Just back from a week holiday in Anglesey. Plenty of good birds - highlight was a very large Peregrine flying no more than 20 feet above my head at Southstack - there was no one else there at the time.
Puffins went down a treat as usual (8-9 pairs at Southstack) and plenty of other sea birds.
The trip was a bit of a disappointment due to the massive breeding failure at Cemlyn.
In May there were apparently over 1100 nests recorded for Sandwich Terns alone. Unfortunately the vegetation on the islands did not grow (for whatever reason) and the nests were then exposed to heavy predation. I also understand the wardens tried to get permission from the National Trust to control the main culprits (various large gulls) but permission came too late. Consequently it is anticipated that only 4 or 5 young will fledge. My understanding is that Cemlyn has not suffered a disaster on this scale before.
The birds that were present have apparently had no problem obtaining food and the few birds I did see were bringing in sand eels.
When i visited Cemlyn last week it was an eerie experience. Still 3 species of Terns present but very low numbers - it was like a ghost town compared to previous visits!
I did see as a result large numbers of Sandwich Terns cropping up in various other places - Beaumaris, Puffin Island, Red Wharf Bay etc.
Apparently the Tern colony on the Skerries, by contrast, has had a bumper year with over 3000 Arctic Terns present - the down side is that a boat trip is needed to view.
An action plan to hopefully prevent a recurrence at Cemlyn is, I believe, in place. Lets hope the Terns have a better year next year.
