Last week’s storms was a challenge for some nesting birds, especially those that hatched mid-week into several days of cool and constant rain. Many Little Tern nests were lost at Gronant, the largest colony in Britain & Ireland. Sand blown across the site buried an unknown number of eggs as well as the electric fence that protects the birds. It’s expected that most, if not all, of the terns will lay another clutch, and providing there is good weather over the coming weeks, there is still plenty of time for the season to be successful. Denbighshire County Council, which manages the site, has closed the viewing hide temporarily, to give the birds the best chance of relaying. The weather may prove tougher for Pied Flycatchers, hatching now, if parents are unable to find enough caterpillars washed out of trees by the rain.

A Rough-legged Buzzard over Cwm Eigiau last week was highly unusual, both in timing and location. These are rare visitors to Wales, and usually occur in mid-winter, not May when they should be on their breeding grounds in northern Scandinavia. The last one in North Wales was also in Eryri, near Capel Curig, in November 2018. Honey Buzzards are more typical spring migrants, but three in a few days was unusual, with birds over RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Minera and Maentwrog last week.

A Curlew Sandpiper was a colourful addition to Cemlyn over the weekend, while the site also hosted a Red-rumped Swallow last week. Four Cattle Egrets were reported on the Alaw estuary, a Ring-necked Duck and Scaup continue to paddle across Llyn Brenig, and a Whooper Swan at Porthmadog Cob may well over-summer since the wintering Glaslyn valley flock has long since left for Iceland.

The winds brought Pomarine Skuas to Bardsey and Aberdyfi, and perhaps delayed the last push of migrants, as a remarkable 39 Spotted Flycatchers were seen on the north end of Holy Island on Saturday morning.

While it is too early to be sure that highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) will not dominate the seabird headlines again this season, as reported last week the terns on Anglesey appear healthy at present. Initial news from some Guillemot colonies is less rosy; North Sutor in the Cromarty Firth holds 83% fewer than last year, Skokholm in Pembrokeshire 30% fewer and numbers at South Stack are about 10% down. The decline follows thousands of Guillemots being washed ashore around Britain late last summer. HPAI and higher sea temperatures affecting fish availability are both suggested as potential factors.

Protecting seabird colonies from other threats has thus become even more critical. North Wales Police are emphasising to watercraft users, among others, the importance of not disturbing seabird colonies, while RSPB Cymru’s only canine employee recently visited The Skerries tern and Puffin colony off northwest Anglesey ahead of Invasive Species Week. Jinx has been trained to sniff out signs of rats that are not native to offshore islands. His visits with handler Greg are part of biosecurity plans drawn up for all the Welsh island SSSIs under a project funded by Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Fund. The islands’ seabirds need effective biosecurity every day of the year, so what will happen when funding ends in March 2025 remains to be seen.

The rarest visitor of spring to North Wales was an Eastern Subalpine Warbler ringed at Bardsey Bird Observatory. The island also recorded an Alpine Swift, singing Firecrest and Hawfinch, and another of the chunky finches flew over Bangor railway station. Llyn Brenig’s Ring-necked Duck was joined by a Scaup, a Quail calls at Rhosneigr golf course and a Nightjar churred in Wrexham. Hooded Crows are on the Clwyd estuary and at South Stack, and more than 30 Crossbills dropped onto the Great Orme on Sunday. 

Last week’s taste of summer enabled more migrants to reach their final destination, and it has been good to hear of Swifts screaming over rooftops across the region. After a slow start, the seabird colony at Cemlyn lagoon has become busier. North Wales Wildlife Trust wardens estimate there are 160 Black-headed Gull nests, with the first eggs due to hatch this week, and 750 Sandwich Tern nests with probably more to come. Visitors to the Anglesey site can also see 250 Arctic Terns and 150 Common Terns; tentative signs that bird flu has not caused significant further mortality over the winter. Other recent sightings include Great White Egret, Grey-headed Wagtail and three Blue-headed Wagtails.

An Avocet at Malltraeth Cob on Saturday had earlier been upstream at RSPB Cors Ddyga, where a Garganey and Cuckoo were seen recently. A Cuckoo was also at RSPB South Stack, along with several Spotted Flycatchers, Wood Warbler, Ring Ouzel, Short-eared Owl and Hooded Crows. A male Brambling at the reserve - singing like a sheep - turned out to be an escaped cagebird of Belgian origin, traced by its closed leg ring.

The Great Orme hosted Black Redstart, Woodlark and a couple of Whinchats among other passage migrants. A male Ring-necked Duck on Llyn Brenig may be one that wintered on Llyn Tegid, a Black Kite was reported over Holywell on Saturday, two Cattle Egrets were at Valley and a long-staying Long-tailed Duck remains on Llyn Maelog. A Long-tailed Skua flew inland over nearby Rhosneigr last week, a Serin paused briefly near Trearddur Bay, a Quail called at Bettisfield Moss, and a Golden Oriole and Turtle Dove were on Bardsey. Garganeys were at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands and Llyn Llywenan, while a Black-throated Diver joined the dozen or so Great Northerns in Caernarfon Bay on Monday.

The two rarest birds of the week made the briefest of appearances. An RSPB warden on The Skerries, the important seabird colony off northwest Anglesey, photographed a Pallid Harrier circling over the island last Friday. It is the second seen in North Wales, after one on the Dee estuary in 2017. A major rarity in Britain until 20 years ago, records have increased as its global distribution has shifted northwest, with one or two pairs breeding as close as The Netherlands. However, that probably disguises a huge decline in the Pallid Harrier’s eastern European and Central Asian strongholds, thought to result from cultivation of natural steppe grasslands for crops.

A Short-toed Lark at RSPB South Stack on Friday could not be relocated, but the site also produced a Ring Ouzel on Monday, bound for Scandinavia several weeks after Eryri birds arrived on their breeding sites. A late Fieldfare there is probably heading for the same destination, but a Snow Goose on nearby Tŵr Reservoir, a species kept in wildfowl collections, has perhaps not travelled quite so far.

Elsewhere, up to 40 Great Northern Divers and several Scaup are in Caernarfon Bay, pausing en route to Iceland, while a Pomarine Skua off Dinas Dinlle will be heading for Russia. Garganeys were at Connah’s Quay, RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, RSPB Cors Ddyga and Llyn Llywenan, two late Waxwings at Eryrys, below Nercwys Mountain, and a Honey Buzzard flew up the Cefni Valley.

Scarborough birder Nick Addey, holidaying in Beaumaris, spotted a pair of Starlings nesting in the base of a gondola on the town’s Ferris Wheel, posting a message on social media site X, formerly Twitter. It will be a race against the clock for the Starlings to raise a family, as the “Beaumaris Eye” is only at the Anglesey resort until 4 June. Starlings incubate their eggs for around two weeks, and the chicks will fledge around 20 days – and many hundreds of revolutions - later. How do the parents know in which of the 24 carriages to serve food?