So you are thinking of visiting Bardsey?   Wonderful - you won't regret it.    But when should you come?  Which month?  What might you see?  Perhaps the Warden's comments below will help you decide:

April:          April begins with the chance of large arrivals of migrants including Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and Whitethroats. The elusive Grasshopper Warbler can regularly be heard singing and a few ‘give themselves up’ to the ringers' nets and traps. The chances of scarce birds are ever increasing as the month progresses and the number of returning shearwaters begins to soar and the whole island becomes a nocturnal cacophony of strange calls. By mid-month most of the summer migrants have been seen and the resident staff and ringers are busy recording them. Later in the month the numbers of wading birds begin to increase and some stunning views of summer plumaged Turnstones can be had from the hide at Solfach. At this time of the year in recent times such rarities as Pine Bunting, and Iberian Chiffchaff have been recorded, as well as commoner birds such as Hoopoe and Wryneck.    

May:               In May migration is in full swing and the breeding birds have almost all returned. The island is in full bloom with flowering plants everywhere. Butterflies are commonplace with such delights as Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue and painted ladies flitting over the rich grasslands. Migrant birds that can be seen during the month include large numbers of warblers such as Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Garden Warbler.  Sedge Warblers and Whitethroats sing from the withies and the buzz of the Grasshopper Warblers can be heard from the gorse.  If you plan your trip around the new moon many of these birds can be seen at attractions, where migrating birds become attracted to the six beams of the red and white lighthouse.  There is also the chance of seeing something special;  at this time of year such as a Golden Oriole or a Red-backed Shrike or even a Subalpine Warbler if you are really lucky.

The island is now full of newborn lambs and they can be seen skipping along the tops of the walls chasing each other.

Choughs as always can be seen in May but are now feeding their ever growing broods.  They can be seen going back and forth to the mainland to collect food for their young.  The Peregrines are also active at this time of year, picking off any stray racing pigeon that may venture too close to it’s nest.

By now there are some 32,000 shearwaters coming ashore on dark moonless nights to lay and incubate their eggs.  The noise has to be heard to be believed.   All visitors, whether birders or not, are welcome to accompany the warden and his ringing staff on the night-time expeditions to ring these birds.  This is an excellent opportunity to get to see these mainly pelagic birds close up and even get to hold one!!

June:             June is one of the quietest months on the island for birds, however the warden and his staff are still busy monitoring and ringing seabirds in the colonies on the east side and on the Gwylan islands.  Unfortunately due to health and safety reasons the seabird colonies on the east side of the island are strictly out of bounds to the public.  In addition anyone venturing into the colonies could cause serious damage to the nesting birds if they were to disturb the birds too often.

The sound of the nesting Oystercatchers is very noticeable as you walk round the shoreline.  Adult birds giving their piercing calls scolding any who dare venture near their nest or young.  There is still the chance of seeing a good bird or two with the likes of Black-headed Bunting and Common Rosefinch being recent June highlights.

July:             Early July is very quiet for birds but the island is still a wonderful place to visit with warm summer days and the peace and tranquillity of the countryside with the noise of the waves in the background. The farmer is now cutting hay and silage for feeding the livestock in the winter.  The start of Autumn migration has already begun with the first returning waders appearing on the beaches and the fields become full of juvenile Starlings from the mainland.  Later in the month the first warblers begin to arrive with Sedge and Willow Warblers starting to increase in number.

August:         In August the Willow Warbler passage is in full swing with up to 4000 recorded on a single day in the early part of the month.  The trees and bushes appear to be dripping birds.  Along with these there are large numbers of flycatchers and Grasshopper Warblers, Whinchat and other migrants. The weather now has started to become a little more unpredictable and the wind can blow in some large numbers of seabirds.  Thousands of shearwaters can pass the island in an hour's sea watch along with Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Skuas, Petrels, Divers and Scoter.

August is also the time that the farmer begins to ship the animals to market. The sheep are loaded onto the yellow ‘sea truck’, an invention of Mr Dyson (the bloke who makes the vacuum cleaners!).  The sheep are then taken on the 30 minute ride to Aberdaron and driven ashore.  The Observatory staff are also well into ringing the shearwater chicks.  They are removed from their underground burrows and ringed before being returned.  There are still night-time expeditions to ring shearwaters and also the tiny Storm Petrels that nest on the island in small numbers.  After dark mist nets are set and a tape played of the calls of the petrels.  This attracts the birds ashore and to the nets in which they are trapped.  Ringers then remove the birds and process them before they are released.

September:    As September arrives so can the strong winds.     Again these can produce some fantastic sea passage off the island with goodies such as Fea’s Petrel, Wilson’s Petrel and Little Shearwater seen in recent years.  Also large numbers of Leach’s Petrels can be seen if the wind turns to the northwest.

Small landbirds are also moving in their hundreds with the first Redwings beginning to appear.  Blackbirds and Song thrushes, finches, buntings and warblers are all seen in good numbers.  Ringing at the Obs is now producing good numbers of Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs with the expectation of either a vagrant from the far east or the Americas.  Such individuals have included Lanceolated Warbler, Yellow-breasted Bunting  and Pallas’s Warblers from the far east and Summer Tanager, Yellow Warbler and Blackpoll from America.

October:        October, like September is a busy time for migrants with the range of species expected much the same. The only difference is that there are now more birds moving and the chances of the island being completely covered in birds are much greater as are the chances of seeing an extreme rarity.

The Curlew flock that has been building up all autumn is now at it’s peak and can number 150. Oysercatchers begin to return after their trip away from the island and Lapwing can be seen as they migrate using the island as a staging post.  Night-time attractions are an almost inevitable event during the new moon in October.  Up to 40,000 birds have been recorded at one attraction with birds littering the ground like fallen leaves.  The warden is always happy to receive help (and company) from any one wishing to spend the whole night walking round a square lighthouse!

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Essentially Bardsey is a great place to come whether you are a birder or not.  There is always something going on whatever time of year you can come.

Remember that the best times for birds are usually the week either side of the NEW moon, NOT the full moon.

Steve Stansfield

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