Bardsey Beacon 164 - August 2019

Bardsey Beacon

Golau Enlli

The newsletter of the Bardsey Bird
and Field Observatory

Sef cylchlythyr i aelodau
Gwylfa Maes ac Adar Ynys Enlli

Issue 164 - Autumn 2019 Photo: Bob Normand

Plenty of action in the last few months

Steve Stansfield

Well a lot has happened since the last newsletter in April. The next good bird was a common Rosefinch found by one
of our volunteers in May, Tom Williams, saw the bird at Nant
Migration-wise spring was fairly poor, there were no large on his first full day on the island. Two weeks later he found
arrivals of birds and not even a steady passage of common another!!!
birds. Ringing totals are going to be quite poor for 2019
unless we get a bumper autumn, and writing this in August,
in what should be the main Willow Warbler passage time, it
does not look so good!

Anyway, there were still some quite nice birds. The first be-
ing the most painful for me as I was off the island at the time.
A rather stunning male Western Orphean Warbler (W.O.W.!!)
was trapped and ringed at Cristin in May by Sam and Lewis.
This was a new bird for the island and only the second for
Wales and sixth for Britain. Unfortunately, as soon as the
bird was released it went to ground and was not seen again.

Greenish Warbler

Then Ed Betteridge found a fine Golden Oriole at Nant
towards the end of May, and then he and I found a Greenish
Warbler singing in the back garden at Cristin. Not quite as
good as the previous years, but still we can’t have a good
year every year!

Orphean Warbler - Lewis Hooper

The Bardsey Beacon is the newsletter of the Friends of Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory.
All pictures by Steve Stansfield unless otherwise stated
Registered Charity No. 249790.

The Observatory is a member of the Bird Observatories Council.

Monitoring projects and research ever was great in the seabird colonies, helping us with our
two new colour ringing projects on Shags and gulls (see
As well as the normal daily census and ringing, each year below).
we undertake a number of research monitoring projects and
other studies, largely paid for by Natural Resources Wales.
This year we did the usual Chough Monitoring, Breeding
Landbird and Breeding Seabird monitoring and the Manx
Shearwater Productivity monitoring. We also began a four-
year census of the Manx Shearwater population. This project
has usually been completed in three years, but as the popu-
lation is increasing dramatically, we have had to extend the
time to cover four summers. This year Lewis undertook the
first ¼ of the project and censused the South End, and Nar-
rows, the west side up to Carreg, and along to Pen Cristin.
He also did the Chough monitoring, whilst Sam has under-
taken the breeding bird monitoring and Manx Shearwater
productivity monitoring.

Volunteers and Interns.

We have had a pretty good run of volunteer helpers and
interns this spring. Following the very successful joint uni-
versity week that I organised in early spring, we had two of
the students volunteer their services to come and help Lewis
with the Manx Shearwater census.

Lewis was joined initially by Vic Bevan for two weeks, a
retired IT specialist. Then Came our first Bangor Student
Tom Williams. After Tom’s two very successful weeks came
Ed Betteridge. Both had great fun and were able to help out
with the searwaters, do some bird censusing, help with the
breeding birds and get to ring some seabirds.

Our first intern of the year was George Beadle, another Ban-
gor student. George had not done any ringing before, but
left the island buzzing after his experiences, ringing Storm
Petrels, Manxies, gulls, Shags and Wheatears. George also
did a lot of scrub clearance and stile maintenance for us.

This year’s guided walks have been going very well too,
Lewis has done most of them and I have done a few.

Josie Hewitt and George Beadle

We also had Josie Hewitt come along again to help out and
get some more experience with seabird ringing. Josie as

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The content of the walks varies depending on the week and other year.
the weather; however, we have had a great opportunity to
show the guests some wonderful wildlife, including the fan- Following the AGM BBFO’s five-year Strategic plan was pre-
tastic bloom of flora on the island this year. The thrift, squill, sented to the members present and a discussion about how
thyme, orchids, bedstraw and trefoil were amazing for most to implement it produced some very interesting comments.
of the spring, and now autumn has arrived, the heather is in
full bloom and looks amazing too.

New additions to the island ‘flock’ Following this we had a wonderful lunch produced by Alicia
Normand and Annie West (and others). This was then fol-
For those of you who have visited, or will be visiting the lowed by a well-kept secret. A special award for Outstanding
island this year (and next hopefully) you will no doubt have Contribution to the work of the Observatory was made. To
seen Gareth and Meriel’s six little piggies!!! The have been find out more you will need to read the speech and the end
in the field near the Lime Kiln. of this article that was delivered by our President Bishop
David Hawkins.

Members’ Weekend and AGM Some of the BBFO members and Trustees
at the Glaslyn Valley
Another very successful members’ weekend and AGM were
held in July at Prenteg. On Friday 5th July 15 members Following this wonderful moment in the Observatory’s his-
gathered at the Ship Inn in Porthmadog and shared a very tory, I then gave a presentation on the International Bird
lovely evening and some nice food and a few drinks. Observatories Conference and my trip to Eilat Bird Observa-
tory in Israel in April. Now it was the time for the cream tea,
The following day we held our AGM at Prenteg Village with delicious scones, jam and cream.
hall. The AGM was presided over by our Chairman Dianne
Charles. All the Trustees were re-elected to stand for an- The weather for much of the day was somewhat grim, but as

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we rounded up the meeting and prepared to head off to the
Osprey site at Pont Croesor the sun came out. Some of us
went on for a walk along a secluded part of the River Gla-
slyn, where were saw Kingfisher, Beautiful Demoiselles and
some nice scenery. After this it was off to another pub for our
last meal and then time to say goodbye to everyone.

Emma, Connor and I headed off for our summer break,
though much of this was spent catching up and getting the
report ready to go out to the printers, which you will see is
enclosed with this issue of the Beacon.

It was then time for us to head off to Spurn Bird Observa-
tory for a meeting about an exciting new project using radio
telemetry using micro technology and Nano-tags, which
give off a radio signal and can track birds up to 10Km from a
base station. There will be more about this in future bea-
cons, but you can read all about it at www.motus.org.

The following day we had another meeting at Spurn, this
time the Bird Observatories Council. Here were discussed
a reviewed constitution, which, once slightly amended was
unanimously accepted by all present and several proxy
votes too.

Emma Connor and I then headed back to Lancashire and up

Steve Williams and Steve at to the wedding of our former Chairman’s daughter (Patrick
Hilbre Bird Obs Davies). Laura, who many of you will have stayed with at

We did however, have some time for a break. We had a very
pleasurable day on Hilbre Island, and we were given the ‘red
carpet’ treatment by the Chairman of Hilbre Bird Obs, Steve
Williams.

Emma and I visited Scarborough and visited another Ob-
servatory (an un-accredited one this time at Long Nab). We
also went to Flamborough Bird Observatory to see their new
Garner-Richards Seawatching Observatory on the outer
headland.

Laura and Tom, with her Mum and Dad

Steve at Flamborough’s new Steve, Jill, Patrick Davies and Emma
Observatory
Cristin, looked stunning and made her parents proud. It was
a great day and we had a good time – even I ended up on
the dance floor!!
Then we dashed back to the island. We spent the first week

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getting the very last details ready for the report to go the
printers and then preparing for our inaugural ‘Golden Oldies
Week’.
The week was fantastic. Gareth and Meriel (Tŷ Pellaf’s new
occupants) wanted to do a fundraising evening for the Ob-
servatory. We decided a cheese and wine evening at Caffi
Enlli. We had about 25 people turn up who sat around being
entertained by music played on a Hammer Dulcimer, whilst
Gareth kept everyone’s glasses topped up throughout the
evening!

about ½ a mile offshore. This left the whole Obs buzzing.
Then it was out doing Manxie chicks in the afternoon!

Later in the week we had the obligatory BBQ on the front of
the Lodge as the sun set behind the Wicklow Mountains.

Louis Driver and a baby Manxie

Now it’s time for some food before taking the youngsters out
tonight ringing more manxies!!

Outstanding Contribution Award
towards the work of the Observatory

Gareth Roberts and Bob Normand Presented by David Hawkins (BBFO President)
As I write this on 20th August, we are in the middle of our
Young Birders’ Week. It has been great so far! A delay of two Over the 66 years of the Observatory we have had lots of
days due to a summer storm saw many of the youngsters help from various of people.
on the mainland for two days, but on Monday they arrived. However, every once in a while, someone comes along and
A quick tour round Nant in the evening where we watched makes a contribution to the Observatory that is above and
Risso’s Dolphins offshore was followed by an evening of beyond what is expected of our friends, staff and volunteers.
Chilli and Rice and getting to know all the young birders So, with that in mind, the Trustees and our Director of Op-
before heading off to nant Valley at 10.30pm until 1.30am erations, Steve, have decided to create an award for Out-
catching Storm Petrels and Manxies! standing Contribution.
This award is not annual, it will only be given out occasion-
This morning (and there will be a fuller account of the week ally, and may never be given again (!) and will only be given
in the next Beacon) was very special, as almost all of the to someone who has made such an outstanding contribution
young birders managed to see a fantastic Fea’s Petrel which to the work and the running of the Observatory that, without t
I found, gracefully glide along the west side of the island

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heir support, the Observatory would not have been able to be The Award was presented to Steve Hinde by our
where it is today. Presedent, Bishop David Hawkins.
For many years now, the recipient of this inaugural award
has been going to the island and volunteering his time freely.
He has skilfully and dedicatedly been helping out the paid
staff of the observatory in their daily work. He has spent
several weeks at a time, even months on the island helping
keep records, monitoring and censusing, as well as the more
mundane tasks like cleaning, painting, decorating and fixing
things like washing machines, strimmers, mowers, servic-ing
and repairing our generators, and helping with not one but
two complete Manx Shearwater censuses on the island. He
fitted six of the seven boardwalks in the withies. He, for a
while, was actually a member of staff and one of Steve’s
Assistants himself. He has found many a rarity on the island,
especially, I am told, Icterine Warblers, earning him his nick-
name: ‘Icky Steve’
These last few points will now have given most of you an
idea who I am talking about, so with great pleasure can I ask
Steve Hinde to come forward and accept this award for his
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORK OF THE
OBSERVATORY.

Golden Oldies week

Dianne Charles Meriel and Gareth

When I first started visiting the island, I was a student. I ing hosted by Gareth and Meriel at Caffi Enlli, Tŷ Pellaf, to
encountered the energetic and charismatic Susan Cowdy raise money for the Obs. Everyone from the Obs turned out,
and became aware of her eagerly-awaited “Golden Oldies” as did many other visitors and staff from the Trust houses.
weeks, when she gathered together with old friends and We all arrived at the Café for 7:30 and were treated to wine
people who had long been involved with the Observatory. Of and delicious snacks plus a splendid array of cheeses.
course, I had no thought then that I would ever be one of that Huge thanks are due to Gareth and Meriel for their wonder-
older generation! However, at the 2018 AGM, one long-term ful hospitality and to all those who provided prizes for the
member was lamenting the fact that the younger visitors raffle. Over £300 was raised for our funds. A taxi service was
wore him out, and so it seemed like a good idea to revive thoughtfully provided by Gareth for those in need of it… (!)
Susan’s creation. And so, the Golden Oldies week was If you feel you might qualify as a “Golden Oldie” yourself
reborn. and would like to join us for a week in 2020, let me or Steve
We gathered in Cwrt on the morning of 11th August this year, know and we’ll see what we can do…
a day late, thanks to the gales in the Irish Sea. Between us,
we could notch up more than 200 visitor years! Apart from
me, our party consisted of Anne Owen-Vaughan, Liz James,
Margaret Montgomery, Alicia and Bob Normand, Sue and
Phil Jones plus Patrick and Jill Davies and their granddaugh-
ter, Ania. She certainly wasn’t old enough to be one of the
“wrinklies” (as Steve had christened us!), but she fitted in
really well and was particularly helpful with our unpacking.
We had a great week – good food and entertaining com-
pany. The weather was mixed but mostly dry and provided us
with a variety of birds: excellent sea-watching and plenty of
waders in Solfach.
There was no shortage of socialising either: we had a bar-
becue, attended by Meriel and Gareth and their grandchil-
dren as well as Hannah and Rhys (the temporary Summer
Warden’s for BITL) and their children, and we had a curry
night, always crucial to my enjoyment of a week at the Obs,
especially when Steve cooks onion bhajis…
The high point of the week was the Cheese and Wine even-

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Bardsey Manx Shearwaters - an
introduction

Sam Prettyman with handfuls of birds (relatively speaking) breeding around
Canada, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira.
Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus are seabirds in the Wales in particular hosts the largest colonies, with Skomer
same order as petrels, albatrosses and fulmars. The species and Skokholm being the two largest and Bardsey coming in
within this group have a few shared features and behav- fourth (the title of third goes to Rùm in Scotland).
iours, but the most well-known comes in the form a pair At the last census the Bardsey Manx Shearwater population
of nasal tubes at the top of the bill which give the birds an was estimated at ~21,000 pairs (4,000 more than the previ-
enhanced sense of smell, and also the common group name ous census), that census was finished in 2016.
of ‘tube noses’. When Bardsey Bird Observatory was founded in 1953, there
were around 1,500 pairs of Manx Shearwaters. Going further
Manx Shearwaters hunt a variety of prey (including: small back to one hundred years ago the number of pairs paled in
fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans) in multiple ways; they comparison to today’s total, with just 30-40 pairs estimated.
can either take food off the surface, plunge into the water However, it is important to account for the change in effort
from a low height or chase prey down in underwater pursuits and counting techniques since this time.
using their wings, as well as their feet for propulsion and This year, a three-year census of the Island’s population
steering. has begun, starting with the southern third of the island, and
For many bird watchers, Manx Shearwaters are usually so far, it has revealed an increase in Apparently Occupied
just tiny dots that are seen through a telescope, flying miles Burrows of around 19%. Although this figure has yet to be
off-shore, usually when it’s blowing a gale. However, it is a refined, there is little doubt that the population increase has
different story when you pay a visit to a colony during a dark continued for Bardsey.
night, then seeing these birds up close is almost too easy, Understandably, much of the work at Bardsey Bird Observa-
not to mention, truly memorable. tory revolves around Manx Shearwaters. Each year up to
Manx Shearwaters breed on off-shore islands, primarily on 2,000 of them will be fitted with a metal ring, each ring has a
the west coast of Britain and Ireland, these two countries unique series of numbers and letters in order for the birds to
alone are home to almost 90% of the world population. be recognised as individuals. Thankfully, this scheme started
Other large colonies are found on the Faroes and Iceland, decades ago, meaning that on any given night it is possible
that a bird will be found that was ringed 40+ years previ-
ously, maybe more. Were it not for the rings it wouldn’t be
possible to distinguish a 5-year-old from a 50-year-old, and
as far as anyone would be able to tell, Manx Shearwaters
wouldn’t live past the age of a few years.
So far on Bardsey, just over 44,000 shearwaters have been
ringed, including 7,000 chicks. If re-trapped birds are added
to that total (birds caught that have already been ringed),
that number shoots to over 61,000. The birds are caught in
perhaps the simplest way a bird can be caught; Shearwaters
are next to useless on land (which is why they avoid preda-
tion by only coming in on dark nights), their feet, which are
so ideal for swimming, are positioned at the back of the body
which means that they are front heavy when they walk. This
makes the ringer’s life easy, as it is possible to very easily
walk up to a bird and pick it up.
Bardsey was (and maybe still is!?) the breeding site of the
oldest Manx Shearwater in the world, a bird that was ringed
as an adult in 1957 and recaptured one night in 2008! Given
that Manx Shearwaters don’t come into land until they are
around three or four years old, it is safe to assume that this
bird was at least 54 years old.
As well as giving an idea as to how long the birds live, ring-
ing gives us clues about where they go outside the breeding
season. Based on the high number of birds that are re-
captured off the coast of Brazil and Argentina, albeit, usually
as bycatch in fishing gear, it’s likely that the majority spend
our winter there. One incredible record was of a bird ringed
on Skokholm that was found dead off the coast of Argentina
just 16 days later! On top of that, the finder estimated it had

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been dead for a few days. It has been calculated that this A Manxie chick
bird must have flown at least 740km per day to cover that
distance so quickly! a shearwater-filled night, as the birds prefer coming inland
The Manx Shearwater status is ranked as ‘Least Concern’, when it’s as dark as possible.
meaning that the species is more or less stable with a good
breeding population. The risks they face are similar to those
of other seabirds, rising sea temperatures are causing prey
items to move further north to follow the colder waters,
meaning that less feeding success is had at the British lati-
tude. The fishing industry also has a part to play in the con-
servation of the species, almost all of the birds found off of
the Brazilian and Argentinian coast are hauled up as bycatch
in fishing nets. Long line fishing around the Atlantic does
have devastating effects on many seabird species such as
the Black-browed Albatross. But as this fishing method tends
to ‘target’ large fish such as tuna, the lures do not appeal to
smaller seabirds such as Manx Shearwaters, and so Manx
Shearwater bycatch in this industry is fairly minimal.
To get up close and personal with a Manx Shearwater
yourself and hear their ominous call, you will need to visit a
colony such as the one on Bardsey. Between late April and
September is the time to go, at this time the birds will either
be incubating eggs or rearing chicks. Planning the trip to
avoid full moons will maximise your chances of experiencing

Booking your stay at the Obs: a reminder about going digital!

Alicia Normand Barclays Bank
Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory
Important information regarding all future A/C: 40088277
bookings. Sort code: 20-97-78
When using a transfer please let me know the date and
From 2019 the bookings administrator may be away for amount you are sending and use ACC and your name as the
prolonged periods of time, therefore we are making some reference.
changes to the current system. We are moving towards a
completely digital system in order to ensure that your book- DON’T WORRY!
ing goes smoothly. For those of you who cannot use a digital method you can
still send your booking by post. But it is essential to address
PREFERRED METHOD FOR BOOKING the envelope using the words “The Bookings Administrator”
By email: please use [email protected] and not my personal to ensure that it can be forwarded to the correct location for
email address. confirmation.

Please pay by bank transfer:  Cheques should be made out to BBFO.

Contact Information: www.bbfo.org.uk • Membership Officer Jill Lawrence
• Chair Dianne Charles 14 Jack Haye Lane, Light Oaks, Stoke on Trent, ST2 7NG.
2 Regent Close, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7PL. [email protected] 01782 253502
[email protected] 01212 490490

• Hon. Secretary Andrew Lawrence • Newsletter Manager Alison Hill
14 Jack Haye Lane, Light Oaks, Stoke on Trent, ST2 7NG. 57 Exeter Road, London E17 7QZ,
[email protected] 01782 253502. [email protected] 07963 522637
020 8520 8985
• Director of Finance Dianne Charles
2 Regent Close, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7PL. • Warden Steve Stansfield
[email protected] 01212 490490 BBFO, Cristin, Bardsey Island, Aberdaron Gwynedd, LL53
8DE. [email protected] 07855 264151
• Bookings Administrator Alicia Normand
46 Maudlin Drive, Teignmouth, Devon, TQ14 8SB. • Boatman Colin Evans 07971 769895
[email protected] 01626 773908

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