Wildlife

Bardsey is renowned for its wildlife and is a perfect place to see choughs, grey seals, puffins and manx shearwaters. There have been 332 species of birds recorded on the island

Bardsey is a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is a site which is both nationally and internationally important for wildlife. The wide range of special interest includes birds, with Bardsey sitting on a key migratory route for Europe’s birds, rare flowering plants, lichens, liverworts and mosses, coastal grassland and heathland, seacliff ledges and marine wildlife.

The Bardsey Island Trust, as owners, and Natural Resources Wales (NRW), as the Welsh government’s advisory body on wildlife conservation, ensure that the island’s wildlife interest is protected for the future. The important features of the island’s natural history are managed through the island farm.

A strong colony of up to 200 Atlantic grey seals can be seen in the rocky bays of the island. A small number breed on Bardsey each year.

The seas around the island, with their forests of strap seaweed, are rich in marine life. In the rock pools you can see anemones, crabs and small fish, and in the deeper waters, filter-feeders such as sponges and sea-squirts cushion the rocks. One offshore species, the yellow star anemone, is more commonly found in the Mediterranean. Risso’s dolphins and harbour porpoises are frequently seen in the waters off the island.

Along the coastal margin, the spring squill makes hazy blue carpets in early spring. It’s followed by dense tufts of thrift and patches of thyme and, later on, the bell heather and ling. The rarer plants include western clover and small adder’s tongue. Amongst the most notable of the plants are the lichens, of which Bardsey has a rich variety of over 350 species.