Greenland Goose tracked to the Llŷn

Barnacle Geese (Derek Moore)

Post by @stevepercival63 on X.

Barnacle Geese from the Arctic were once a regular winter visitor to North Wales, with large numbers in the Wydden valley inland from Penrhyn Bay until the early 19th century and thousands on the Dee estuary until the 1870s. It has become much scarcer in the last century. The entire Svalbard breeding population now winters in the Solway Firth, where up to a third were killed in the first wave of highly pathogenic bird flu in winter 2021. The Greenland breeding population winters in Ireland and the west coast of Scotland.

The picture in Wales is confused, however, because a naturalised flock of up to 600 that breeds in the Lake District has wintered on the Dyfi estuary since the 1990s, and it is assumed that small groups seen in North Wales are part of that population. However, last week a satellite-tagged Barnacle Goose was among a flock that flew from Iceland to the Scilly Isles and a few days later was tracked across Cardigan Bay to land firstly at Pen Cilan and then on Ynys Gwylan Fawr, off Aberdaron. Nine Barnacle Geese were over Bardsey last week and five on the Glaslyn estuary at the weekend, which may also have been birds reorienting after overshooting to the south.

Greenland Barnacle Geese bear white leg rings whereas those from the Lake District are blue, as detailed in this BirdNotes article from 2021.
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In the wake of Storm Ashley, seawatching off Porth Ysgaden on Monday recorded Leach’s Petrel, Arctic Skuas, a late Manx Shearwater and a whopping 180 Mediterranean Gulls, while 11 Little Gulls and two Great Skuas were off Criccieth. A Cattle Egret was on flooded fields by the railway at Talacre on Sunday, with six at RSPB Cors Ddyga last week and four on the Alaw estuary.

Other recent sightings include a Little Bunting on Bardsey, Black Tern off Caernarfon, Jack Snipe on coastal heath at RSPB South Stack and Lapland Bunting on the Great Orme. Yellow-browed Warblers were at Penrhyn Castle, Holyhead and Uwchmynydd, with three on Bardsey and two at Porth Meudwy. A Surf Scoter is with more than 3000 Common Scoters off Colwyn Bay, where a Humpback Whale was photographed on Saturday, while a Slavonian Grebe was among the scoter flock off Benllech. More Slavonian Grebes were off Flint Castle and on the Inland Sea, where a couple of Scaup feed.

Another Scaup was at Point of Ayr, where an Avocet roosted with Curlews last Friday, and one is with Tufted Ducks on Rhyl’s Brickfields Pond. A Ring-necked Duck has returned to Llyn Tegid with Tufted Ducks for another winter. A European White-fronted Goose was at RSPB Cors Ddyga, Little Stint on the Dwyfor estuary, and Spotted Redshanks at RSPB Conwy and Gronant, where a Bearded Tit ‘pinged’ last Tuesday but I couldn’t locate it later in the week.

While most summer migrants have long since departed these shores, late October finds a few stragglers. A couple of Sandwich Terns were off Porthmadog Cob on Sunday, two Swallows flew over Criccieth on Monday, and a Wheatear was on the coast path east of Pensarn last week.

Tickets are on sale for the Welsh Ornithological Society annual conference in Aberystwyth on Saturday 16 November, where speakers include Iolo Williams, alongside several North Wales talks, from Ben Stammers on Swifts, Sam Kenyon on nature-friendly farming, Anne Brenchley on Rooks and Anya Wicikowski on Black Grouse. Plans to re-establish White-tailed Eagles in Wales will also be of interest to many. Full details at birdsin.wales/conference

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