Bardsey week 6 (1-7/10/16)

My sixth week on Bardsey shall forever be known as the week Yellow-browed Warblers eventually hit the island. The week began with a few common migrants, small numbers of Wheatear were still making their way through. Most impressive though were two Lapland Buntings, having picked them up calling, flying over the South End, I eventually pinned them down, where they showed reasonably well before relocating with the Meadow Pipits again.

Lapland Bunting

The 2nd brought the autumns first Firecrest, but it wasn’t until the 3rd that the first Yellow-browed Warblers graced the shores of Bardsey: one in Ty Pellaf Withy and another at Nant.

Yellow-browed Warbler

Both Yellow-browed Warblers stayed into the next day, now joined by a scattering of Merlins across the island. A Flava Wagtail, flew over the Narrows, but more impressive was a Pintail found on Henllwyn, quite an island rarity! The 6th was dominated by birds of prey for me anyway, a Short-eared Owl flushed from the Wetlands was quite a nice surprise and a good start to the day. Unfortunately, later I found a female-type flycatcher in the Withies which I never managed to see again, but as a consolidation an Osprey was picked up flying south. The 7th held another island rarity, in the form of a Shoveller! A good bird to get on my Bardsey list since it was an island tick for the Warden as well! The best of the rest were more Yellow-browed Warblers, a Little Egret and a calling Ring Ouzel.

The nights on Bardsey are epic. With almost no light pollution, the milky way is easily visible as well as millions of stars and even some planets. Perfect for star trails!

The night sky over Llŷn Peninsula from Bardsey