What a Year!!!

As we approach 2013 it is time to reflect on a fantastic year on Bardsey. I apologise here for the gratuitous amount of picture in this post, but i feel another look at them will keep us all going in the cold nights as we get towards the longest day! Thanks to Ben for keeping the picture of the very best quality coming in.

Lets start way back in in January then - with Purps and Turnstones

Storms and Kittiwakes

And not forgetting the ever present Choughs

And overwintering Whimbrels

Cold weather brings waders to the beach like Sanderling and Knot

The first rare of the year, Bardsey's 9th Iceland Gull

Snow flakes in February!

And the year's first spring arrivals in early March

and Lap Bunts moving North

Seabirds begin to return -Shag

and Redwings heading back to Iceland like this T.i.coburni

Black Redstart

 

Yellowhammer

 

Glaucous Gull

 

Lapland Bunting

 

Treecreeper

 

Ring Ouzel

 

Tufted Duck - 25th Island Record!

 

Mealy Redpolls

 

Wooodlark

 

Glaucous Gull

 

Cuckoo

 

Whimbrel

 

Pied Flycatcher

 

Snow Bunting

 

Redstart

 

Short-eared Owl

 

Blackcap - record numbers were seen and ringed

 

Pied Flycatcher

 

North-western type Redpoll

 

Yellow Wagtail

 

Red-rumped Swallow - 3rd for the island and the start of our run of good birds

 

Whinchat

 

Grasshopper Warbler

 

Lesser Whitethroat

 

Common Redpoll - we think

 

Whinchat -  a stunner!

 

Snow Bunting - Ditto!

 

Greenland Wheatear - normal and leucistic

 

Whitethroat - after a late and slow start numbers were good.

Pied Flycatcher - another belter

 

Yellow Wag - Ditto

 

Crossbill

Turtle Dove

Subalpine Warbler - a very skuly bird indeed

Phyllosc sp - Chiff, willow, hybrid or Iberian!

RED Knots

Black Kite

Firecrest

Common Rosefinch - three were seen

Bar-tailed Godwit

Little Owl

Another Rosefinch

Red Kite

Bee-eater (Rich B)

Melodious Warbler

Woodchat Shrike

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Greenish Warbler

'Dombrowskii's' type Wagtail

Pomarine Skua (Rich B)

Greenish Warbler - second of the year! (Rich B)

Autumn Begins

First Med Gulls of the autumn in July

And Common Terns

Crossbills arrive in early autumn

Baby Owls

First Skuas of the autumn

and godwits

Young Swallows still being fed

First Willow Warblers of the autumn

Stunning Knots

Fantastic Butterflies

and Baby Cuckoos

Still Summer really - Wagtails in August

Returning waders

The first 'Real' bird of autumn a Bardsey Specialty - this Melodious was the first of the autumn for the UK

More Willow Warblers arrive in August with up to 400 some days!

Pied Flys - up to 15

Two Baby Dotterels

More waders

Sprawks

ANOTHER Melodious Warbler

That stayed for ages!

Spotty Flys up to 40!

Hummers!

White Wags

Late September - Autumn Begins, with a a Barred Warbler

and a Little Bunting

and Yellow Broweds

More Snow

Whinchats

Merlins

And more stripes!

Baby Seals

And then this -  a new species for the island

Citrine Wagtail

More Asian warblers - this Yellow Browed

And this RADDE'S

Ring OuzelsAnd Raptors

Small and Firey

With Long-tails

Hundreds of Jackdaw appear from nowhere!

With Bramblings starting to arrive

More from the east.....

Chiffchaffs

Yellow-Broweds continues - Six in a day!

And Blythii Lesser Whitethroat

Its a Hoot......

A real Tristis

and a normal one

White Fronts

I'd a...!!

and more Brambos

Not so Long eared!

Very late Common Tern

Scandi Chiffs

Last bits of autumn

Coming back to winter

And a bit of late fire to keep us all warm

When the weather goes bad!!