Bardsey Young Birders Week 2019
In
mid-August this summer I set out on an adventure to one of the most magical
places I have ever visited; Bardsey Island!
The trip was
organised by the Wardens at Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory- who run an
annual Young Birders week where young people from all over the UK can stay at
the Observatory for a week and learn about the day-to-day running of a
world-class bird observatory, as well as the amazing wildlife that lives there. I was very lucky to receive grants from the BTO and British Birds which enabled me to take part in this experience.
This was my
second visit to the Observatory, and was just as amazing as the last!
After a
seven hour drive up from Dorset to the Llyn Peninsular, and a two day delay due
to bad weather, our group finally met at Cwrt Farm. It was nice to see some old
faces from my last visit two years ago, plus meet some new ones! Once we loaded
our belongings into the trailer, we made out way down to Porth Meudwy. The
valley down to the beach was fairly quiet bird-wise, with a few Stonechat and
warblers calling from the bordering scrub, and there was a noticeable number of
Painted Ladies around.
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| A view across to Bardsey from the mainland |
The crossing
over to the island was a stark contrast, with seabirds surrounding the boat.
Kittiwakes were rafting off the East side of the island and peppering the lower
cliffs, Gannets were hurtling into the sea very close to us, and at one point a
Manx Shearwater flew over the boat, barely 10m above us… is there any better
welcome to Bardsey?!
After
unloading the boat we made our way up to the Obs. It was a surreal feeling
being back on the island; despite having been absent for two years, everything
still felt so familiar and the same excitement that I felt when I stepped off
the boat for the first time overwhelmed me once again.
When we arrived
at the Obs we had a very warm welcome from the team. Steve gave us our welcome
talk while everyone tucked into a plate of the legendary Bardsey cookies, and while
he was talking a chattering of 11 choughs flew right over the Obs!
Once
everyone had moved their stuff in we headed out for a walk to Nant. Along the
way we saw flocks of linnet, some stonechat perched atop the gorse, and Steve
spotted the first pod of Risso’s Dolphins of the week!
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| Storm Petrel being weighed |
As darkness
fell on the island, the call of the Manx Shearwater could be heard all around
as we walked to Nant Valley for Storm Petrel ringing.
I remember
the first time I held a Stormie on Bardsey two years ago, and the awe that I
felt seeing this sparrow-sized bird in front of me, knowing the extreme
conditions that it survives in. Two years in, this has not faded, and it was
brilliant to see the same spark ignite inside the other young birders for whom
this was their first time meeting a Stormie (and of course, they all passed the
right of passage by smelling it!). We caught a good number of birds, some of
which were showing some interesting wing moult. Steve also showed me how to
extract them from the nets as they are notoriously challenging.
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| Checking Manx Shearwater burrows for chicks |
Throughout the week we did lots of Manx Shearwater ringing.
In the afternoons we went out to ring chicks. Steve explained to us how to safely extract them from their burrows, and then we worked in pairs to check all the burrows along a stretch of wall. Most of the burrows we checked were empty or too deep to reach to the end, but eventually we got lucky. They were little balls of grey fluff, prehistoric looking and a long way off from shearing the water like their parents.
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| Manx Shearwater chicks sporting some funky hairstyles! |
At night we
went out to find adults- the oldest of which was ringed in August 1994. To
catch them you simply walk along the field borders at night, and when you see
one pick it up (although be wary of the pointy end!).
On Bardsey F
rings are overlapped on Manxies, so Steve taught us how to correctly shape the
rings ready to be put on the birds. The rings on some of the older retraps had
worn down, so he also showed us how to safely remove a ring so that we could
put a new ring on.
Most nights George would also go out dazzling for waders on Solfach, which produced Sanderling, Ringed Plover and Turnstone. It was amazing to see these birds in the hand as I have little experience with wader ringing and ageing.
As well as seabirds, we also ringed passerines using mist nests in the Obs garden, and on Solfach using spring traps and the portable heligoland to catch Rock Pipits for a colour ringing project.
The wardens demonstrated how they fit darvic rings so that they can be recognised in the field. It was very interesting to see these rings be fitted on smaller birds, as I’ve only ever fitted darvics onto gulls and swans before. I had also not used spring traps before, so again it was a good learning experience.
While we were on Solfach for the Rock Pipits the was a flock of Turnstones feeding on the kelp piles. I noticed a ring on one of the adults- but the position of the ring made it particularly interesting. It was ringed on the tarsus, however in the UK we now ring this species on the tibia- meaning that the bird was old (and ringed before the UK method changed), or foreign. Unfortunately we weren’t able to catch it to see which was true, but it was still an interesting sighting.
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| A Rock Pipit wearing it's new darvic ring |
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| The portable heligoland trap |
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| The ringed Turnstone on Solfach |
We also had amazing views of Sanderling and Dunlin side by side which was a good comparison, as well as two Ringed Plovers, and a very dumpy Knot. There were also seven Grey Seals bottling in the bay every time we visited.
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| Grey Seals hauled out on Henllwyn |
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| Common Seal |
Snuck in
amongst the 130-odd Greys, there was a Common Seal that frequented the haul
out. On one of my visits to the beach I took a photo of this individual without
realising- only clocking onto the fact during log that evening when Lewis asked
if anyone had spotted it. I can now confidently say that I know the difference between
the two species!
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| Bonxie spotted near the north end |
We also had
good views of three types of Skua; Great (Bonxie), Arctic, and Pomarine. On one
occasion we were treated to amazing views of the three phases of Arctic Skua
(light, intermediate and dark) all at once flying over the lowlands. It was
also great to see the Pom. Skua as a comparison to an Arctic, with Poms being a
lot bulkier.
We were also very lucky to have a Fea’s Petrel pass the island, which
was a lifer for many of the young birders. As soon as the news reached the
ringing hut everyone scrambled to get their scopes, and most people managed to
get views of the bird.
As well as ringing and birding, we also had some evening activities
after log throughout the week. We were treated to talks by Steve about his trip
to Israel for the IBOC Conference, Alex about his experience with Operation
Wallacea, and George about his trip to Portugal. We also had a very tasty
barbecue where Louis, George and I went insane over some panorama photos and a
hat (probably a sign of sleep deprivation!).
The highlight of the evening activities had to be the notorious young
birders week quiz! We were split into three groups, each with a member of Obs
staff as team leader. I was on Lewis’ team- the ‘Orphean Winners’, and after a
tough fight we came out on top. My favourite fact I learnt that evening was
that Storm Petrels are also known as ‘Mother Carey’s Chickens’- now that just
makes them even more adorable!
Our last full day on the island was the bird race- another tradition of
the young birders week! The aim of this is to see or hear as many different bird
species as possible in 24hours, and two people from the team had to be present for
it to count. Our teams were the same as for the quiz (so we were feeling pretty
confident!).
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| Spotted Flycatcher at the plantation |
We were up at first light for ringing, and straight away our team
managed tick the elusive moorhen that frequented the Obs garden early every
morning. Off to a good start, we did a spot of seawatching in between net rides
which produced a few more species for the list. Later in the day we went for a
walk to Nant to try and spot the Little Owl that lives there. The plantation
was full of warblers and spotted flycatchers, and there were stonechats flitting
around the gorse and bracken on the side of the mountain.
There was also a big flock
of hirundines in the field going down to Nant Valley, with all three of the
common species mixed in.
As we got into the valley we started searching the gorse patched for
the Little Owl, and just as we were about to call it a day Luke finally spotted
it by zooming into a photo he’d taken. And there it was… two beady eyes staring
out from the darkness!
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| Little Owl in Nant Valley |
It was in the exact gorse patch that I had seen my first one two years
previous. We carefully moved around the valley to get a better view, and as we
did it flew to another gorse patch on the other side, where it sat again staring
out of the gorse.
While we were watching the owl someone also spotted a Bonxie flying
very close to the north end of the island which was brilliant to see so close!
I had such an amazing time on Bardsey, and when the time eventually came to leave the island it was sad to say goodbye. I learnt so much throughout the week, and feel like I've developed my skills a great deal. It was also great to meet so many lovely people, and catch up with some familiar faces.
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| Class of Bardsey 2019 (Steve Stansfield) |
I would like to thank the Obs team for their hospitality and enthusiasm throughout the week (even at 2am, sat in the cold and dark waiting for Storm Petrels to come in and singing the albatross song...), and for organising this brilliant event. I would also like to thank the BTO and British Birds, without whom I would not have been able to go on this adventure.
