By Thomas Weston
Whimbrel at Quarter Wall. ©ThomasWeston
The day started cool and breezing, with a brisk north easterly coming across the island again. Eleanor and I decided to do census, and we started walking into Millcombe. The wind was strong and many of our residents were under recorded for sure. The local Linnets were the showiest on census, whereas our Goldfinch flocks hid, trying to keep out the wind. Our Chaffinches have started nesting, and it is great to see them attempting to nest in the valley. Swallows darted past, but only a few today, although passage did however pick up as the day went on and about one hundred were seen by visitors. Heading out of the valley, 2 Willow Warblers were heard singing, and a single Blackbird emerged from the undergrowth. Walking to Benjamin’s Chair, the wind direction made for some choppy seas, though our Razorbills and Guillemot were still bobbing around and visiting their nesting ledges whilst Shag, Fulmar and Gannets passed. The three pairs of Raven were spotted across the route, the youngsters today remaining hidden out of the wind. Herring, Lesser Black Backed and Great Black Backed Gulls were recorded throughout census, with the former totalling over 170 birds. The migration ‘line’ across the island led to an Alba Wagtail, a Ringed Plover who flew low North over Stoney Croft accommodation and 2 Swifts following behind. A couple of House Martins were the last ‘visible migration’ birds seen heading North past Old Light, whilst in the bushes a single Spotted Flycatcher flew to the nearby wall and hid, sheltering. The Airfield was very blustery, though our Skylarks were still in full voice. A Whimbrel at Quarter Wall Gate hid amongst the sedges, though was seen walking along Quarter Wall at one point! Not liking the male Kestrel who managed to catch a Meadow Pipit in mid-air over Brick Field.
Arriving back into the Village and the afternoon was spent completing some Bird Observatory admin, inputting the recent ringing activities and making sure all our rare bird forms of Devon and the UK were written out, ready for submission.
A weak area of low pressure coming up from France led to some dark, cloudy skies despite the full moon. We gave a half an hour talk to a Birding Group on the island and the team took them out to the cliffs to show them Manx Shearwaters in the hand. We ended up catching five in total including three new, one ringed at a previous session this year and one ringed in 2024, though this will be confirmed when we input the next batch of ringing records.
By Thomas Weston
With high pressure pushing Northwards, the easterly winds increased again, and a breezy day was had. The rarities of the past couple of days have moved on and the migrants petered out too. My first job of the day was to catch one of the feral farmland geese who manged to get something around its neck, but within a short time it was removed and the goose happy again.
Census was nice to complete. There was a nice range of species and lots of signs of breeding, especially with our Linnets who are actively building nests wherever possible. The male Collared Dove continues to try and woo its new partner, but no sign of her today, perhaps she has moved onwards on their fun migration? Chiffchaffs were singing and showing in spots, a couple in Millcombe and a singer at Rocket Pole Pond was the best of the rest. Wrens were in full voice today and a nice spread of singers were recorded throughout the census area. Blackcap numbers have dramatically decreased with just 4 around the Millcombe area. Reports from elsewhere show a couple here and there, plus a Garden Warbler in Quarter Wall Copse. The Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Robins and Meadow Pipits were all rather quiet, though secretly getting on with their breeding and nesting. A Whitethroat singing around St John’s was by far the best migrant warbler seen there, in fact the only one.
The windy Landing Bay held no more than a couple of Oystercatchers, single Great Black Backed Gull, a single Shag, Guillemots, Gannets, single Kittiwake, and a few Razorbills. A Peregrine stood watching the birds as they passed but did not make a move on any of them today. A few brave Swallows were seen arriving from the mainland which hinted at some movement taking place during census this morning. Likewise, a small flurry of passing Wheatears were nice, with breeding birds nest building today too.
Skylarks were in full voice today too, with birds singing in four main areas and up to 12 individuals noted. A couple of Alba Wagtails flew over this morning as they arrived in off the sea. A Gannet from Old Light was the only one of the morning, Walking across to Quarter Wall, a Water Rail began singing around the pond. A pair of Stonechat sat on their favourite bushes whilst a Pied Wagtail fed in the field. Walking through the Village saw a male Channel Wagtail feeding with the horses in Barton’s Field.
The Tavern called….
But a Dotterel was the best of the rest heard flying high over Millcombe by visiting birders! Amazing.
By Emma Abel
Today was a glorious day on Lundy
Last night we set out the moth trap as the night was due to be warm and cloudy –
ideal conditions for trapping. We had 21 moths of 6 species, the most abundant
species being Brown Silver-line, of which we trapped 9. There were also 4 Bright-
Line Brown-Eye, 3 Marbled Coronet, 3 Common Quaker and 1 Garden Carpet.
Finally our largest moth of the day was the Brindled Ochre, a chunky moth suited to
coastal habitat, with an amicable face.
Brindled Ochre by Emma Abel
As it was such beautiful morning, the mist nets were also set up for a bird ringing
session, where a good mixture of species were recorded and ringed. One bird stood
out the most, which was a Nightingale caught in the laundry garden by PHD students
working on the Sparrow project. It was aged as an adult and based on several
plumage features, it was confirmed to be a different individual to the one seen
yesterday at Quarter Wall. Additionally 5 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat,
1 Linnet, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Chiffchaff and 3 Willow Warblers were ringed and 1 Dunnock
re-trap.
Nightingale
I left the ringers to go to Jenny’s Cove to carry out my Puffin monitoring. The cliffs
were much fuller today, which is a relieving sight after last week’s empty shelves
during the strong easterly winds. There were 83 puffins on the slopes going in and
out of burrows, billing with their partners or just sunning themselves in the morning
rays. These are still low numbers for the Jenny’s Cove Colony, and we do hope to
see the population increase. The light brown Leucistic Puffin was back on the colony
today, prospecting various burrows, most of which seemed to be occupied by
existing pairs that did not want company. As for Guillemots, the shelves were very
full with an estimated 2000 birds packed in around the cove.
Additionally, this afternoon a female Dotterel was seen at the North End, along with a
Lesser Whitethroat and a Spotted Flycatcher at the Terrace.
Dotterel by Greg Lee
Lundy map - click to enlarge