by Kirsty Cox
Today started as every day does for me with a morning run. I have really noticed over the last few days how much darker it is in the morning when I set out - I think soon I’ll have to resort to a headtorch! But for the moment I can still stumble along the track in the first of the light and by the time I am heading back towards the village, I get to see the sunrise over the mainland.
I spent the first couple of hours of the working day in recycling. With some music on and a cup of coffee to hand I managed to sort all the bags and empty the recycling bin - it always feels good to see the bottom of the bin as so often bags mount up when recycling arrives from all the properties each changeover day.
The rest of my day was devoted to the seals - heading off on pup check and then up to Brazen Ward for a disturbance survey. We usually finish disturbance surveys at the end of August but with day-tripper boats from Ilfracombe still advertising Lundy visits on their websites, and with the amount of disturbance we have been seeing over the season, Tara and I felt it would be good to continue with the surveys on days when trips were advertised and I didn’t have other work commitments.
I pup checked on the way up to Brazen Ward, visiting all the viewpoints. At the moment there are a lot fewer pups to monitor as the season draws to a close. As well as a full house of weaned pups in the Landing Bay, there are still a few white coats around including one who has started to moult showing its unique fur pattern beneath. 
Moulting Pup by Kirsty Cox
I spent three hours at Brazen Ward watching the seals and monitoring for disturbance. There were no boats that arrived but the data collected shows how the seals would behave without disturbance so is still useful for us to have. And sitting in the sunshine watching the seals was no hardship on my part!
I also saw several birds during my survey including a flock of 50+ Goldfinches and 2 Gannets. And it was lovely to see a Clouded Yellow butterfly near to Castles as well. But across the island there were huge numbers of sightings today. The totals recorded at Log in the evening included 5,000 Redwing (an island record), 935 Fieldfare, 73 Song Thrush, 56 Blackbird, 10 Ring Ouzel, a Mistle Thrush, 3 Lapwing, 11 Jack Snipe, 12 Stock Dove, 470 Goldfinch, 182 Chaffinch, 11 Snow Bunting, 2 Wheatear, a Willow Warbler, a Hen Harrier, a Short-eared Owl, and a Lapland Bunting.
by Greg Lee
Census today and a relieving change from deafeningly strong winds on the patrol. Things were a little encouraging though still a bit quiet. The main difference was hearing the calls of birds overhead, including the chirrup of a Snow Bunting over Millcombe. Initially, I thought this was the Rocket Pole bird having a stretch of the wings, but throughout the day, it appeared that there had been a small arrival of these charming birds onto the island, with at least six being the total of the day. Millcombe itself was also busier with a smattering of Blackcaps, Goldcrests and weirdly, a good number of Dunnocks (where are these birds coming from?). At least three Common Snipe were also flushed by me around the census route and three Golden Plovers were together flying over the airfield. Overhead, Skylarks, Chaffinches and Siskins were flying over and a Greenfinch also caught my ear over Quarter Wall, later being seen in Millcombe by another observer. Interestingly, a distant photo of a Reed Bunting at Quarter Wall Pond revealed this bird to be ringed. Sadly, I wasn't able to relocate or get closer to the bird but it would've been fascinating to obtain the information from the ring. Back in the Village, I was bemused to encounter a Song Thrush hanging about near the Vehicle Shed. Recently, a Robin has rather taken to the area, seemingly becoming quite territorial over its patch of concrete and gravel and both birds were loitering as I walked past.
Snow Bunting by G.Lee
Song Thrush by G.Lee
We're very fortunate to have lots of observers on the island at the moment and the discovery of our third Rosefinch of the autumn near Government was the highlight of the day. Like the other individuals, this one was very partial to the Blackberries and showed quite well before melting into the Bramble scrub. On the non-avian front, Simon and Kirsty were treated to a display of breaching from a Bluefin Tuna. These gigantic, awe-inspiring fish are now in great numbers in the south-west, where, unlike some other species of Tuna, they are able to regulate their body temperature, allowing them to feed in the more nutrient-rich, colder seas. I'm hoping to see some to but haven't been successful so far on countless scans of the ocean.
By Tara McEvoy-Wilding
Today was the last Bideford sailing of the year! After a lumpy crossing I helped see in the Oldenburg and welcomed most of the Lundy Ambassadors to the island. For those who don't know, they are a fantastic team of volunteers who provide a guided walk every sailing day for visitors to Lundy; their walks cover an array of topics including Lundy's History, Wildlife and life on Lundy. Today was their end of season meeting where myself and Simon presented a summary of the year and had an opportunity to say thank you for all their hard work during the sailing season.
The Ambassador Team!
Whilst I was in the meeting, a Sparrowhawk was sighted in Millcombe, a Golden Plover was on the airfield and a Yellow-browed Warbler was seen in Ruppell's quarry, and was re-sighted during the afternoon. Thomas was on the Oldenburg in the afternoon and saw 5 Gannets, 14 Guillemot and 8 Razorbill from the aft deck!
Lundy map - click to enlarge