Although Buff-breasted Sandpiper is the commonest trans-Atlantic shorebird to occur in Britain, it had been found in North Wales on just 15 previous occasions prior to this year. They nest in the high Arctic of Alaska and northwest Canada and remarkably there have been two in the region this autumn, both found by Simon Roberts. After discovering one near Cemlyn, Anglesey, earlier this month, he found one near Caernarfon airport over the weekend. It’s the first ever in mainland Caernarfonshire too, as all five previous records in the county were on Bardsey. It is consorting with Golden Plovers, as is an American Golden Plover that remains near Cemlyn. Other scarce waders include four Curlew Sandpipers at RSPB Conwy and others on the Clwyd, Cefni and Alaw estuaries, and a Dotterel was on the Great Orme last week.
​
From the east, the first Yellow-browed Warblers were seen over the weekend, with records near Aberdaron, on Bardsey, in a Valley garden and at Wylfa Woods. Other sounds of autumn came with Redwings over Bangor last Wednesday and a flock of Pink-footed Geese over the Alaw estuary. Larger numbers of the geese are on the Dee estuary with a Snow Goose among them, and a Cattle Egret at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands. A Great White Egret remains on Llyn Brenig, where a Common Scoter dropped in recently.

Strong winds brought Sabine’s Gull, Long-tailed Skua and Grey Phalarope past Bardsey, Pomarine Skuas off Point Lynas, Criccieth and Tywyn, two Leach’s Petrels reported off Colwyn Bay, and a handful of Arctic Skuas and Red-throated Divers around the coast. A Lapland Bunting flew over RSPB South Stack on Sunday and a Marsh Harrier flew north over RSPB Conwy on Monday.

Ospreys remain at Aber Ogwen and at Malltraeth for the third consecutive week, but surely must be on the move south very soon.

Osprey tourism has long been a phenomenon in Scotland and for almost 20 years around the nest site at Pont Croesor on the Afon Glaslyn, but the north coast got in on the action this week. Two individuals have been drawing the crowds and cameras. Unringed juveniles at Aber Ogwen and the Cefni Valley have remained throughout the week and are still present today (Monday), taking advantage of a good supply of fish before they head to west Africa for the winter. Others were over Pen-y-cil, near Aberdaron on Monday and a second bird was at RSPB Cors Ddyga, but the family from Pont Croesor have left the area.

A flock of Pale-bellied Brent Geese, a few of the locally rarer Dark-bellied form among them, at Foryd Bay signal the arrival of autumn from northeast Canada. Pink-footed Geese now arriving in the Dee Estuary and seen over several other places, including Llysfaen and Conwy, have bred in Iceland; a flock over Bardsey was unusual.

Two Curlew Sandpipers are at Barmouth, Dotterel on the Great Orme, Black Tern off Aber Dysynni, Little Stint at Llyn Brenig and Spotted Redshanks at Foryd Bay and RSPB Conwy, while an American Golden Plover remains west of Cemlyn. A Barred Warbler and five Tree Sparrows dropped into Bardsey last week, as did a Hoopoe at Anglesey’s Porth Wen and a Cattle Egret at Aber Ogwen, but each stayed only for an afternoon. Four Garganey remained on Cefni Reservoir last week, with another at Llyn Llygeirian. A count of 81 Little Egrets on the Inland Sea was the highest ever on Anglesey.

Sabine’s Gull and Long-tailed Skua flew past Bardsey last week, but there have been relatively few sightings of Great Skua off our coast this autumn, perhaps not surprising given that they are one of the birds hit hardest on their Scottish breeding grounds by bird flu.

Reports of birds sick and dying of avian influenza continue from around the Welsh coast, with Gannets especially affected. Images from the established colony at RSPB Grassholm in Pembrokeshire show large gaps in the breeding area and many birds lying dead on the rock. There are reports of many others dead in the water and washed up on beaches. Smaller numbers of dead Gannets around the North Wales coast may be from colonies in Scotland or Ireland. Many other species have been affected, including seabirds ringed in North Wales. A Great Black-backed Gull that fledged from a nest on St Tudwal’s Island West, off Abersoch, that was found dead near Rosslare, Ireland, with several Gannets and is presumed to have died of bird flu. It is another species that can ill afford more bad news, as a recent assessment shows that numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls have almost halved worldwide since 1985 and recommended that it should be classed as Vulnerable on the Global Red List.

It has been another good week for wader migration in North Wales. A trip of four Dotterels on the Great Orme showed well, meeting their reputation for being trusting and unafraid. The Dotterel’s Welsh name, Hutan (y Mynydd) means ‘oaf’ and its English name comes from ‘dote’, an old world for a gullible fool (the same origin as ‘dotty’). Both were given by hunters who found them easy to obtain for the pot. Perhaps it’s not surprising they show little fear of humans; having hatched high on a northern mountain, they will have encountered few people. Now the threat from people is indirect: a factor in their decline as a breeding bird in Scotland is nitrogen in rainfall from burning fossil fuels. Higher deposition of nitrogen reduces alpine specialist plants, including species of moss, that are important breeding habitat for Dotterels.

Other wader highlights were Red-necked Phalaropes at Llyn Coron and off Porthmadog Cob, an American Golden Plover near Cemlyn, Wood Sandpiper at Valley Cob and Curlew Sandpipers at a host of sites, including double-figure counts at Malltraeth Cob and the Alaw estuary. A Barred Warbler was among a small fall of migrant songbirds on Bardsey on Monday, a late Swift was over Glanwydden last Wednesday and hundreds of Swallows are pouring south. I saw House Martins still attending a nest at Bethel, near Bodorgan, on Friday. Anyone else still have nesting House Martins?

An Osprey has hunted along the Menai Strait for several days, most regularly at Aber Ogwen, while another fished in the Cefni valley. The unringed bird near Bangor fledged from a nest this summer, probably in Scotland. Most Welsh Ospreys have left, but two remain in Nant Glaslyn, and on the Dyfi estuary, chick Padarn has yet to go. Her brother Pedran, was seen in Northumberland in late August, 15 days after he was last near the Dyfi nest site.

RSPB and BTO Cymru have thanked homeowners in Meirionnydd for suspending bird-feeding and emptying birdbaths over the summer, to reduce the risk of the disease Trichomonosis spreading to the nationally-important Hawfinch population. The organisations have asked people to refrain from feeding birds until the start of October. Read more about why here. 

It’s the best time of the year to watch waders, or shorebirds as they’re known in some parts of the world. Breeding wader populations in much of western Europe have fallen dramatically for a variety of reasons, including the expansion of upland forestry and changes in farming policies and practice over the last century. Dunlin and Golden Plover are, sadly, now rare breeding birds in Wales, and Curlew, Lapwing and Redshank are far less widespread than formerly. September sees adult and young waders of many species stop in North Wales from northern Europe, Asia and the far northeast of Canada.

Cemlyn, on the north coast of Anglesey, took the prize for rare waders this week. An American Golden Plover has been present since last Wednesday and a Buff-breasted Sandpiper dropped in at the weekend, both having crossed the Atlantic. A White-winged Black Tern, from eastern Europe, shared the Cemlyn limelight on Sunday.

Other waders hail from the northeast, having already flown at least 2500 miles in recent weeks. A Pectoral Sandpiper at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands most likely came from that direction, in the Siberian Arctic, as do the Curlew Sandpipers and many of the Little Stints encountered here in autumn. Their journey is far from over. North Wales is just the halfway mark en route to west Africa.

Curlew Sandpipers are being seen across the region, with counts of 12 on the Alaw estuary and the Border Pool at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, nine at Malltraeth Cob, five on the Clwyd estuary, three on Porthmadog’s Llyn Bach and Connah’s Quay nature reserve, and singles at Aberdyfi and RSPB Conwy. Very unusually, one was on the shore of Llyn Aled Isaf, in Mynydd Hiraethog, illustrating that at some least travel overland. ​Little Stints have come too, with three each at Malltraeth and RSPB Conwy, where a couple of Spotted Redshanks and Ruff are present.

Other notable visitors to the region in the last week include a Marsh Warbler ringed on Bardsey, three Balearic Shearwaters off the island, a Cory’s Shearwater off Point Lynas, Cattle Egret and a juvenile Cuckoo at RSPB Cors Ddyga, and another at Cemlyn on Monday. Three Garganeys were on Cefni reservoir and one on the Alaw estuary.

I was delighted to try out the updated BirdTrack mobile phone app at the weekend, with new features that make it even easier to enter bird sightings in the field. Records of other popular wildlife groups, including mammals, butterflies and dragonflies, can now be added too. Bird recorders in Wales and the Welsh Ornithological Society draw on sightings submitted through BirdTrack, so it’s the one-stop-shop to ensure sightings count. If you already use BirdTrack, head for your phone’s appstore, and if you haven’t tried out BirdTrack yet, register first at www.birdtrack.net.

Birdwatchers in Norfolk are celebrating successful nesting by two families of Bee-eaters this summer. A small flock of the brightly-coloured birds were spotted around a former sand quarry in June, and the RSPB and North East Norfolk Bird Club were quick to ensure the nests were protected while giving people the opportunity to visit without disturbing the birds. Thanks to a webcam, people across the country were able to watch the adults entering the nest tunnels with flying insects for the stripy-headed chicks. Last week, the five youngsters left the two nests for the final time and have migrated south to equatorial Africa.

This bird was once strictly Mediterranean, but climate change is causing Bee-eaters to spread north and it’s becoming scarcer in the south. Having nested in Britain only once prior to 2002, the number of breeding attempts is already in double figures durng the last 20 years. In Germany, the breeding population has increased from one pair in 1990 to 2,500 pairs! Bee-eaters have yet to nest in Wales, but are occurring more frequently: there were more records during 2000-19 than in the whole period since records were kept several centuries ago.

Rare sightings in North Wales recently include Dotterels on the summit of Foel Grach and the Great Orme, Cattle Egret at RSPB Cors Ddyga, and several Balearic Shearwaters off Anglesey. Curlew Sandpipers have been at Llanfairfechan and on Malltraeth Cob pool, where a Garganey was seen at the weekend. Three more Garganeys were on Cefni reservoir, along with four Green Sandpipers, and an impressive 26 Greenshanks were at Aber Ogwen. A Hen Harrier flew from Pen Llŷn to Bardsey on Monday and four Black Terns were at Dinas Dinlle on Friday. Bird flu continues to kill thousands of Gannets in Pembrokeshire, with several washed up dead around the North Wales coast. Bird flu is also suspected on the Dee estuary.
 
The Welsh Ornithological Society has opened bookings for its first in-person Conference since 2019. Excellent talks have been arranged on the theme of ‘After Dark’ for the event at Aberystwyth University on 5 November. WOS is also reminding photographers that its annual competition is open until 31 December, with the winners to be chosen by tv wildlife presenter, Iolo Williams.
​
The delayed Northeast Wales Bird Report, covering 2019 and 2020, has been published recently, and can be downloaded free of charge from the Bird Recording North Wales website.

Strong winds on Saturday brought seabirds closer to shore as they passed through the Irish Sea before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean. Black Tern and Little Gull fed off Point Lynas, and two Little Terns roosted at Rhos Point. A couple of Roseate Terns were off Bardsey and an impressive 1300 Kittiwakes roosted on the island. Single Balearic Shearwaters – a globally-threatened seabird that feeds off the west coast of Britain after leaving its breeding burrows in the western Mediterranean - were off Wylfa, Cemlyn and Criccieth. In the first decade of this century, Anglesey averaged 35 records each year, but numbers have fallen sharply in line with the population decline.

I expect Great Skuas to be scarce off our shores this autumn too, after huge numbers died on their breeding grounds in Scotland and the Faeroes this summer. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) continues to kill seabirds around the coast, with the number of Gannets dead or missing from Grassholm in Pembrokeshire– until recently the only colony in Wales – now estimated to run into the low thousands.

Southbound Ospreys stopped at Aber Ogwen and the Conwy estuary en route to west Africa. Songbirds are also on the move, with migrants such as Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Willow Warblers and a juvenile Cuckoo on the Great Orme. Spotted Redshanks are at RSPB Conwy and Cemlyn lagoon, and Green Sandpipers were at Llyn Llygeirian and The Dingle nature reserve in Llangefni. The count of Mediterranean Gulls on Anglesey’s Inland Sea reached 32 on Sunday, three Garganeys were on Cefni Reservoir last week, and others at Burton Mere Wetlands and Ynys-hir, both sites also recording Spotted Crake at the weekend. A Red-backed Shrike is at Whixall Moss, just into Shropshire, and Hooded Crows remain by the Clwyd estuary and Aber Dysynni.

Birders are on the lookout for Sandwich Terns with coloured leg rings this month. Liverpool Bay is an important mix-zone for these seabirds before they head to southwest Africa for the winter. The colour rings, usually placed on chicks before they leave the nest, show that terns from colonies across Britain and Ireland feed along our coast, as do some from Denmark and The Netherlands. The records illustrate the importance of our shallow bays to birds from across northwest Europe, where they fishing for sandeels and sprats prior to migration. The records holds even greater significance since several colonies have been hit hard by bird flu.

My early morning visit to Rhos Point last week found just two ringed Sandwich Terns, one of which – dark blue 631 - hadn’t been recorded in North Wales previously. Scrolling idly through Twitter over breakfast, I saw a photo of a Sandwich Tern with dark blue ring 631, taken not in North Wales but the previous afternoon at Port Seton, east of Edinburgh. A quick exchange of messages confirmed that it was the same bird, which had crossed from the North Sea to the Irish Sea - 186 miles in a straight line - in less than 18 hours. It was ringed as a chick north of Aberdeen in 2018 and visited a nesting colony in Co. Donegal, northwest Ireland, in June this year, where the colour-ring was added. These birds get about!

Other visitors to the coast this week include four Spoonbills at Connah’s Quay nature reserve, two Roseate Terns at Hafan y Môr, Purple Sandpiper at Kinmel Bay and Spotted Redshanks at Morfa Madryn and RSPB Conwy, although the most exciting wildlife sighting was of two Orcas off Aberdesach last Friday. Hundreds of Swallows followed the coast west on Saturday, clearly on migration, and 10,000 roosted that evening at RSPB Cors Ddyga, where a Purple Heron continues to reside. A Ring-necked Duck remains at RSPB Valley Wetlands and an Egyptian Goose is at Foryd Bay.

On the Anglesey coast at the weekend, flocks of Swallows gathered, perching briefly in treetops a sign of readiness to depart for Africa. Smaller numbers of Sand Martins fed on insects over the cliffs, and several Wheatears may also have been early southbound migrants. A few Swifts screeched over the village this morning, suggesting that one or two nests have young that are yet to fledge, but most have gone already.

A visit to the Inland Sea, separating Holy Island from the rest of Anglesey, found a flock of 20 Mediterranean Gulls, all adults with white wings and various stages of black head feathers moulting to white. That is a good count for North Wales, but nothing compared to the sight of more than 1,250 in a field above Llanon, Ceredigion, a flock count that smashed the Welsh record for the third successive year. Three dozen of them bore colour rings which will explain more about the origins of this late summer influx to Wales, where the species remains a rare breeder. The recent European Breeding Bird Atlas shows that Mediterranean Gulls have shifted northwest in recent decades, away from the Black Sea and into western Europe. Wetland creation, protection of their colonies and a warming planet are all contributing to this change.

A Purple Heron has spent several days at RSPB Cors Ddyga, the most westerly of a small influx into the southern half of Britain, and a Ring-necked Duck remains at RSPB Valley Wetlands. A Black Kite was over Llyn Coron on Sunday, perhaps the same as seen in mid Wales last week. A Curlew Sandpiper and three Ruffs were on Malltraeth Cob pool on Sunday, and several Balearic Shearwaters were seen around the Anglesey coast last week. Hooded Crows are near Rhoscolyn, the Alaw estuary, Uwchmynydd and on the Clwyd estuary, and a family of Garganeys is at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands.

​It is at least 162 years since the first, and until now only, Gannet colony became established in Wales, on Grassholm, Pembrokeshire. The colony has grown to over 36,000 nesting pairs, protected as an RSPB nature reserve since 1948, the charity’s first land purchase in Wales. This week, The Seabird Group, a global network of researchers, announced the establishment of a second Welsh colony, off the Anglesey coast. The first photographs to confirm that chicks had hatched were taken by Steve Culley in mid-July.

Gannets are seen regularly off the North Wales coast through each summer, as non-breeding adults roam widely. As well as Grassholm, our coasts are probably visited by gannets from Ailsa Craig in Scotland’s Firth of Clyde and from Ireland’s Eye in Dublin Bay, which became established as recently as 1989.

The presence of Gannets on Ynys Badrig among nesting Cormorants, Guillemots and Razorbills was noticed by a visiting birder in 2019, since when volunteers from the Seawatch Foundation have monitored numbers. Bangor University has used trail cameras to record developments on the island. Also known as Middle Mouse and lying just one kilometre off a headland east of Cemaes Bay, it is the most northerly point in Wales and according to legend, the site where St Patrick was shipwrecked.

It’s early days for the colony, with 21 nests counted. Experts hope that this will be an important step for Gannets in the UK, especially as several Scottish colonies have been devastated by avian influenza this summer. Welcoming the news, RSPB Cymru reminded boat users and paddleboarders to steer clear of the island. The Anglesey marine code asks users to get no closer than 100 metres of seabird colonies and to travel at less than five knots within 300 metres.

Other highlights this week include a Wood Sandpiper on the Clwyd estuary, Spotted Redshank at RSPB Conwy, two Roseate Terns at Afon Wen and a Little Gull on the Dwyfor estuary. A Cory’s Shearwater flew past Cemlyn on Friday, a Ring-necked Duck remains at RSPB Valley Wetlands and a Corncrake was reported calling west of Llanfairfechan.

​Roseate Terns are Britain’s rarest breeding seabird, so it is always special to see them in North Wales. Two adults and a juvenile were at Cemlyn Bay on Sunday, the metal leg rings on one of the adults denoting that it had been raised on Rockabill, the island in Dublin Bay that is the most important site for the species in Europe. Another Roseate Tern was at Rhos Point on Monday. Thankfully, the Irish colony appears to have avoided the huge outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that is having devastating consequences for seabird colonies in Scotland and eastern England. Terns are also fledging from Welsh colonies, including a pair of Roseate Terns from the Skerries, off the northwest coast of Anglesey. That is very welcome news, as the only significant colony in Britain, Coquet island in Northumberland, has been badly affected by HPAI, which has killed at least a quarter of the adult population.

A Black Tern was an unusual visitor off The Skerries at the weekend, while other scarce visitors to Anglesey included a Ring-necked Duck and Purple Heron at RSPB Valley Wetlands, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint on the Alaw estuary, and a Ring Ouzel near Bryngwran. The heron was the 200th species to be recorded on the island this year, reports the Anglesey Bird News blog.

Mediterranean Gulls continue to arrive from the southeast, with 43 on the Alaw estuary, nine at Rhos Point and eight at Cemlyn and on the Afon Glaslyn. Yellow Wagtails have been spotted at RSPB Conwy, with a count of 57 Little Egrets and a couple of Great White Egrets there. Waders are arriving daily, many still in their colourful breeding garb: several Turnstones and a Knot at Rhos Point looked were freshly in on Monday, as were Greenshanks at Morfa Madryn and the Alaw.

Thank you for the positive response to last week’s plea to help Hawfinches by suspending provision of waters and feeders in gardens in Meirionnydd. If you missed the story, click here.