Here is Ken Croft's latest write-up:

"The month started with two Green Sandpipers, one of which remained until the 4th, three Spotted Flycatchers were present on the 1st and a juvenile Bullfinch fed with the Linnet flock. The next day new migrants were a Lesser Whitethroat and a Grasshopper Warbler and four Sandwhich Terns fed out beyond the lighthouse. On the 4th a female Marsh Harrier moved over the heathland in…

Back in June the new visitor centre at South Stack was descended upon by a gaggle of bikers collectively known as bikers4macmillan. This lovely group of people with a passion for motorbikes arrange events to raise money for the cancer charity Macmillan and this year they did a sponsored sunset to sunrise tour starting from South Stack and finishing in Skegness.

We were happy to publicise and assist with this event not…

I have spent the past week at home for my father's 60th birthday celebrations and have been greeted back to the reserve with the strongest south-westerly wind imaginable! Last night, I walked down to the beach at the bottom of the reserve and was held back against the railings of the gate whilst the air filled my lungs in an exhilarating way! I stayed there a while, in awe of mother nature.

I decided that to stay…

Hi guys and gals,

It's fast approaching the end of the summer season here at South Stack, so with only two weeks of residential volunteers left we thought we'd take the opportunity to tell you a little bit about what our volunteers have been up to all summer!

With the opening of our new visitor centre we've needed more help than ever and volunteers Mo and Eveline are now on the shop's rota as it's been all hands…

It's that time of year again i'm afraid... the nights are drawing in (dark at 9 o'clock last night!) and the Swallows are saying their farewells. This isn't a message of doom and gloom though, it's a celebration of what's been a wonderful summer shared with with my Hirundine friends.

Two years ago, we (by this I mean Dave the site manager and Bill one of our local volunteers) made way for our feathered…

We're half way through August already - madness! Alongside a re-emergence of Wheatear we've had plentiful displays from Harbour Porpoise and even a Common Dolphin was spotted from Ellin's Tower today.

It can be quite difficult to distinguish between porpoise and dolphins; what we often say to our visitors is that porpoise are smaller, darker and solitary or in small groups and that dolphins tend to be spotted…

It may be wet and windy across the UK today, but there is plenty of Wildlife to see in wild Wales!

The recent winds have brought thousands of Manx Shearwaters past the reserve and even the occasional Balearic Shearwater! We've also had numerous Gannets flying by and even diving right in front of Ellins Tower! Usually diving Gannets have also meant surfacing Harbour Porpoise which has had many of the visitors in a whirl…

This is summary of July's birds on the reserve from our resident expert Ken Croft...

"The thriving sea-bird colony gave visitors a spectacular display this month with Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Great Black-backed Gull all frantically flying to and fro' bringing food in to their offspring. Meanwhile offshore, Gannets and Manx Shearwaters were regularly…

The reserve has changed quite dramtically over the last few weeks; the seabird colony has departed and the cliffs are much quieter, less smelly affair! That's not to say that the reserve isn't teeming with life... the Chough families are busy foraging for insects, the Stonechat broods are confusing all the visitors with their speckled appearance and we have had a couple of unusual visitors; a Hobby last week and a Marsh…

The last in a short series of diaries about birds on the reserve from Ken Croft. Hopefully, in the future we'll round of the previous month with one of his summaries..!

"In a month with no real highlights here are the highlights. A Little Grebe dropped in on 30th, Grey Herons were regular visitors, Greylag Geese reached a max of 36 on the 3rd, a Shelduck was seen on the 8th and 8 Common Scoter flew north on the 4th…

Here's another look back at activities on the reserve from our local expert Ken Croft:

"The 2nd was a special day starting with a female Marsh Harrier hunting over heathland above the cafe fields, then at 0930hrs a male Monatagu's Harrier was quartering the lower slopes of the mountain. A good day for raptors and Peregrine and Kestrel are soon added to the day-list. A Common Sandpiper flew over calling and 2 Yellow Wagtails…

Thanks to our local bird-expert I am happy to share with you a retrospective look at the months gone by on the reserve. Here is April's 'birding' summary in the words of Ken Croft:

"The first Swallow arrived on the 2nd along with at least 60 Chiffchaffs and 6 Blackcaps. A late Redwing was in the cafe fields the next day, these fields also produced a Hooded Crow on the 6th and a Snipe the next day. Skylarks…

The 16th-31st July is the Butterfly Conservation societies "Big Butterfly Count". We've kicked off the survey on the reserve today as the sunshine has returned! We are providing laminated guides to give visitors a helping hand when it comes to identification. It's a fifteen minute species count that be can be conducted anywhere, whether sat still or walking. To find out more about the event and how simple it is to take…

Our auk colony; the Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins have stayed with us for their breeding season and will soon be leaving to complete their year out at sea before returning to us next March/April.

Many of our visitors ask when these fishing marvels will leave us and we've often replied "mid-July"...And here we are half way through the month so these really are the last few days to catch the noisey little fellows…

After a short break in the East Midlands, I was welcomed back to the island with a boat trip around our dramatic coast. It was a truly wonderful way to view the reserve.

Setting off from Trearddur Bay on a rigid-hulled inflatable, our tour rook in the sights of the eastlerly part of the reserve (the range), the main seabird colony at South Stack and along the gigantic cliffs to North Stack. On the rocks surrounding Trearddur…

Today we had our first close-ups of an emerging baby Puffin, termed a Puffling. It was great to see him/her after all the waiting. It's parents were close at hand preening in the sunshine earlier today. If you want to see these little ones you'll have to come and visit soon as we expect them to leave to start their lives out at sea by mid-July. We are hoping that soon we will be able to bring you live footage of the cliffs…

Bore da!

The stunning weather we've had recently may not have escaped your notice and here at South Stack we've been celebrating with our Puffin Fun weekend! The Puffins have been out in force, basking in the sunshine on the rocks. We ran guided walks yesterday where we saw numerous Stonechat families, Linnets, Rock Pipits, Whitethroat and the odd Peregrine, Kestrel and Buzzard. As the walks progressed down the steps…

Our assistant warden, Denise, has been busy over the past few weeks counting our auk colony. I thought you would be pleased to know the outcome! Including the lighthouse island (which is not technically part of the reserve) we have had a 23% increase in Guillemot numbers, a whopping 8014! The Razorbills have also increased 27% to an incredible 1147 individuals. These records are fabulous and there are plenty of chicks…

Ever since I moved to the area I have been on the lookout for a badger. I have gone on evening walks, been taken to known badger setts and have peered out into the night on car journeys. Last week i was delighted and surprised when one of our visitors came in weilding her camera and showed us amazing photographs of young badgers taken on the range part of the reserve in broad daylight! Needless to say, I was chomping at…

You may, or may not know that BirdLife International is a bird conservation organisation that works all around the world with partners such as the RSPB. On Friday, I was invited to join BirdLife and Anglesey Aluminium for a day of birding aimed at the children in our community.

BirdLife work with Rio Tinto, the owners of Anglesey Aluminium, to encourage them on a corporate and personal level to be more interested in…

Last Saturday, Denise (South Stack’s assistant warden) and I joined a collection of organisations for the Holyhead Breakwater Park’s Nature Discovery Day. We used the event to publicise the RSPBs ‘Make Your Nature Count’ survey, handing out leaflets and information about studying the wildlife in your garden. We also handed out ‘bird bingo’ to the younger visitors to encourage them to spot birds and the places…

So we've said goodbye to yet another two of our residential volunteers, Roy and Chris, and welcomed our next pair, Jean and Richard. Our residential volunteers stay with us for week-long, or two week, stints and help us on the reserve by helping us to inform visitors of the work of the RSPB and of the wildlife on the reserve. This year ,with the opening of our new visitors centre, the volunteers have also been giving…

Morning everybody!

For those of you that don't know, the Mousetrap buttress is the huge rock sticking out at a 90 degree angle from our cliffs, inbetween Ellins Tower and the lighthouse island. A lot happens on this precambrian relic; it's where our puffins burrow, our webcam Chough nest and where our thousands of Razorbills and Guillemots pair up and lay their eggs.

The auks (Puffins/Razorbills/Guillemots)…

Has anybody been watching Springwatch? Hope you're enjoying it. It's become a yearly marker for me...television just wouldn't be the same without it! This weekend at the reserve we're celebrating our Springwatch event with a 'Homes for Wildlife' themed family fun weekend - so far it's going well. We've had sunshine, we've had wildlife and we've had visitors! Hayley finally won the fluffy penguin on the tombola and the…

Wow! What a day I had yesterday?!

I spent the morning down on the range with local bird expert, Ken Croft, and went sea-watching. It was phenomenal. Ken had expected a great passage of birds because of the wind direction and invited me to join him. I spent about an hour an half down there, sheltered between some rocks, watching hundreds of manx shearwater in passage, around 150 gannets and various friends of the South…