By Eleanor Harris
Today started with a cold and blustery start, a sign of a weather change. We woke up to bright sunshine but puffy clouds ahead of the storm predicted tomorrow.
It was a Tavern day for me today so I got ready and headed out for an 8am start. As I am more of a morning person, it was great to be out on such a stunning day, talking to visitors whilst serving them food and drinks. On the island the Tavern is central to island life and its community being the place to socialise, meet visitors, and work. It is a shared space which it has unique character and history. As we do not have a set building for the Bird Observatory, it also acts as the hub enabling us to run a Wildlife Log every evening at 8pm. This morning, I met some lovely visitors who were curious about the island asking for recommendations on places to visit and things to look out for. If you, avid readers, are on the island visiting, feel free to come and chat to us.
Whilst I was at the Tavern Thomas conducted census on his morning off before also heading to the Tavern for his shift. Some of his highlights were a juvenile Stonechat, a Cuckoo, a Kestrel and a Siskin. He also managed to catch 3 House Sparrows with the Sparrow Project Team, as well as 2 Starlings.
As the first part of my shift finished at 1pm, I decided to head for a walk to Jenny’s Cove along the main track making a slow wander along the West. Some of the highlights were Puffins, Guillemots, Skylarks, Fulmar and much more. At this time of year Jenny’s is alive with activity so a great place to visit. Once back I decided to make a cake and read for a little before heading back to finish my shift.
This evening after work we ended up going to one of our Manx Shearwater study sites for an evening ringing session. The result was one recapture so not the busiest night. We also found a long dead Manx shearwater with a ring - possibly predated by large gulls or a Peregrine. After this session, we decided to see if the female Corncrake was still on territory. Having not been heard since the 2nd June, we presume she has departed to another island, probably Scottish, and wish her luck on her journey. We did however hear a Water Rail so they must have bred successfully nearby. A successful day overall for all, and we will see what the weather brings in the next few days.
By Thomas Weston
Today was a travel day on a Tuesday. The jet stream position has caused us to receive some pretty strong west winds and today was no different, though the good news was that the boat was still coming. MS Oldenburg was predicted to arrive around lunch time, and it was the day a college group were coming over to the island to learn about conservation, predator-prey relationships, mark and recapture, and of course to see some seabirds. As a result, Simon asked me to come and join him as we showed them some of the best bits of the island in relation to their study aims.
However, I started the day by undertaking census. Census is not compulsory in June or July, though the route ensures we gain an understanding of the local breeding birds – to add to our Terrestrial Breeding Bird Survey, to gain totals to add to our Logbook at the daily log, to enthuse new visitors to record species and totals whilst out and about, and to attract more birders to the island to experience some of our special species. The census went well with a very good 38 species noted across the area. Notable highlights included a good passage of Manx Shearwater and Gannets too, and a nice range and number of juvenile birds, more on that below. The Channel Wagtail pair continue to feed young, we have yet to find this nest due to the drab conditions and disturbance risk, though we are not sure how successful they will be as they are formed of a pair of related individuals! Not great. Breeding birds were noted across the area. Singing Song Thrush, Wrens, Willow Warblers, and Chiffchaff were recorded, birds were seen carrying food to nest sites, and a presence of many fledged juveniles filled the area with a range of begging calls. Juveniles noted included Stonechat x2, Starling x23+, Blackbird x3, Carrion Crow x2, Mallard x10 (6,4,1), Raven x1, Meadow Pipit x2, House Sparrow x5, Goldfinches x4, Linnets x5, and Chaffinch x4.
I then checked one of the Manx Shearwater boxes with Eleanor, Jayden, and Emma. We were expecting to see a very small 1-day old chick, however on arrival it seems this is not your ‘average date’ Manx Shearwater and the incubation for this bird was a little longer than the average. We will have to check in a few days’ time, at the max incubation date for this individual.
Back in time for tea, before heading on down to the Jetty with the Cargo Team and Simon. Having not seen a boat in this year, I was asked to throw the ropes for the front of the boat. Something that I have not done for a couple of years, but as with all these things, having done it as a volunteer a few times it was easy to remember. College group and the boat was successfully docked and there were no wet ropes or laughs from the crowd, success!
The group were happy to be on dry land, having been a rough crossing with some very green faces coming off the boat. We took them up Millcombe and showed/talked to them about Lundy Cabbage, our mist netting set up and even found a Slow Worm too! Lunch called before a trip to Jenny’s Cove and the seabird bonanza that is currently being observed here, whereby lots of seabirds were present. We saw Puffins with Sand Eels, so we have some Pufflings, and we saw some Razorbills with food too, so we know there are a few chicks of them too. However, Guillemot and Kittiwake are late with no chicks seen yet! Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the boat. A few Wheatears and Linnet pointed out on the way back, as well as our Highland Cows and Lundy Ponies finished this exciting trip with a few minutes to spare to go around the shop too.
My day finished with Wildlife Log and a collation of sightings from the day. Busy, but worth it!
By Lucile
Hello,
House Sparrow in the Village, ringed 9 years ago!!! Pic by Thomas Weston
I am Lucile, a new Phd student working on the Sparrow project. I come from France and do my studies between Taïwan and Lundy Island. I studied Neurosciences and Ethology in Toulouse (France), and finished my masters in Cornwall, studying the social environment of wild Jackdaws. I am extremely grateful to now study the influence of the social and ecological environments on the cutest individuals: the House sparrows (Passer domesticus) of Lundy Island !
House sparrows are socially monogamous species, meaning they form a pair bond with one unique partner during a breeding attempt. However, both males and females tend to reproduce with partners outside of the pair, which is called extra-pair mating. There are clear benefits for males to do so: with countless reproductive cells, they can increase the number of offspring with multiple mating. Females, however, invest in fewer reproductive cells, and they will lay a limited number of eggs. Mating with other partners therefore won’t increase the number of offspring they produce, and they will even suffer from reduced paternal care if their paired partner suspects cuckoldry. So, why are they doing it?
You might think that females cheat with males of higher genetic quality than their social partner, or with more compatible ones, to secure better genes for their offspring to inherit. These hypotheses, respectively called the good genes hypothesis and genetic compatibility hypothesis, have been widely studied across five decades of research. They surprisingly hold rather inconclusive results, with cheating females sometimes doing better, sometimes doing no better than faithful ones of the same species (sometimes even in the same population, as seen in blue tits).
Numerous factors might be in action to modulate extra-pair mating patterns, with the outcomes of cheating being actually context-dependent. For instance, mating with different males — thus increasing genetic diversity in the brood — might be adaptive in a fluctuating and unpredictable environment, allowing for at least part of the brood to survive. Genetic diversity might not make a difference under a favourable environment, in which anyone will have a high chance to survive.
The social environment could also make a difference! Group-living species tend to feed together with conspecifics (one example among other activities). Just like humans, they will associate more often with specific individuals, with whom they might eventually get more familiar. They will feed more often with specific “friends” than with others. It is possible that they associate preferentially with efficient individuals, with whom they find more food, for instance. In tit species and in corvids (and probably a lot of other species) information about a new source of food is easily spread between close associates. Therefore, there are many subtle reasons to benefit from associating with efficient foragers. Such social bonds in birds have only recently been studied, but it has already been observed that individuals mate or extra-pair mate with their closest “friends” (seen in blue tits). Could it be because females can assess their quality and select more performant males as their close “friends” / future extra-pair partners ? Lots of questions are still to be resolved! Could females cheat because it would allow for a higher diversity of offspring surviving in different environmental conditions to come? Could cheating with closest friends hold benefits that are still unexplored? This is a very exciting adventure to contribute to solving this mystery.
Our 2026 Colour ringed chicks created by Lucile
The Lundy Sparrow population is quite low at the moment. We have 4 broods so far, two of them having fledged already. If you see a juvenile, you can look for the rings: the left leg has a pink and a metal ring. On the right leg, the bottom ring indicates from which brood they come from:at the moment, it would be green, blue, or violet. Green brood chicks are named after weather elements, blue brood chicks are named after fruits, and violet brood chicks have been named by bird volunteers. The 4th brood will hatch soon! Hopefully they will do well and help the population thrive again. One little trap: pink metal (left leg) and blue pink (right leg) is an adult female named Fleur, she is not a juvenile.
If you want to discuss anything about sparrows, feel free to reach out! It is always very nice and interesting to hear when you see them.
Lundy map - click to enlarge