While spring migration in mainland North Wales is over, early June can bring scarce visitors to Ynys Enlli, and the team at Bardsey Bird Observatory had a busy week recording the visitors.
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First up was potentially the rarest, a probable Audouin’s Gull that alighted briefly onshore, but flew off and was not seen again. This globally-threatened species breeds no closer than the Mediterranean coast of Spain and has not been confirmed in Wales previously. Next came a smart male Red-backed Shrike, joined the following day by a singing male Common Rosefinch. On Thursday a Blyth’s Reed Warbler mimicked a suite of birds that it’s used to hearing in eastern Europe, central Asia and India, where it wintered. Observatory staff recognised at least 30 different species in its repertoire including Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Yellow-browed Warbler and Olive-backed Pipit.

It's a reminder of how special Ynys Enlli can be during migration; the Bird Observatory still has spaces to stay in September and October.

Last Friday a Melodious Warbler sang in the Observatory garden. It is something of a Bardsey speciality, with 120 records being almost half of the Welsh total. But while some spring migrants were arriving, a Cuckoo ringed on the island was almost certainly making its way south for the autumn! Other scarce visitors in the region last week included Quails at Doddleston and Cors Bodgynydd nature reserve, deep in Coed Gwydyr, and a Black Tern at Cemlyn lagoon.
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RSPB Cymru wardens on The Skerries, the islets off northwest Anglesey that host Britain’s largest Arctic Tern colony, counted 1212 burrows occupied by Puffins recently. This is more than twice the total in 2019, and the highest ever count – although no records exist from before the late 18th century, prior to the temporary occurrence of rats on the islands. The count makes it the most important site for Puffins in North Wales, and the third most important in the country.

After the ravages of bird flu, positive news from some of our seabird colonies. North Wales Wildlife Trust’s count at Cemlyn showed encouraging results: 2167 pairs of Sandwich Tern, 170 of Arctic Tern, 120 of Common Tern and a pair of Roseates, Wales’ rarest breeding seabird. The site also hosts 200 pairs of Black-headed Gull and two pairs of Mediterranean Gull. A couple of extra Roseate Terns appeared at the weekend, when Sandwich Tern and gull chicks explored the islands between the rain showers. Last week’s wind brought two Pomarine Skuas to Fedw Fawr near Llanddona and a couple of Storm Petrels past Porth Ysgaden.

A colony in Conwy Bay holds the highest number of red-listed Herring Gull nests since I began watching it as part of the UK Seabird Monitoring Programme in 2019. Fulmar nests were similar to last year albeit half the total of six years ago. Unexpected was a Black Guillemot, Wales’ second rarest breeding seabird, delivering a fish to a nest hole high above the beach. Black Guillemots nest at a handful of sites on Anglesey and on the Great Orme, but this is the first modern nest record in Caernarfonshire west of the Conwy estuary.

A White Stork was reported in fields north of the Dee, near Sealand, on Monday. A Quail was ringed on Pen Llŷn, another sang on Bardsey last week, and one was in Berwyn on Monday, just outside the Eryri National Park between Llanuwchllyn and Llyn Efyrnwy.

A sleepy Nightjar on a garden bench in Barmouth was not typical habitat, perhaps a late arriving migrant. The British Trust for Ornithology is calling for help with the UK Nightjar survey, with many sites in North Wales requiring two visits before 15 July, in the two hours after sunset or before sunrise. Sites around Coed y Brenin, Llandegla, Clocaenog, Gwydyr and the Mawddach estuary are hotspots that need volunteers. Details and registration at bto.org/get-involved/volunteer/projects/heathland-birds-survey. 

This week’s rain, after a record dry spring, was welcomed by farmers and many birds, especially those that need to probe the ground for soil invertebrates, such as Curlews and Choughs, and birds such as House Martins that build nests from pellets of mud. The unsettled conditions will be less appreciated by woodland species such as Pied Flycatchers that coincide their hatching to the peak of moth caterpillars, which may be washed out of the tree canopy by extended periods of heavy rain.

Neither is the cold and rain ideal for aerial insect feeders, such as Swallows and Swifts, although the changing climate is not their only problem. More than 125,000 people signed a petition in just four days demanding that the Westminster government backs mandatory Swift bricks in all new buildings. The surge of public support came in the wake of the rejection of an amendment at the Committee stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, parts of which have been described as a “licence to kill nature” by leading wildlife charities.

Welsh Government Ministers have been asked by a Senedd Committee to respond to calls for a similar measure to help Swifts in Welsh legislation, following a public petition backed by RSPB Cymru and Wildlife Trusts Wales among others. The £35 brick is hollow, with a small access hole enabling a bird to build its nest. Home renovations frequently lead to the loss of nest sites and, while measures to boost aerial insects are also needed to reverse the 76% decline in Wales since 1995, the Bricks are seen as a cheap but essential measure to resolve the Swift housing crisis.

A Pectoral Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and Spoonbill visited RSPB Cors Ddyga last week, a Garganey was on the Border Pool at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, and farther upriver, at least four Quails sang in the Dee Valley at Rossett. A Pomarine Skua flew past RSPB South Stack and the two Roseate Terns remain at Cemlyn lagoon, where an Irish-ringed Little Tern dropped in. A Curlew Sandpiper and late-departing Pale-bellied Brent Goose were in Foryd Bay on Sunday, and four Barnacle Geese and a Mediterranean Gull were on the Glaslyn estuary from Porthmadog Cob.

Late May is a time that migrants from southern and eastern Europe can arrive in Britain having travelled farther than intended in their journey from Africa. Prolonged high pressure has provided perfect conditions for these scarce visitors, with Black Kites and Hoopoes in North Wales in recent weeks. Monday brought two Red-backed Shrikes to the region: a male near Llangefni and a female at Cilcain in the Clwydian hills.
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Their presence was an echo of former times, for Red-backed Shrike used to be a widespread breeding species. Thomas Eyton, friend and contemporary of Charles Darwin, wrote one of the first books about the birdlife of North Wales in which he described “some dozens of them” feeding on grasshoppers on the slopes above Llynnau Mymbyr near Capel Curig in 1838. Regular breeding in Wales ceased soon after the Second World War, with the last known nest in North Wales in the Aber Valley, from which the eggs were stolen in 1952. Records in the region average less than one each year in the last 60 years, and this was the first instance of two on the same day.

An Iberian Yellow Wagtail, potentially the first Welsh record of this form, is near Llanfwrog on Anglesey, although a candidate on the Conwy estuary in 2022 remains with the British Birds Rarities Committee. A Spoonbill has spent several days in the Cob pool at Malltraeth, using its huge spatulate bill to sieve for food. One at Pwllheli last week may have been the same individual, but two others were over Rhuallt on Friday. A Black Stork flew over North Stack last week and while not rare on the coast, Aled Isaf Reservoir in Mynydd Hiraethog was an unusual location for a Whimbrel.

Wildlife Trust wardens are watching a pair of Roseate Terns, Britain’s rarest breeding seabird, that has settled among other terns at Cemlyn lagoon, where the first Black-headed Gull chicks have hatched. Up to three Little Stints and a Curlew Sandpiper fed in the Alaw estuary and a White-tailed Eagle was reported near Llangollen at the weekend.

A report published today shows that almost half of the commonest native bird species are declining in Wales, trends in the wrong direction for Welsh Government’s ambition to bend the curve of loss by 2030. Curlew, Swift and Yellowhammer are among species that have declined by at least three-quarters in Wales since 1995. Breeding Bird Survey results from the BTO, JNCC and RSPB also highlight several river species in trouble: Dipper numbers in the UK have fallen by 32% since 1998.

Reliant on aquatic invertebrates, Dippers are an excellent indicator of water quality, so what does the decline say about the state of our rivers, or for other life such as fish that also depend on insects? Pioneering research on Dippers and Grey Wagtails in Wales during the 1980s showed the impact of sulphur deposition from acid rain. Numbers recovered when air pollution was tackled but nitrate and phosphates washed into streams from farmland, and pollution from sewage treatment overflows may have sent that recovery backwards. A recent Dutch study shows that ecosystem function risks collapse because of neonicotinoid insecticides.

The urgency was emphasised by the Future Generations Commissioner’s recent report that criticised politicians and public bodies for applying short-term fixes to long-term problems. Highlighting that 60% of Welsh rivers recognised for their nature importance are failing to meet water quality targets, the Commissioner called for government and institutions to prioritise wildlife with “a statutory incentive required to ensure that nature recovery is built into decisions on infrastructure, housing, flood prevention and pollution control”.

​With most spring migrants back on their breeding grounds, birders’ attention turned to continental species that “overshot” their intended destination. A Black Kite was over Aberdaron and Bardsey, with a Black Stork pushing farther into Pen Llŷn, near Rhoshirwaun, on Sunday, and a Hoopoe in a Criccieth housing estate. Flypasts reported included a Montagu’s Harrier reported over Rhoscolyn and a Bee-eater over the Great Orme. A couple of Spoonbills passed Wylfa Head, with another on the Inland Sea, and perhaps the same at Pwllheli on Thursday. Blue-headed Wagtails were on Bardsey and at Cemlyn, where a Little Gull and Roseate Tern joined the colony and a Curlew Sandpiper paused on migration. A Wood Sandpiper dropped into Gronant, an Avocet at Porthmadog, four Cattle Egrets are at Shotwick and a Quail calls at Marford.

The Hoopoe’s onomatopoeic call is more typical of the Mediterranean, but in an exceptional spring for records in the southern half of Britain, three made it to North Wales last week. One spent several days in a farmyard near Llansannan before venturing more widely along the roadside, while others were on Bardsey and at Holywell’s Greenfield Country Park, with a belated report of one in a Tywyn garden last month. With its distinctive crest and barred wings, Hoopoes are usually seen first by people who wouldn’t describe themselves as birdwatchers. Not only in English is the bird named after its call, but in almost every other language too, including its scientific name Upupa epops, which finds its origin in Latin and ancient Greek.

As well as a Hoopoe, the Bardsey Bird Observatory team recorded a Red-rumped Swallow and Bee-eater, with another reported near Rhosneigr last week. The first Spotted Flycatcher of the year was on Bardsey last week, but by Monday several were already on territory in the Conwy Valley.

Other scarce visitors to the region include a Garganey and European White-fronted Goose at RSPB Cors Ddyga, with four Wood Sandpipers there and another three at Shotwick Lake. A dozen Dotterels were reported from Foel Fras and four on the Great Orme, while a Long-tailed Duck is late to leave Anglesey’s Inland Sea.

Around 60 Little Terns called above our heads as volunteers and rangers from Denbighshire County Council set up fencing at Gronant to protect these rare seabirds from dogs, foxes and humans. Several Ringed Plovers were investigating the beach as we returned from a lunch break, and the terns will almost certainly start to settle this week. On Anglesey, Wildlife Trust wardens at Cemlyn counted over 2700 Sandwich Terns and 350 Arctic Terns on the lagoon, and a Little Gull stayed for several days. Another Little Gull was in Caernarfon’s Foryd Bay, where a Little Stint roosted with Dunlins.

After nine months of flight since they left their nest, Swifts were over Corwen, Llanfair TH, RSPB Conwy and Aber Ogwen at the weekend. They use the same nest site in roof spaces each year, but scaffolding can prevent access to their homes. The RSPB has reminded householders and building companies that active nests of all species are protected by law and encouraged people to report screaming parties of Swifts and nest sites on the swiftmapper.org.uk website. Records can also be added to North Wales Wildlife Trust's Swift Recovery Project on the Cofnod website. 

Meanwhile, the Senedd Petitions Committee urged Welsh Government to take a cross-departmental approach to a call by more than 10,000 people for Swift Bricks to be mandatory on all new buildings in Wales.

In other migration news, Ring Ouzels have been seen from more sites than usual away from their Eryri breeding areas. These are probably birds moving farther north, but as we move into May, any Ring Ouzels showing evidence of breeding behaviour should be reported to county recorders, especially in Denbighshire where summer records are now scarce. Yellow Wagtails adjacent to the River Dee near Sealand include at least one of the continental Blue-headed form.

Groups of Whimbrels rested on their journey to breed in Iceland; larger groups included 80 on Traeth Lafan at Wig, 42 at Carmel Head and 30 on the Glaslyn from Porthmadog Cob. While most waders pause at the coast, one prefers the high life. Six Dotterels were on the western slope of Carneddau Llewelyn, the second highest summit in Wales, on Sunday, en route to Scotland or Scandinavia.

A White Stork flew over RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands from across the Welsh border and six Cattle Egrets remain beside the main road north out of Valley on Monday. Most winter visitors have departed, although the Menai Strait’s Kumlien’s Gull and Black-necked Grebe were at Aber Ogwen last week, from where an Egyptian Goose departed north over Penmon Point on Monday. 

The appearance of a Redpoll from the high Arctic seemed appropriate during a chilly Easter that broke weeks of dry and sunny weather. The bulky finch, nicknamed ‘snowballs’ by some birders, was found by Bardsey Bird Observatory staff on Sunday and still present on Monday.

Redpoll taxonomy has been fluid, and somewhat controversial, in recent years. Current genetic analysis ‘lumps’ Arctic, Common and Lesser Redpolls, the last of which nests in British woodlands. Consequently, the Welsh Ornithological Society recently reduced the three species on the Welsh List to one. Observatory warden Steve Stansfield is confident that this week’s sighting is of the Hornemann’s form that breeds in northeast Canada and Greenland, which would be the first ever recorded in Wales. There have been five Welsh records of the other Redpoll (Coue’s) that breeds in the far north, in Scandinavia and Russia, but none for more than 20 years.

Besides an American Wigeon on Anglesey’s Alaw estuary, sightings otherwise had a more southerly flavour: a Purple Heron at Cors Erddreiniog on Anglesey and a Red-rumped Swallow at RSPB Conwy that came down to feed during Saturday’s rain. A pair of Garganey were at RSPB Cors Ddyga, five Cattle Egrets remain at Valley and a Corncrake was reported on the Great Orme. Lesser Whitethroats, Garden Warblers and Whinchats were seen at several sites for the first time this year and there was a notable arrival of Grasshopper Warblers, including a remarkable 19 between Prestatyn and Gronant.

Ospreys in the Glaslyn valley laid eggs last week, but there has been high drama at Llyn Brenig where two males tussle for the attentions of the nesting female, one of which evicted the two eggs already laid. An Osprey, almost certainly colour-ringed as a nestling in Scotland, caught and ate a fish in the Conwy estuary, delighting visitors to the adjacent RSPB nature reserve.

​In a week that was warmer and drier in North Wales than parts of the Med, some of the visiting birds had a southern European feel: a Bee-eater over Rhosneigr, a Hoopoe at Parc Glynllifon, seven Cattle Egrets near Valley and a White Stork that wandered around Anglesey, feeding with gulls behind the plough on a farm near Llyn Alaw. It, or another, was over Gronant on Monday, and later on the Wirral peninsula. A study published recently shows that Iberian breeding storks have lost their migratory urge over the last 30 years. More than 70% now stay in southern Europe through the winter, compared to just 18% in 1995. Tracking shows that birds only travel to Africa in the first winter after they hatch and then become more sedentary, driven by year-round food availability at landfill dumps in Spain and Portugal.

​The first Little Terns were seen at Gronant at the weekend, where Denbighshire Council is appealing for volunteers to help set up the fences that are so essential to keeping predators, dogs and other visitors away from the nests of one of the most productive colonies in Britain.

Other summer migrants arriving before the weather turned inclement included the first Cuckoos at Dyserth last Thursday, and Mynydd Llandygai and the Aber Valley on Saturday, an influx of Willow Warblers on Holy Island, a Blue-headed Wagtail on Bardsey and more than 100 White Wagtails at Cemlyn. A Slavonian Grebe remains in the Menai Strait, a Surf Scoter off Llanddulas with four Velvet Scoters, and a Tree Sparrow sang at Uwchmynydd, on the tip of Pen Llŷn.

Rarest visitor was a Bonaparte’s Gull, present on RSPB Conwy’s lagoons and the adjacent estuary at the weekend. This North American vagrant has occurred in North Wales on fewer than a dozen occasions, and this was the first record in the Denbighshire vice-county used for wildlife recording.
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It's not too late to sign up for the Heathland Bird Survey, which is seeking to find Dartford Warblers between now and June. Later in the summer, evening visits will be required to find churring Nightjars. I made the first of two visits to one of my allocated squares and was pleased to find Dartford Warblers present, a species that is moving north with a warming climate but with only a toe-hold in North Wales. They nest in gorse and heather, so are especially vulnerable to the spate of fires across the region in recent weeks. Volunteers to survey for Dartford Warblers are needed in western Anglesey, Pen Llŷn, the Carneddau and on moorland north of Llangollen. Details at bto.org/our-science/projects/heathland-birds-survey.

Black Grouse surveyors in northeast Wales will hope that the high-pressure system with its clear weather holds through April. Counting birds requires a calm dawn to locate a lek – the gathering that is often a precursor to mating – by the male’s characteristic bubbling call. One bird in Mynydd Hiraethog took the unusual step of displaying on top of a pole carrying low voltage powerlines, caught on video by Dave Parry. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the clip. Some have speculated that the Black Grouse, which roost in trees to avoid predation, was responding to its own reflection in the glass insulators. Survey volunteers will be scouring the forests and moors, rather than electricity poles, this month to see whether last year’s population increases have been maintained.

Three Hoopoes on Bardsey and one in an Anelog garden were among at least 150 reported in southwest Britain and the south coast of Ireland in recent weeks; a Wryneck on seacliffs across Bardsey Sound made a similar journey from Africa. These overshot their breeding areas in mainland Europe during recent warm weather, as did a Black Kite that flew over my head beside Anglesey’s Llyn Penrhyn on Friday, where the Red-necked Grebe is developing its colourful summer attire. A White Stork wandered widely over Anglesey on Monday and Tuesday, and being unringed was also likely to be a European breeder. Multiple Ring Ouzels were at South Stack and the Great Orme. Other summer migrants included the region’s first Reed Warblers at RSPB Conwy and Gronant on Monday, Sedge Warbler at RSPB Cors Ddyga on Sunday, while Saturday brought a Yellow Wagtail to the Clwyd estuary, Whinchat at Aberffraw and Pied Flycatcher at Llanberis. Common Sandpiper, Tree Pipit and Whimbrel were also recorded in North Wales last week, and eight Little Ringed Plovers paused at RSPB Cors Ddyga. Three Glossy Ibises that flew along Nant Llugwy near Capel Curig were not relocated.

Last week’s call for dog-owners to protect nesting birds by using a short lead prompted readers to remind owners to deposit dog hair in the bin, not to leave it for birds to use as nesting material if dosed with insecticide tick and flea treatments. A study by the University of Sussex showed that several types of insecticide were found in more than 90% of Blue Tit and Great Tit nests sampled, and that a higher number of dead chicks or unhatched eggs were found in nests exposed to the pesticides. Previous studies have highlighted the toxic effects of pet treatments on aquatic life from dogs treated with spot-on, spray or shampoo flea treatments containing chemicals such as fipronil, which was banned for use in agriculture more than a decade ago.