats, six Garden Warblers, 88 Blackcaps, 47 Willow Warblers and 39 Chiffchaffs. A superb 55 Spotted Flycatchers were recorded all over the island, including along the rocky coastline, and a single Pied Flycatcher was amongst the birds at the obs in the afternoon.

Hirundine movement was sustained all day long, with eight Sand Martins, 421 Swallows and 156 House Martin srecorded, along with 14 Swifts. Finch movement was also in evidence, with nine Siskins, 22 Goldfinches and 71 Lesser Redpolls recorded. 

What a day!!!

 The second Blue-headed Wagtail of the year was seen on the west side

 Over 200 Sedge Warblers were seen during the day, and over 150 of these were ringed!

Spotted Flycatchers featured well, with 55 recorded

Male Whinchat

 Common Whitethroats were also seen almost everywhere, with over 190 seen

 Swift

House Martin

 Poor shot of the Hen Harrier

Hooded Crow

 Honey Buzzard

 Chiffchaff

Spotted Flycatcher 


And some pictures of today's ringing activities:


An incredible 150 Sedge Warblers were ringed during the day, which is over half of the expected annual ringing total for this species (c) Steve Stansfield

In the early morning, just under 120 birds were caught in two net rounds! (c) Steve Stansfield

Reed Warbler (c) Steve Stansfield

An educational image showing the contrast between a female first summer Blackcap (right) and an adult female (left) (c) Steve Stansfield

A glorious sunny and calm day saw a significant arrival of common migrants on the island, after many were brought down during a period of light drizzle in the night. Although nothing very scarce was seen during the day, a pretty good list of notable species recorded during the day included a Hooded Crow, a Common Redstart, two Whinchats, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Reed Warbler, four Garden Warblers and the first four Pied Flycatchers of the year.

A fantastic total of 132 Sedge Warblers was recorded during the day, and an impressive 60 of these were ringed. Other warbler numbers included an excellent 123 Common Whitethroats, 78 Blackcaps, 29 Chiffchaffs and 50 Willow Warblers. A total of 33 Spotted Flycatchers were also scattered all over the island.
Hirundine movements during the day amounted to 16 Sand Martins, 220 Swallows and 103 House Martins, whilst eight Swifts also passed through.

This rather stunning male Whinchat was seen and heard singing below Carreg in the late afternoon

 Spotted Flycatchers have featured well today, with over 33 seen

 Phylloscs such as this Willow Warbler have arrived in smaller numbers

 Meadow Pipit

A Bar-tailed Godwit was seen on Solfach at high tide

A chilly and extremely breezy day saw hardly anything of note on the bird-front. A Great Northern Diver seen flying West through the sound in the early morning was the highlight of the day, whilst a scattering of waders around the Narrows saw six Ringed Plovers, a Sanderling and six Whimbrels.

Sanderling

 

During the night a single male Ringed Plover was trapped on Henllwyn, representing the first of this species to be ringed so far this year

 Although the Oystercatchers are going to be at least 2 weeks later in terms of breeding this year, there are a few nests with eggs scattered around the coast

Green-veined White. There have been literally no moths in the traps in recent days (or even weeks), and so it is shaping up to be one of the worst springs for lepidoptera for many years