 Manx Shearwater (Steve Stansfield) While we shiver in shorter days, Manx Shearwaters that left their nest burrows on Ynys Enlli/Bardsey just 10 weeks ago are rafting off the South American coast. The Bird Observatory reports one breeding bird made its final voyage this autumn, found dead on the shoreline at Punta del Este, Uruguay, an upmarket holiday resort nicknamed the ‘Monaco of the South’. The shearwater’s uniquely-numbered leg ring enabled the finder to trace it to the North Wales island, where it had been ringed as an adult in May 1990. It easily racked up half a million miles on its 71 migrations, probably double that since Manxies make the spring journey in a loop via the east coast of North America. Add feeding trips from Bardsey and in the South Atlantic and I wouldn’t be surprised if FC48044 (as its ring was inscribed) had flown 1.5 million miles – all by a bird that weighs the same as three large bananas. Several Manx Shearwaters ringed on Bardsey have lived more than 40 years after ringing, with the oldest still alive after almost 51 years!
Last week’s brief blast of wintry weather pushed winter ducks to North Wales in search of ice-free waters. Wetlands on Anglesey held good numbers of Goldeneye for November, with Scaup and Pochard at several sites too. The counts would have barely been worth a remark 30 years ago, but all three species have declined in Wales as the warming climate has reduced their migratory journeys from the frozen east. The latest Wetland Bird Survey results, gathered by hundreds of volunteers every month, show that Goldeneye and Pochard counts in Wales are at their lowest since monitoring began in the late 1960s. Five Slavonian Grebes and three Great Northern Divers are in Beddmanarch Bay with a Red-necked Grebe nearby in Holyhead harbour. A Hooded Crow probes for food at Llandudno’s West Shore and Water Pipits are at RSPB Cors Ddyga and Conwy reserves. A Shorelark remains on the Great Orme, a Black Redstart was at Kinmel Bay and five Snow Buntings at Gronant last week may well be the same seen at RSPB Point of Ayr on Monday.
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 Whooper Swan (Tony Pope)  As ‘flockdown’ rules require keepers of birds to introduce strict biosecurity measures in Wales, increased deaths of wild birds have raised fears that it could be the worst winter yet for bird flu victims in Europe. The latest assessment from Defra reports that Mute Swans and, increasingly, Whooper Swans are particularly affected. It shows multiple outbreaks around Liverpool Bay since the start of October, while across mainland Europe, thousands of Cranes have died on their migration route between Scandinavia and Spain. Ornithologists in Iceland report that the population of Gyr Falcon, the largest falcon in the World, have fallen from 2000 to around 500, while the British Antarctic Survey found that numbers of female Southern Elephant Seals breeding on South Georgia fell 47% during 2022-24.
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has urged birdwatchers to report all dead and sick birds of any species to Defra (online or 03459 335577) and to BirdTrack online or via the free app. Defra will decide whether to collect the dead birds and test them for the disease. It has also reminded people not to touch dead or sick birds, and to keep dogs on leads to prevent the further spread of disease. Storm Claudia’s deluge flooded parts of the Cefni Valley, attracting thousands of ducks and waders to RSPB Cors Ddyga, including Whooper Swans and a flock of Pink-footed Geese. A Water Pipit, Cattle Egrets, Great White Egret and Scaup were also on the reserve at the weekend, with another Scaup in Foryd Bay. Red-necked Grebes, now scarce visitors to Wales, were in Holyhead harbour and off Llanfairfechan, perhaps seeking shelter from the storm. At least five Slavonian Grebes are in Beddmanarch Bay and another is off Morfa Harlech. A lone Shorelark continued its stay on the Great Orme, joined briefly by three Snow Buntings, with another at Abermenai Point, and two each at Gronant and Mynydd y Gwyddel at the end of Pen Llŷn. A Ring-necked Duck at Llyn Caer Euni is almost certainly a returning bird; this scarce visitor from North America has been on this small lake north of Bala – or on Llyn Tegid or Llyn Brenig – each winter since 2020. A Black Redstart was at Mynydd Bodafon, a Sandwich Tern in Pwllheli harbour and a Firecrest in a Bangor garden last week, and a Hoopoe was reported on Parys Mountain.  Shore Lark (Steve Culley)  Numbers of Shore Larks recorded in Wales by decade, accepted by Welsh Birds Rarities Committee up to 2025. The black-and-yellow stripes of a Shore Lark were a welcome surprise on the Great Orme at the weekend. It is the only lark to have colonised Arctic tundra and alpine habitats – I have seen them in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and grasslands in North America, where the population has fallen by 70% since the mid-1960s. In much of the world, it’s known as Horned Lark because of two feathery ‘horns’ that grow on its head during the breeding season.
Shore Larks in Britain occur in winter or on migration, moving southwest from Norway and Finland, but it’s becoming far rarer. Numbers breeding in northeast Europe have fallen sharply since the mid-20th century, a combination of overgrazing of lichen by Reindeer herds and increasingly climate change, which may also reduce their need to move as far south in winter. In Finland, the population has fallen from 10,000 pairs in the 1950s to as few as 10 pairs today, a reduction of 99.9%. The trend is reflected in numbers seen in Wales, where it is more than 25 years since anyone saw more than three together; a count of 35 at Point of Ayr in 1999 now seems unreal. Sadly, with the current trend, the chances of the next generation seeing many Shore Larks in Wales seems slim. Other recent sightings include a Lesser Yellowlegs on Anglesey’s Inland Sea, where a late Sandwich Tern was seen on Monday, a Black-necked Grebe in nearby Beddmanarch Bay and Long-tailed Duck on Llyn Traffwll. A couple of Snow Buntings are in dunes at Gronant, a Lapland Bunting was at Cemlyn at the weekend and at least two Black-throated Divers were off Llanddulas. Bull Bay’s Hoopoe and the Dee estuary’s Glossy Ibis were reported again, having passed unnoticed for a couple of weeks. The annual conference of Cofnod, the environmental records centre for North Wales, held in Bangor last week, celebrated the organisation’s 20th anniversary. The diversity of wildlife recording supported by Cofnod was illustrated by a range of talks that included bird-ringing, Anglesey plants and sea slugs in the Menai Strait. Did you know that 3% of the World’s bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) have been recorded in Eryri, some on just a single rock that are just a slipped walking boot away from being wiped out? Cofnod holds almost eight million wildlife records, of which over half are birds, with more records added every single day. Their monthly e-newsletter is an excellent way to keep in touch with nature matters across the region. Finally, a post-script to last week’s story about Woodpigeon migration: Saturday proved to be the peak day for movement this autumn. Matt Hobbs (reporting on BlueSky) recorded 242,160 birds over Goldcliff Point on the Severn estuary, the second highest count ever recorded in Wales (and quite possibly Britain). The largest count ever was on 4 November 2022 when more than 287,000 flew over Portskewett, a few miles to the east.  Woodpigeon (Annie Haycock) As I stepped into Sunday morning’s sunshine, a flock of several hundred Woodpigeons flew overhead, following the coast. It’s not something I see frequently, unlike on the South Wales coast where huge movements are recorded in late autumn. One day last October, for example, more than 230,000 passed a single watchpoint near the Severn Bridge. Such movements through the English Midlands were noted by amateur ornithologists prior to the First World War, but the scale seems to have increased in recent years.
No-one knows for certain from where these Woodpigeons originate - or where they are heading. They may be Scandinavian birds heading for the Cork Oak forests of Iberia, as there is good evidence of migration from ringed birds but perhaps their visits through southern Britain are so rapid that no rings are recovered. Just another of nature’s mysteries we have yet to unravel. I imagine the sight of huge Woodpigeon flocks must be akin to the millions of Passenger Pigeons across the Great Plains of North America in the early 19th century, so huge they reportedly took several days to pass. A reminder that abundance is no guarantee of a species’ survival. The last wild Passenger Pigeon was shot in Ohio in 1900, and 14 years later, the death of the last captive bird in Cincinnati Zoo saw the species’ global extinction. Clear, slightly breezy, conditions triggered the pigeon movement and encouraged late Swallows to feed in eastern Anglesey. Summer migrant Sandwich and Arctic Terns were seen at Black Rock Sands and Aber Ogwen respectively. Scarce visitors include a couple of Slavonian Grebes and Glossy Ibis in Beddmanarch Bay, Long-tailed Duck on Shotwick Lake, and Firecrests on the Great Orme, at Penmon and Bethesda. Richard’s Pipit and Snow Bunting were seen on Bardsey as Bird Observatory wardens pack up for the season. Snow Buntings were also on the Great Orme and Point Lynas last week. |
Bird notesA weekly update of bird sightings and news from North Wales, published in The Daily Post every Thursday. Archives
December 2025
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