Bardsey Bird & Field Observatory

Life on the island

Bardsey has been studying birds from its field station at Cristin since 1953. Season after season, that work builds a lasting picture of the island’s bird life. S003

Its island home is a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and forms part of the wider Aberdaron Coast and Bardsey Island Special Protection Area. Rare migrants and breeding seabirds underline the value of keeping a careful record of this island’s wildlife. S003, S007

A record, day by day

Daily bird censuses and evening sighting logs keep the record growing, with visitors welcome to contribute. Behind those observations is patient fieldwork: returning to the same island, season after season. S003

Breeding seabirds and ringing

In spring and summer, the team counts breeding birds and rings seabirds through the British Trust for Ornithology’s national scheme, adding information about individual birds to the wider record. S003

Its work reaches beyond Bardsey itself. On 19 June 2025, the team visited the nearby Gwylan Islands for its annual seabird census, counting shags, cormorants and gull colonies, checking puffin burrows and ringing three puffin chicks. This is the hands-on fieldwork that gives the long-term record its substance. S005

Connecting people with marine mammals

Bardsey’s Marine Mammal Project aims to build on pilot work photographing Risso’s dolphins, developing a catalogue of recognisable individuals alongside systematic watches. School visits, community engagement and training for volunteer dolphin watchers are also part of its approach. S004

The aim pairs a better understanding of these animals with opportunities for local people to get involved.

Small observations. A bigger picture.

The importance of Bardsey’s work lies in what those records reveal over time. They have helped track changes in bird populations and migration timing, giving a clearer picture of the wildlife using this coast. S003

Care for a place starts with understanding it. The continuity of this work, and the wildlife reports that share it, put that knowledge within reach of others. S006

The detail behind the work

The annual figures give a sense of the organisation’s scale. They cover the whole charity for the year ended 31 December 2024. The spending breakdown follows its filed accounts for that year, checked on 13 October 2026. These are historical figures, not current balances or a project budget. S001, S020