By Tara McEvoy-Wilding
Thursday was yet another sunny day on Lundy. Whilst I did some office work, Thomas did census where he sighted a Ringed Plover at Benjamins Chair and and a pair of Channel Wagtails at Quarter Wall Pond. Before long it was time to head down to the boat. Sadly in the Landing Bay the first seal pup of the year was spotted floating dead near Christies Quay. We don't know what caused it's death but it was only ~3 days old.
Me and Thomas met Roy Dennis and his partner Moira off of the Oldenburg. Roy Dennis was the Assistant Warden on Lundy in 1958 and hadn't returned since so it was an exciting day. After leaving Lundy, he moved to Fair Isle and has played a key part in restoring populations of White-tailed Eagles, Osprey, Red Kite and Golden Eye amongst other species in the UK over the last 60 years! He is currently in the area as he is helping with the reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to Exmoor!
After doing the landrover lifts up the hill and a quick pasty we set off for Old Light, where Roy and the Warden used to live and we climbed the steps to the top to enjoy the view. Roy pointed out where Heligoland Traps used to be located, as these were the main locations for ringing on the island. As well as the Terrace trap which is still in place today, there were traps at Quarter Wall and in Stoney Croft Paddock. Millcombe was generally out of bounds for birding as it was the Harman family's private area of the island.
We then wandered up the west coast to the site of the Manx Shearwater artifcial nest boxes where we checked on a couple of chicks and told Roy about the project and the success Manx Shearwaters have had on Lundy since the rats were eradicated 20 years ago.
We hopped back in the Landrover and drove up the island towards Tibbetts, stopping along the way. We learnt that Pondsbury used to be smaller and without an island as there wasn't a dam on the westside to hold the water in and Roy told us about going to visit Mr Tibbett when he was assistant warden. By this point we were running out of time so we headed back to the village and Thomas, Roy and Moira walked down through Millcombe while I did the lifts down.
It was great to have Roy visit the island and learn about what life was like on Lundy when he was doing my job! Hopefully we will be seeing White-tailed eagles visiting Lundy from Exmoor soon!
By Thomas Weston
The day started with me getting ready for census. A thick band of nice cloud and cold NE wind braced the island which was refreshing to say the least. Pairs of Swallows flew overhead with up to 10 seen in total. Walking towards Millcombe there were a lot of calls and activity amongst the bushes. A pair of Woodpigeons were in the trees, and a mix of warblers were seen with 7 Willows, 1 Chiffchaff, and a Blackcap noted. I saw our breeding pair of Spotted Flycatchers with their juvenile, and throughout the Valley, 2 Chaffinches, 3 Blackbirds, a Dunnock, and Wrens were noted. A couple of Oystercatchers, 4 Shags, and a flyby Common Sandpiper were in the Landing Bay and on the way out of St Johns Valley, 3 Mallards were seen distantly in Bartons Field. Off Benjamin’s Chair, 4 Kittiwakes and 7 Gannets were seen in a feeding frenzy. Gulls were in mixed flocks but consisted of 4 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 11 Herring Gulls, and a Lesser Black Backed Gull was spotted. Throughout the Plateau, 5 Stonechats, 4 Wheatears, 3 Pied Wagtails, 44 Meadow Pipits, 78 Linnets, and 29 Goldfinches were noted.
I was then joined by Lucile where we were trying to catch House Sparrows and Starlings with mixed success resulting in a lot of great Starling data. After completing some admin in between trap checks, we later checked the Channel Wagtail pair’s second brood nest and found both chicks unfortunately dead in the nest. It would be highly likely the chicks were never going to make it due to genetics and the fact they invested so much in their first brood. There is always next year!
The afternoon involved more ringing related admin, helping set a net near the Chicken Coop and heading out in the night to catch Wheatears before heading to the slopes to catch Manx Shearwaters. Both species are high quality ringing on the island, the former helping towards the Wheatear colour ringing RAS and the latter helping towards our 50yrs of understanding this colony on the west. Fun, fun, fun, some brief dull aurora, the Milkey way and a few meteorites seen too.
By Chloë Langmead
Today started with a butterfly transect along the lower east path. The hot, sunny weather has brought the butterflies out in full force! There were Large Whites, Small Whites and Peacocks flitting around Millcombe, Red Admirals and Painted Ladys throughout the walk in healthy numbers. I counted 8 Ringlets and of course there were 90 Meadow Browns! Additionally, there were a few Hummingbird Hawk Moths and several Silver Ys.
Meanwhile, Greg was out on census with the highlights being 29 Willow Warblers, 6 Sedge Warblers and 2 Grasshopper Warblers. Additionally, he also saw a migrant Hawker Dragonfly near Millcombe Pines.
Next on the agenda for me was Seabird Station at Jenny's Cove. The sun was shining bright, and Jenny’s looked beautiful as always, with the ocean looking particularly inviting in this hot weather. Thankfully there was a gentle, cool breeze to keep me from baking too much! Despite most of the Auks having left with the Guillemot cliffs looking stark, there were still just enough Puffins out rafting on the water to show the day trippers, all of whom were pleasantly surprised and happy.
Lundy map - click to enlarge