Anglesey Shrike and other news

Pete Verity's photo of his Rhos Goch Turtle Dove. A cracking addition to this chaps back garden list. Check out
 his professional photography FB page (including licenced Drone shots - FB Pete Verity Photography.

Directions to the Male Red Backed Shrike seen on the evening of 27/5/17.  Take the minor road from
the church at Llanfwrog SW to the Beach where the arrow is. The bird was just inland from the outfow pipe
 where X marks the spot. Mark Sutton's Purple Patch continues!

After ringing 250+ Woodcock in North Wales, Chris Bridge has come up trumps
 with a bird recently recorded / returned from Russia!

News of the day is Mark Sutton's purple patch continues as he had a male Red Backed Shrike on the NE shore of Beddmanarch bay near Llanfwrog / Llanfachraeth. See map above as the weather this evening isn't much cop so hopefully it will still be in the area tomorrow. Broad billed Sand, Red footed Falcon, Bee-eater, Spoonbill, Quail and now Red backed Shrike, all on his Inland Sea to Cemlyn patch this spring. Whatever next ?
 (White winged lark please Mark if you're taking requests  ;-)  )
There was also a Little Stint in the flooded field by the west car park at Cemlyn today.
A Great White Egret on the deck at South Stack was somewhat unexpected yesterday as was an adult White tailed Eagle over Dylans in Morfa Bwchan ! (Who had that?)
Also a probable Grey Phalarope was heard calling in flight over Cemlyn at night by the warden . David Wright.
On the 25th I had a pair of Whinchat in the paddocks by the shop at South Stack, plus lots of the Endemic South Stack Spatulate fleawort and Small pearl bordered fritilaries in the SW corner of the reserve on the coastal path. The Spotted Rockrose should be showing now / soon.
Also on the 25th, a Crag Martin was seen over the Dam at Llyn Vyrnwy briefly.
As well as Pete Verity's Rhos Goch Turtle dove, another one plus an Osprey was seen over the Great Orme on the 25th.
The Spoonbill was on the SW corner of the Inland Sea from the 18th - 24th May at least.
On the ringing front, North Wales wood-cocker Chris Bridge came up trumps with a bird recorded from North Wales returning to Russia! (see map above).
Also I noticed a Dipper in Llangefni had a ring on it a few weeks ago. Local Dipper ringers Rob and Chris B hadn't ringed it there, so where was it from?  Local BTO head honcho Kelvin got his nets out and managed to catch it yesterday. Funnily enough it turned out to be a bird he himself had ringed in the nest as a chick, 1 of a brood of 5, south of Caernarfon and Pen-y-groes between Bryncir and Pantglas on the 14th April 2012.
Whoever said ringing is obsolete needs to think again.....

Spoonbill , Quail and Turtle Dove

The Turtle Dove near Amlwch at Rhos-y-bol appears to have departed overnight after a 5 day stay (15th - 19th). However the Spoonbill was still near the Anchorage on the Inland sea this morning and the Quail is still on the Alaw estuary. If you come in from the Llanfachraeth end, cross the new metal bridge and follow the footpath along the estuary for a few hundred yards until you come to the orange rope on the barbed wire fence. The bird appears to be singing at the back of the first field but the grass is quite high so chances of seeing this bird (as usual) are minimal.

Anglesey and North Wales Bird news

Today there is a Spoonbill on the Inland Sea for its second day in the SW corner. A Turtle Dove was near Amlwch on the 18th May. On the 17th May there was a singing Cettis Warbler at Llyn Maelog but no sign of the Bittern that had been there till early to mid April. A singing Lesser Whitethroat was at Cemaes Brickworks and 2 Whimbrel flew over my house in Cemaes at 11pm.
A possible Iberian Chiffchaff was at the Great Orme on the 16th and 17th May. I presume it wasn't singing. Also the reported singing Melodious Warbler turned out to be a Reed Warbler at the Great Orme on the 18th May. Warblers can be a nightmare at this time of year when they sit at the bottom of a bush in atypical habitat sub-singing and failing to show themselves! There  had been a Melodious Warbler there on the 8th May.
A mobile Bee-eater was around the Cemlyn area on the 14th May. 2 Garganey were still at Tygai's Marsh (Malltraeth RSPB) on the 13th, plus 3 Barnacle Geese, Greenshank, 7 Blackwits, 5 Wigeon and a male Whinchat. A male Red footed Falcon was at the Alaw Estuary on the 6th and 7th, with a male Pintail still there on the 7th. A female Citrine Wagtail was at Morfa Madryn on the 6th and 7th May at least and a Broad billed Sandpiper was on the Alaw Estuary on the 1st and 2nd May (possibly this bird was on the Isle of Man on the 6th. 7 Dotterel were near Rhydwyn on the 6th May (visiting birders). I had a garden tick Lesser Whitethroat on the 10th May with a Sedge warbler in the front gardens by my place of work in Cemaes. Also a female Subalpine Warbler was on the Great Orme on the 14th May.

RSPB Conwy sightings board

Surprise of the week was a second calendar year Caspian Gull found on the Deep Lagoon by Marc Hughes this morning. Read more about it on the latest reserve blog, which also features a roundup of recent sightings.

Wheatears continue to be seen most days, the majority now the larger Greenland race, while a few white wagtails are still on the saltmarsh. We've had more whinchats than usual this Spring, the most recent on Monday (8th), the same day as a redstart and yellow wagtail. A blue-headed wagtail was seen during last Saturday's guided walk (6th).

Small numbers of waders are heading north, with whimbrels still seen daily, and a couple of curlews today, the first for a couple of weeks. Five black-tailed godwits fed on the lagoons today (Saturday 13th), while little ringed plover has been seen a couple of times this week. A flock of 200 dunlins was unusual last Saturday (6th), while the best wader of Spring may prove to be a wood sandpiper on Friday 5th.

European Breeding Bird Atlas

The European Breeding Bird Atlas is currently on the go. Unfortunately our Bird Atlas finished three years before the European one so the data from that cannot just be moved across. The good news is that it is covered at a 50k resolution, and uses BirdTrack as it's data source. So can I ask all you dedicated BirdTrack users to include breeding evidence in your submissions.

If you visit the BTO website https://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/find-gap-european-breeding-bird-atlas-2 it will show you the coverage for your area.

As you delve deeper into your region you can produce a list of species and easily see what's been unrecorded. Take the Lleyn for example

A quick look at the list shows a couple of species that realistically must breed in the area and just need confirming.

So if you need any more background or help contact me at the BTO Cymru office.

Kelvin

Anglesey Red Footed Falcon Photos

Mark Sutton found this cracking male Red footed Falcon yesterday on the Alaw Estuary near Valley. Thankfully it was still there this morning till around 10.30 when it headed off north. There was another bird caught on the Calf of Man earlier today at the Bird Observatory. Ironically it appears the Broad billed Sandpiper from the Alaw estuary earlier in the week relocated to the Isle of Man and other interesting birds locally include the female Citrine Wagtail at Morfa Madryn , Garganey at Malltraeth Marsh and Silver Bay plus 7 Dotterel yesterday in sheep fields near Rhydwyn.