© Copyright Steven Stansfield 2007

The Warden's account of the bird

On the morning of 1 October 2007 I was just heading away from the Observatory when one of my Assistant Wardens contacted me on the personal radio. Rather out of breath and garbled came a message that ended in “bluetail”! I asked Richard to slow down and confirm if he had just said bluetail. His response was slightly clearer, “yes, one of the visitors has just told me he has seen a bluetail at Tŷ Nessaf!”. I asked Richard who had seen it, but he was unsure of the finder’s name. I decided speed was the best form of action now. I ran into my house, shouted upstairs to my wife Emma “Someone has had a bluetail at Tŷ Nessaf, I’ll see you there” and before she had time to reply I was running like a thoroughbred!  By now Richard had arrived at Tŷ Nessaf and got on the radio, “Steve, it’s definitely a bluetail!”  I passed one of the other visitors just leaving the Obs. and yelled at him the news, then as I was running, radioed my other AW, David Wright, and shouted the news at him.  Within four minutes of hearing the initial message I had made my way to the site and was watching an absolutely ‘stonking’ male Red-flanked Bluetail. The bird was not just a red-flanked blueTAIL, but more of a red-flanked BLUE!

From my initial views it was obvious the bird was a male, and as I obtained more prolonged views it became apparent the bird was probably an adult. There were no pale fringes/tips to the greater coverts, the upperparts were generally electric blue, though were ‘fogged’ with brownish fringing of the bird’s fresh plumage.

Ben Stammers had found the bird and on his way back to the Obs. bumped into Richard Else who contacted me. Ben had seen a bluetail before on Fair Isle in 1993, so was fairly sure about the bird’s ID.  After watching the bird for about five minutes and taking a few pictures and a set of notes, I went to the phone and alerted Alan Davies of Birdline North West. He immediately released the news and alerted other birders who may have been able to get across to the island the same day.

I then returned to the area and continued to take many pictures of the bird as it worked its way up and down an old rusty fence on the outside of a small garden sheltered by a row of tall pines. The bird would occasionally disappear for short periods as it moved back into the garden.

About midday the one and only boat ‘full’ of birders arrived. Just five people managed to make it, including Reg Thorpe and Simon Hugheston-Roberts (who incidentally now have the best record for twitching Bardsey – last successes include Blyth’s Pipit and American Robin!).

After the bird had been well seen by all on the island and the twitching group had returned back to the mainland I decided to attempt to trap the bird.

I returned to the Obs. had lunch and made my way back with spring traps, meal worms and ringing gear. I set the traps and decided that if the bird continued its current behaviour it would go along the fence, see the worms drop to the ground and either be back on the fence post after six or seven seconds or else trapped in one of the traps.

After about ten minutes the bird moved towards one of the traps, which had been placed at the base of the fence posts it favoured. The bird dropped down off the post and I began to count.  When I got to ten I moved rather slowly to the trap (which was obscured from view by high vegetation) and saw inside it flashes of electric blue!

The bird was removed from the trap, ringed, photographed and released back into the same area shortly after capture and it was last seen later in the day, but could not be relocated by the eight birders who made the journey the following day.

In the hand the bird was confirmed as an adult male.  The inside of the upper mandible was jet black (this is pale or even yellowish in immatures of most chats), and there were no signs of two generations of feathers, which suggested the bird had recently completed a full body and wing moult.

This is the first record of this cracking Asian species for Wales and the North West. There have been 8 records in the UK this year:  at Spurn (March); Out Skerries, Shetland (April);  Suffolk and Norfolk (September);  Bardsey (1 October);  Scatness, Shetland (20 October);  Flamborough (21 October);  Cot Valley, Cornwall (4 November).

Steve Stansfield
November 2007

More photographs will appear here shortly