So why leave such a fantastic place in the last week of
September? Well there would have to be a pretty good reason. And there was. The
Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales were looking to appoint a new Warden for
Skokholm. We are very pleased to announce that they have appointed two. From
the start of January we will be the Skokholm Island Wardens! Skokholm is home
to approximately 20% of Europe’s breeding Storm
Petrels and 15% of the world population of Manx Shearwaters. The seabird assemblage is of international
importance. Throw in a few Nationally Scarce species of Lepidoptera and plants,
a spectacular landscape of old red sandstone, Skokholm’s reputation as a
migration hotspot and it is no surprise how excited we are. It hasn’t really
sunk in yet. Skokholm was also Britain’s first Bird Observatory, started by
Ronald Lockley in 1933. It is a real honour to be able to follow in the
footsteps of such a pioneering naturalist. We would like to extend a massive
thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us on Bardsey, and to all
the guests who have become good friends over the years. We will of course be
hoping to see you all on Skokholm in the future.
We are very excited about having a final autumn on Bardsey
and hope to go out with a bang (well a nice selection of rares anyway).
The Barred Warbler which greeted us back on Bardsey. There seems to be a moult contrast in the greater coverts of both wings. This, coupled with the limited barring to the underparts and the broad pale edges to the tertials and secondaries, suggest a bird of the year. (c) Richard Brown
Although our trip to Pembrokeshire this week was on business, there was a bit of time to go birding. The Wryneck on Skomer is a long-stayer and is frequenting the same bushes where I saw many a Wryneck during my time as Assistant there. The Glossy Ibis is right outside the Marloes Mere YHA where we were staying. This bird has been back and forth to Ireland a couple of times during its stay. It has also visited Skokholm (we can only hope that it continues to do so next year)! But these movements are tiny compared to what it's capable of - recently observations of a ringed bird revealed a movement of 600km in a single day. (c) Richard Brown
Congratulations to you both! Very exciting. Is Emyr taking over the Bardsey Fudge franchise?
ReplyDeleteRich & Giselle, congratulations on the appointment to Skokholm. Look forward to meeting you and to hopefully seeing some of the fantastic birds you will no doubt find there! It's a wonderful island.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Dave Astins (Pembrokeshire birder)
David, Emyr has the secret fudge recipe. But will he use it?
ReplyDeleteDave, we'll do our best to have you visiting Skok plenty of times next year!
Congratulations on getting to be wardens at Skokholm. Will you need any volunteers?
ReplyDelete