Back on Bardsey...let Spring begin!

Last week my sister and I made the long trek up from Cornwall to North Wales by train, and managed to catch a weather window on Friday morning to be ferried across a lively Bardsey Sound by Colin back home to Bardsey Island. It was great to get back home before a bought of unsettled weather blew through over the weekend, bringing rain, wind and temperatures more akin to the depths of winter! Nevertheless, conditions have somewhat redeemed themselves in the last few days, bringing the characters of springtime emerging from every corner of the island...

I will endeavour to post more regular updates during my time on Bardsey over easter, as spring migrants arrive and a host of interesting insects emerge. I am hoping to stay on the island until late April at least, with the laxity of third uni term dictating that four exams mid-May are the only pressing needs to return south for!

So anyway, here a few highlights and images from Ynys Enlli over the last week - and what a first few days it has been!

These impressive clouds rolled over during the morning of the 25th, and provided a great opportunity for some landscapes

One of the coolest things waiting for me upon return was this dead Turtle in our compost! A day visitor had come across this unfortunate reptile a few weeks ago, and had given directions via email as to where to find it. After a getting input from a variety of people online, it was revealed that it is in fact a young Green Turtle - only the third ever recorded in Wales!

This species' range extends in a broad belt around the tropics and subtropics, and is classed as endangered by the IUCN due to the large number that get caught up in fishing gear, and also the loss of suitable beaches for nesting.

The main excitement at the moment is focussed on avian fauna, with the first few migrants arriving on the island over the last week. We have already had some of the classic spring migrants like Wheatears, Swallows and Chiffchaffs, but a host of other interesting species have been around too.

Here is a list of the avian migrants that have arrived so far - plenty more to come!
- Chiffchaff: 12th March
- Northern Wheatear: 12th March
- Manx Shearwater: 13th March
- Black Redstart: 14th March
- Blackcap: 23rd March
- House Martin: 25th March
- Sand Martin: 26th March
- Willow Warbler: 26th March
- Swallow: 29th March (first March record since 2012)

Northern Wheatear - most of the birds that have arrived so far have been males (>90%), which is partly because they will try and reach suitable breeding sites to set up their territories before females arrive

Chiffchaffs have been steadily increasing in number, with a count of 42 on the 31st being the highest total so far. Not all of the arrivals will be 'true' afro-tropical migrants, but the presence of 'pollen horns' at the base of the bill is a sure indication of the origin of some - these horns are where the feathers have stuck together due to the accumulation of pollen derived from feeding on the nectar of plants through the Mediterranean region en route

Not a species we usually conceive as being a migrant, but Stonechats also arrive in good numbers from the continent, and bring with them an impressive variety of mimicry in their punctuating songs. I couldn't quite believe it when I heard one producing a Peregrine's call, along with Sandwich Tern and Swallow!  

This utterly amazing female Long-eared Owl was trapped by Steffan in the Heligoland trap on the morning of the 31st, becoming the first to be ringed on the island since 2012! We saw the bird later in the day associating with two Buzzards, before the trio caught a thermal and worked their way up to cloud base within the space of about two minutes - who knows where it is now!

You can check out a map and table detailing recoveries of ringed Long-eared Owls in Europe by following this link to the BTO website...click here

Goldcrest numbers have been increasing when conditions dictate - yesterday, for example (31st), the island was covered in these tiny warblers, amounting to no fewer than 154 individuals! We trapped and ringed 64, and their weights varied from very light indeed (4.7g) to well-fed (5.9g). Most of the trapped birds were 2nd calendar year males, with fiery-red centres to the crest and pointy tail feathers

the island's breeding pairs of Choughs have been flying overhead with beak-fulls of various nesting materials recently. Some have been collecting bits of gorse twigs, whilst others have been gathering large white pompoms of sheep's wool - they look quite comical in flight! Hopefully the island's eight or nine pairs of breeding Choughs will have a good season

The night sky over the last two days has been breathtaking, and so I took the opportunity to try out a few night-scapes...

This image is looking south-west over Bardsey Lighthouse towards southern Ireland (the small patches of light pollution on the horizon), and the constellation of Orion is visible to the right of the South End.

The brilliant thing about being out on such a calm night is hearing the calls of the Manx Shearwaters ringing out overhead. Here is a recording of a couple of birds in their burrow...

And finally, a few insects...

Bumblebees have been appearing all over the island, particularly attracted to the pussy willows and pollen-rich buds of the Willow. Two species have been seen so far, and most sightings have involved large Queens that are seeking out a suitable site to rear a colony. This is Bombus lucorum, or the White-tailed Bumblebee

This smart Hawthorn Shieldbug was amongst the moths in my heath trap on the 29th - I haven't seen this species of shieldbug on the island before, although they are a common species elsewhere, and there is plenty of suitable habitat for them on the island

This fluffy orange caterpillar was wandering about in the grass near the plantation, and is a Buff Ermine caterpillar - it was probably looking for somewhere to pupate ready for its emergence in late Apri/early May. It will take slightly warmer temperatures than at present to encourage more species to emerge!

This curious and miniature Woodlouse is an Ant Woodlouse (Platyarthrus hoffmansegi). Amazingly, they live most of their lives underground and beneath rocks in the nests of various ant species, such as this Black Ant (Lasnius niger). It is thought that the ants tolerate their ghostly presence because they clear the next of debris and faeces. On the island, they can be found around Ty Pellaf and the Limekiln in the banks

Keep up to date with news from the island/my photography at the following sites...

-Bardsey Bird Obs sightings blog 

- my Twitter

- Facebook photography page

Falmouth night life - the wild side

Over the last few weeks, myself and a number of friends here in Falmouth have spent a lot of time searching for invertebrates during the night-time. Although a walk around nearby College Reservoir during the day would indicate that there aren't too many insects braving the winter conditions, the exact same places play host to an impressive diversity of all sorts of wildlife when darkness falls. Will Hawkes has been conducting invertebrate transects from the campus on a weekly basis thus far this year, and has recorded over 300 species already! It really is amazing to get out and see such a diversity of species emerging from the nooks and crannies in the most unexpected of places.

For some species, these alcoves and warm hide-aways are the site for their winter hibernation, for example the cluster of six Herald moths huddled together underneath a motorway overpass; other invertebrates are utilising the above-average winter temperatures to emerge early and spend time foraging for prey and food when the night has drawn in. Presumably emerging at night avoids the costly predation effects associated with daylight. I will depict just a handful of the species we have encountered below, and try and include some of the more fascinating ones too!

Particular highlights for me has been learning to identify the diverse range of arachnids, isopods, myriapods and dipterans that reveal themselves on the calmer nights. Spiders are by far the most abundant genus currently at large, with impressive beasties like Snake-back Spider, Buzzing Spider, Noble False Widow, Walnut Orb Weaver and European Garden Spiders to name but a few. If you have a spare hour or so on one of these dark winter nights, why not take a walk to a local wood or peer into you log shed to see what amazing creatures are taking refuge?

Some useful identification resources online include:
 - Naturespot
 - UK Safari
 - UK Wildlife Trusts

Hundreds of these Orb-weavers are around at the moment, called Zygiella x-notata. They prefer the metal railings and other such manmade structures on which to construct their webs. These webs have a characteristic shape, consistently missing one of the radial segments and thus giving the appearance of a gap in the web

I was surprised to come across some 30 Common Toads (Bufo bufo) around the local reservoir a few nights ago. Most seemed to be male, and were stood alert in the middle of the path. Hopefully they will find enough food to keep them tied over until later in February, as disturbance from hibernation can severely affect their ability to last out on their winter fat reserves

These smart Common Shiny Woodlouse are amongst around four different species of isopod commonly encountered at the moment: the other three are the Common Rough, Common Striped and Dwarf Red Woodlouses

It has been great to come across three different species of shieldbug already this year, including this handsome Hawthorn Shieldbug, several Gorse and a handful of Common Green Shieldbugs

Although of a minute size, these characterful little springtails are pretty cool creatures: they can propel themselves into the air with the equivalent force of a nine caliber bullet from a Revolver!

Onto the spiders...(so don't continue if you are an arachnophobe!)

These stunning beasties are the species are at the head of a fierce misunderstanding on the public's side: the Noble False Widow Spider (contrary to popular belief) can administer a bite only as painful as that of a mild bee sting, although is unlikely to do so unless carelessly provoked. There are three species of widow spider that occur in the UK, all of which are quite similar, but Steatoda nobilis takes the lead in terms of size (they can grow over 15mm)

This smart specimen is one of the rarer species we have come across: the so-called Snake-back Spider

Walnut Orb-weavers are attractive members of the Araneae family that are strictly nocturnal, emerging on their spun webs to trap flying insects and winged prey

A delicate-looking species which seems to be one of the commonest currently around Tetragnatha extensa is particularly numerous at the moment

Although not a great picture, this is a fascinating species: the Buzzing Spider (Anephaena accentuata). During courtship, the male of this species repeatedly taps his abdomen on an underlying leaf to produce an audible buzzing sound that presumably acts to entice females to mate