Bardsey

Mike and Pine had never driven to North Wales before so this was going to be an adventure. After leaving the M4 at Newport we started to make our way north following faithfully Google’s idea of how we should get there. After we missed a turning off the A4 whatever we found ourselves looking at Pine’s road atlas for help. Fortunately this proved much easier to follow and Mike guided us along some B roads back to civilisation. It was a fantastic little diversion with tiny bridges that no normal-sized car could cross and sheep lining the road that might dart out at any minute.

All this excitement and we haven’t even seen a dolphin yet – how are we going to cope when that happens?!?!

As we journeyed up the A470 we passed RAYDAR (Rhayader) as we continued in our massive assault on the Welsh language.

Disclaimer: Please note that any resemblance the place names in this article may have to real places is simply the difference between reality and Mike and Pine’s grasp thereof.

When we got to Pwllheli, we stopped to pick up some supplies before heading off on the final leg to Aberdaron. This is where the Google directions really let themselves down and we had to rely on calling the farmer’s son whose caravan we would be inhabiting for the next 3 weeks to get some directions.

Day 1 in the Little Welsh Caravan

Mike has settled himself in the master bedroom while Pine has acted with shock horror at the size of the plates and mugs in the kitchen.

Pine has declared that for future fieldwork projects, we should not have to set up camp in a caravan. At the very least she expects a holiday cottage that has normal sized beds (one is only suitable for a dwarf, the others are only suitable for stick insects. If you happen to be broad shouldered you are out of luck). And more than one tea-towel.

Searching for the right spot
Whilst we despaired with the GPS as we tried to find the correct vantage points, we did manage to see Ireland in the distance with our binoculars. Mike then got a text message informing him of roaming charges now that he was on o2 Ireland ? while he was physically still in Wales!

After we had found our vantage point for St Mary’s Well and for Pen y Cil, we established our fieldwork office and looked up the tide times online.

That afternoon we decided that we should do some surveying at St Mary’s Well. In the space of 2 hours we saw many porpoises foraging and feeding in the Bardsey Sound. When I say “we”, I mean that Pine saw lots of porpoises, and Mike saw just a couple – his eyes not being as well accustomed to the act of porpoise finding. It was still a really great end to our first day on fieldwork.

Day 2 in the Little Welsh Caravan
This morning Pine was first up and experimented with the shower. It was favourable compared to showers used in Thailand, so Mike decided to brave it as well.
    

We set off to St Mary’s Well and spent the morning seeing very little except for a couple of boats and interesting and deceiving swirls in the water that pretended to be a whale’s footprint.

Then we went to Pen y Cil for lunch and managed to see 5 bottle nose dolphins coming around the headland. There was even a calf with them. There was much excitement as we followed these for a few minutes and Pine took some photos.

By 3pm we had only managed to record a couple of extra porpoise sightings so we decided to call it a day as we had to get back to receive the “Big Eyes” that were coming down from North Kessock.

For this entry i hand over to my friend and colleague, Rob Lott ...

As the Isle of Lewis field season draws to a close we’d like to say a huge thank you to Sarah, Nicola and Team Canine for their informative, inspiring and at times, emotional account of their days spent in this stunning corner of the world.

It’s now time to pass the baton to the Bardsey Island crew who will soon be heading up to North Wales to start their field season.

For those of you who have never heard of Bardsey (or Ynys Enlli as we say in my mother tongue) it’s a small island just over one and a half miles long and half a mile wide which lies just off the tip of the Lleyn peninsula.

For such a small island it has an incredibly rich spiritual heritage and Bardsey has been noted as an important place of pilgrimage since the early days of Christianity. Three pilgrimages to Bardsey were apparently equal to one to Rome.

Today Bardsey is just as famous for its stunning nature and scenery and is recognised internationally for its outstanding wildlife, in particular the birdlife, sea cliff habitats and marine wildlife.

WDCS’s interest in Bardsey was first sparked over 10 years ago. Local boat operators and visitors to Bardsey were increasingly reporting regular sightings of Risso’s dolphins around the island. So, in 1999 WDCS joined forces with the Friends of Cardigan Bay and initiated a pilot photo-identification study for Risso’s. During the study period a total of 133 Risso’s dolphins have been catalogued. Our work on Bardsey has already produced some exciting results and has demonstrated the presence of certain individuals year after year. Whatsmore, individuals identified off Bardsey have even been resighted in different parts of the UK.





WDCS is beginning to recognise the waters around Bardsey as a breeding and nursery area for Risso’s dolphin as well as an important feeding ground.
Our base on the island will be the Bird Observatory which was established in 1953 largely due to the island’s position on important migration routes. The island boasts a vast breeding colony of manx shearwaters and sizeable numbers of choughs and oystercatchers. Recent evidence suggests puffins may also be making a return to the island. Atlantic grey seals are to be seen in the rocky bays of the island and a small number breed on Bardsey each year.

WDCS will also have a base on the mainland looking across to the island monitoring the waters of Bardsey Sound.

The spirituality and sacredness of this island, together with its legendary claim to be the final resting place of King Arthur, have given the island a special place in the cultural life of Wales and has attracted artists, writers and musicians for centuries. Now, in recent years, we can add marine mammal scientists to the list.

We depart for Bardsey this weekend so please stay tuned for the Bardsey Blog.

Hwyl fawr.