Saturday 25th September – Friday 1st October

Intro:

A trio of skuas; a trio of divers …

Seabirds:

The latter part of the week brought some north-westerly winds and with it some quality seabirds.  Top of the bill were 2 new additions to the Anglesey year list – a Leach’s Petrel seen off Cemlyn (29^th) and a juvenile Long-tailed Skua off Point Lynas (1^st).  There were reasonably good numbers of Arctic Skuas with up to 9 past Point Lynas (9 on 29^th, 4 on 28^th, 1 on 1^st), 1 past Llam Carw, Amlwch Port (29^th) and 2 past Cemlyn (29^th).  Sightings of Great Skua included 1 past Cemlyn (29^th), 3 past Point Lynas (1^st) and 1 past South Stack (1^st).  There were still a few Manx Shearwaters to be seen with 74 past Cemlyn (29^th), 9 past Llam Carw (29^th), 8 past South Stack (1^st) and up to 6 past Point Lynas (4 on 28^th, 6 on 1^st).  310 Gannets were counted past Cemlyn during a 3hr seawatch (29^th).  There was just the 1 report of Black Guillemot; a bird at Cemlyn (29^th).

Divers & Grebes:

Any week with 3 species of diver is a good one and this was particularly so given that we have just moved into the autumn proper.  Matters were helped by two species being found unexpectedly at Beddmanarch Bay (25^th) – a partial summer plumaged Black-throated Diver together with 2 Great Northern Diver which again retained a good proportion of their summer plumage.  The trio of divers was completed by 2 Red-throated Divers that were seen to fly past Point Lynas (28^th), with 6 past Cemlyn (29^th) and 7 past South Stack (1^st).  11 Great Crested Grebes were seen at Beddmanarch Bay (27^th).

Waders:

The lower water levels at Llyn Alaw not only continued to hold last week’s Pectoral Sandpiper which was seen on most days (25^th-27^th, 29^th-30^th), but also pulled in a number of other waders including 2 Wood Sandpiper (25^th) and 3 Little Stint (25^th). 

 

Photo: Llyn Alaw, 25th September - showing wide shoreline created by lower water levels.  Photo: J Martin Jones.

A Green Sandpiper was on the Alaw estuary (28^th, 1^st) and 5 Purple Sandpiper were at Trearddur Bay (25^th).  Sightings of Knot included 9 at Beddmanarch Bay (28^th) and up to 4 on the Alaw estuary (4 on 1^st, 2 on 28^th).  Relatively few Dunlin were reported with just 41 at Beddmanarch Bay (28^th) and 5 on the Alaw estuary (28^th).  5 Grey Plover were on the Alaw estuary (1^st), approximately 60-70 Golden Plover were on the Cefni estuary, Malltraeth (25^th) and 3 Ringed Plover were on the Alaw estuary (28^th).  7 Common Snipe flew over Rhoscolyn (30^th).

Sightings of Bar-tailed Godwit included up to 58 on the Alaw estuary (58 on 28^th, 51 on 1^st), 28 at Beddmanarch Bay (28^th) and 2 at Traeth Dulas (26^th, 28^th-29^th).  Up to 16 Black-tailed Godwit were at Llyn Alaw (16 on 25^th, 12 on 26^th), with 4 at Malltraeth cob pool (25^th), 4 at RSPB Cors Ddyga (26^th) and up to 2 at the Alaw estuary (2 on 28^th, 1 on 1^st).  Up to 5 Ruff were seen at Llyn Alaw (5 on 27^th, 3 on 25^th-26^th), with 1 on fields opposite Malltraeth cob pool (25^th) and 1 on the Alaw estuary (28^th).  Up to 13 Greenshank were on the Alaw estuary (13 on 1^st, 6 on 28^th), 7 were at the Pentraeth end of Red Wharf Bay (26^th) and 3 were at Traeth Dulas (27^th).  25 Redshank were on the Alaw estuary (28^th), with 12 at Traeth Dulas (27^th).  There were up to 131 Curlew at Traeth Dulas (131 on 29^th, 83 on 27^th) and 68 on the Alaw estuary (28^th).  The latter site also held 332 Oystercatcher (28^th).

Gulls and Terns:

A juvenile Sabine’s Gull and a Little Gull were seen off Point Lynas (1^st), while sightings of Mediterranean Gulls included 32 at the Alaw estuary (1^st), 21 at Beddmanarch Bay (28^th) and 1 at Traeth Dulas (29^th).  At least 1500 Kittiwakes were seen over a 2 ½ hour seawatch off Point Lynas (1^st), while 167 were seen during a 3-hour seawatch from Cemlyn (29^th).  21 Arctic Terns were seen off Point Lynas (1^st), with 2 off South Stack (1^st) and 1 off Cemlyn (29^th).   30 Sandwich Terns were at Porth y Mor, near Traeth Lligwy (26^th), with 9 seen off Cemlyn (29^th). 

Swans, Geese & Ducks:

Up to 10 Barnacle Geese continue to be seen feeding in fields north of Llyn Alaw (10 on 27^th, 6 on 26^th, 4 on 30^th).  The Dark-bellied Brent Goose was seen again at Beddmanarch Bay (25^th, 28^th), with up to 22 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Beddmanarch Bay (22 on 25^th, 16 on 28^th) and 7 on the Inland Sea as viewed from Four mile bridge (30^th).

The number of wintering ducks continue to build and there were a number of reports of returning Goldeneye with 1 seen to fly past Point Lynas (28^th) and another at Beddmanarch Bay (28^th).  15 Goosander were seen to fly on to the Alaw estuary (1^st).  327 Teal were counted at Beddmanarch Bay (28^th), with 90 on the Alaw estuary (28^th).  Beddmanarch Bay also held up to 33 Pintail (33 on 27^th, 12 on 28^th) and 338 Wigeon (28^th).  Let’s hope that the Wigeon seen on Fair Isle are heading for the balmy climate of Anglesey and that they bring the eclipse Baikal Teal along with them … now that would be a nice surprise!

Passerines and others:

A very quiet week for passerines, which was no doubt down to the wet and windy weather conditions.  A Hooded Crow was at The Range, Holyhead (25^th), with a Kingfisher at the Llanfachraeth end of the Alaw estuary (25^th).

Herons, Egrets and allies:

Up to 8 Great Egret continue to be seen at Llyn Alaw (8 on 25^th, 7 on 26^th), with 1 on the Inland Sea (25^th, 28^th).  22 Little Egrets were counted at the Pentraeth end of Red Wharf Bay (26^th).

Raptors:

Reports of Red Kite included 2 birds near RSPB Cors Ddyga (26^th), 1 at Traeth Dulas (29^th) and 1 north of Rhosmeirch (1^st).

 

Forthcoming week – 2^nd October – 8^th October?

A week firmly lodged in Anglesey birding folklore, in that it includes two American Passerines at South Stack, a UK first in the form of a Grey Catbird (4^th) in 2001 and a Red-eyed Vireo on the same date.  There have been two Red-breasted Flycatchers, both at the Breakwater Country Park, the first on the 2^nd in 2007 and the second on the 8^th in 2005.  A Short-toed Lark was at Cemlyn (7^th) in 2014 and an Alpine Swift was at South Stack (8^th) in 1960.

Waders have included 2 Red-necked Phalaropes, with one at Penmon Pool (2^nd) in 1998 and a historical record of one at Valley (5^th) in 1893.  An American Golden Plover was at the Alaw estuary (8^th) in 2004. 

Finally, there was a Glossy Ibis at Malltraeth (2^nd) in 1945.