It is Autumn. The air is turning cold and the night is now longer than the day. Out off the Lleyn Peninsula in northwest Wales, seperated from the mainland by an infamously fierce channel of boiling waters sits Ynys Enlli; the island in the Tides. We anglophones call it Bardsey.
The gales of the equinoxal period see clouds of migrant birds pass by and on the more favourable shores of the little rocky island, female seals swollen with pregnancy haul out, rest, give birth. Then for three intense weeks they transfer much of their body fat into their white-coated pups via their rich nurturing milk.
Nearby swim the far larger bull seals. They are patrolling territories with one or more mother seal within, waiting - with varying degrees of patience - for the mothers to leave their pups and accept their advances.
Here are some of the scenes from Autumn on Bardsey.
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| Bardsey island viewed from its western most tip. |
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| A gentle moment between male and female. |
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A few smaller seals - marked out by their reddish fur - are yearlings.
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| The star of the Autumn seashore - a white-coated pup |
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| And another. |
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| Meanwhile a flock of starlings migrate by. |
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| Sleepers on the shore - seemingly exhausted mother with her plump little pup. |
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| A flock of turnstones resting on the hightide rocks alongside the bigger oystercatcher. |
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| Portrait of a bull in repose. |
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| A long-tailed tit passes by with its small flock. |
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| A moulted pup plays with a piece of seaweed. |
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| Mother and her pup - a whiskery kiss. |
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| A Bardsey sunset looking west towards Ireland. |
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| Some words of advice blown over by the storm. |
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| And finally - the way home. |
For more information about Bardsey - see the website of the Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory
HERE.
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