Wildlife on the Llŷn Peninsula

Birdwatching in Llŷn

Beginner or experienced, a walk in the Llŷn countryside will reward you with a wide diversity of habitats and special scenery that makes this peninsula an ideal place for birdwatching. The rocky cliffs and offshore islands are important nesting sites for many birds and the complex ecology and land forms bring together a great variety of species from choughs and peregrine falcons to fulmars, puffins and Manx shearwater.

Choughs at Pen-y-Cil

The chough is the rarest member of the crow family and its Welsh name, brân goesgoch, literally means red-legged crow. There is only a small population of these birds in the United Kingdom, with three-quarters of the UK's population living in Wales. Pen-y-Cil, located at the southern tip of the peninsula is one of the most dramatic places to see these special birds and their wonderful aerial displays.

Nesting seabirds at Carreg y Llam

The ledges of the 100m high Carreg y Llam near Pistyll are bustling with seabirds during the breeding season in spring and early summer and it’s one of the most important seabird nesting sites in North Wales. Large numbers of guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes make the most of the inaccessible slopes to lay their eggs, spending the rest of the year out at sea.

Porth Meudwy birds

A visit to this special valley and cove will reward you with a fascinating range of resident and migrant birds and loads of other wildlife to enjoy in the area. It has been known to welcome rare vagrants too, including a Ruppell's warbler and red-eyed vireo.

Bardsey Island birds

Lying off the tip of the peninsula, Bardsey Island is the only accredited bird observatory in Wales. The nationally important numbers of Manx shearwater that breed here in the summer are one of the reasons why this special place is a Special Protection Area. There is a breeding colony of 10 to 16 thousand birds on the island.

On the east side of the island’s mountain there are 11 species of seabird including kittiwakes, storm petrels, razorbills, and guillemots. The island’s other breeding birds include oystercatchers, wheatears, little owls and long-eared owls.

Dunes, heathland and woodland birds

Heathland and coastal dunes are home to stonechats, goldfinches and sand martins. You may spot the ever-present predators, such as kestrels and buzzards, watching over proceedings. Away from the coastline, you can catch a glimpse of greater-spotted and green woodpeckers, even jays and nuthatches. Local rivers are a great place to spot dippers.

Migratory birds

The Llŷn Peninsula is an important route for many migratory such as large numbers of willow warbler, chiffchaff and goldcrest, which arrive in spring and autumn. Regular migrants also include pied and spotted flycatchers, 10 species of warbler, three species of wagtail, six species of thrush and 11 species of finch.

Rare visitors to Llŷn

The list of species that have made it to Llŷn include the eyebrowed thrush, Radde’s warbler and the Isabelline wheatear from Asia. Black-browed albatross from the southern oceans and dark-eyed Junco, yellow warbler, Sora rail, American bittern, American robin and the song sparrow from America have also been seen. Bardsey also has the only record of a summer tanager on this side of the Atlantic.