Spring invertebrates

This post is focussed on some of the smaller inhabitants of the island. Spring is a great time of year to see the emergence of a range of insects and reptiles. This year. however, has been a little poor due to the unsettled weather conditions. There are still plenty of things to look at though! 

This handsome beast is a Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris), and is present around the coast of Bardsey on calm, sunny afternoon. In terms of a UK status, this species is the commonest tiger beetle. They are excellent predators, with running fast at times on their long legs, and making short buzzing flights when disturbed. The larvae develop in small burrows in the earth, which also act as pitfall traps, thus catching unwary prey which happen to fall in

This (not so handsome) insect is a Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria). It is perhaps one of the most abundant flies in many parts of the UK (and Northern Hemisphere for that matter). The adults hang around fresh faeces, where they breed and lay their eggs within the organic matter on the dung. The adult flies feed on small insects 

Green-veined White. This species is by far the commonest butterfly on Bardsey, and they are beginning to emerge in small numbers on warm days

Moths

This year has generally been very poor for moths, largely due to the unsettled and mostly quite chilly conditions. Moth-trapping has been met with mixed success: often yields have been just one or two, with Hebrew Characters and Flame Shoulders featuring most commonly at the moment. I have trapped a couple of new species for Bardsey in recent weeks, namely a Shoulder Stripe (geometrid) and a Water Carpet (common species in the UK). Marbled Coronets, Common Quakers, Early Thorns and Double-striped Pugs are among the commonest species at the moment

Marbled Coronet

Early Thorn

Early Grey

Shoulder Stripe

Recent photographic highlights

Over the last two weeks I have had some great photographic opportunities here on Bardsey, from photographing Manx Shearwaters on star-lit nights, to watching Grey Seal bulls battle it out in the bay. Since I have not uploaded any of these images onto the blog, I thought I would do an update featuring my favourite photographs from the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy...

I made a special effort one morning to make it to the North End for sunrise, which was around 0550. My aim was to photograph a few of the breeding gulls flying in front of the sun, with the Gwylan Islands and distant mainland in the background. I photographed plenty of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying past, but this one was my favourite

I have had this type of image in mind for quite a while. Last week the skies cleared enough to try it out one night. I used a Canon 6D and Canon fisheye 15mm to get a very wide angle shot of this Manx Shearwater, as it sat on a nearby bank. I used a 25 second exposure and ISO 5000, plus a dim head torch to illuminate the bird, to get this shot. Hopefully I will be able to improve on this image in the coming weeks

Last week I visited the Fulmars on the East Side, where there were perhaps 10 individuals flying around and prospecting for nest sites. Many of them were clearly intrigued by myself, and came very close and low over me. I used a 24-105mm lens to try and get some wide angle images of them, and this is the best result

I have been experimenting a lot this year with low shutter speeds and sea movement with the island's Oysterctachers. This bird was around the East Side, and I tried to use a relatively low shutter speed of 20th sec to create the movement of the sea. I found it very difficult to retain a sharp bird, but like the overall effect. It is a work in progress

One evening I came across these two Grey Seal bulls having a playful fight with each other. I watched them battle it out for a little while, although realised that they weren't really doing any harm to each other. I took a few images, but these are my favourites

I have been taking a lot of images of birds bathing in the last few days, which will appear here in the next few weeks. Linnets and Meadow Pipits have been visiting a small pool along the track, which makes for a good location to set up a hide. This Willow Warbler paid an unexpected visit, which was quite nice

As spring progresses, and the odd rain shower passes through the island, a multitude of flowers and plants are beginning to emerge all over. These Cuckoo Flowers are appearing throughout the Wetlands, and Thrift and Squill are adding some very nice colouration to the coast

This Yellow Dung Fly has been a subject for my macro photography for some time, and one of my favourite views of them is head-on. They have very comical faces, which almost give them the look of being surprised. I will continue to try and get some better images, but this is my best so far.

Recent News

The weather over the last two weeks has almost consistently been windy and overcast, which isn't terribly conducive for photography to say the least! However, the skies have cleared every now and then and allowed for some images to be taken. In terms of birding, it has been slow going: there have been two late Manx Shearwaters passing by out to sea this month, and a Great Skua on the 19th is also very late. A handful of Chiffchaffs have chosen to overwinter on Bardsey (the first time they have done so since 2007), but I'm sure some of them are regretting that now! Otherwise, the usual flock of up to 34 Choughs continues to feed on Solfach, whilst the Oystercatcher and Curlew flocks have been maxing out at about 60 each. A single Whimbrel has been hiding amongst the Curlews too.

Here is a short composite of videos taken on Bardsey Island this year. These were mostly taken with a Canon 7D and Canon 300mm F4 lens. 

Some pictures from the week:

A Yellow Dung Fly in the morning light

A female Chaffinch feeding on some late winter berries

It is proving to be a very good winter for overwintering Stonechats, with at least seven pairs present. This is a smart male

One of the unfortunate Chiffchaffs which has decided to overwinter. Will the gamble pay off?

Blue Tit