By Eleanor Harris
The plan for the morning was to have a ringing session in Millcombe. After the rather windy days of the last week it was great to be out on such a calm morning, which was a total change from the strong Easterly winds which have been blowing through the island. Heading down to Millcombe, the valley was buzzing with birdsong, and this was a good sign of what was to come. The session was rather quiet with more birds outside the nets, but the birds spotted were rather special indeed. Some of the memorable birds of this morning were a Wood Warbler at Battlements Corner spotted by some visiting birders, a second singing Wood Warbler spotted by Thomas, and a stunning Hawfinch by Greg. It was great to be out in Millcombe as it was alive with song and activity, so we will keep you posted what turns up in the next few days.
It was beginning to get a little quiet so we decided to pack up and continue with the day. After some lunch we decided to head for a walk to North End as we had a report of a Little Egret by one of our visitors. This is a rather rare Lundy find so we were both keen to see if we could refind the bird. As we were walking up the track we spotted a Turtle Dove in Tillage field, this was rather special as they are becoming increasingly rare in the UK due to habitat loss through agricultural intensification as well as trouble along the migration route. It was a great bird to come across and my first, but also great to share this with some of the guests.
Our walk continued to North End with a good number of Wheatears, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks seen along the way, as well as a passage of Swallows and Sand Martins. We headed in the direction of Long Roost and found a good observation point to survey the area resulting in large numbers of Guillemots seen colonising the cliffs, five Puffins out to sea and a few Razorbills. It is great to have the seabirds back but we will see what this year brings in terms of numbers as it is notable that the harsh winter and storms have taken their toll. The Little Egret was nowhere to be seen so we decided to move on and check a few other possible locations but with no luck. One of the most random finds of today was a Willow Warbler and Blackbird at North End. Losing track of the time we headed back to the village to make some dinner and head to Wildlife Log to hear what other birders have seen.
By Greg Lee
Census today with the easterly breeze still being quite strong but since it has been so conducive for birds over the past week, there was no hesitation to get out. Census itself was a little quiet for the majority, although the Herring Gull flock was the highest I had seen for a while with c.210 birds feeding on the fields. The highlight came late on though with a female Whinchat hanging around the soil pile in Tillage Field, the first for the year of this somewhat scarce spring migrant to Lundy. Feeling somewhat pleased, I then went back to the office to finish off the rarity forms that we had collected over the past week, hearing a couple of Dunlins as they flew over the Tavern.
Whinchat by G. Lee
Later on, I decided to take advantage of the day and took to birding, being joined by Emma, on a route around the Lower East Path. As we arrived at Millcombe, a Lesser Whitethroat feeding in the Bramble scrub was a nice sight, with the bird showing well. Elsewhere, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Dunnock in song gave good learning opportunities to Emma, who picked it up well as we walked on. Although it threatened to rain, there was a strange mugginess to the air as the day grew on. A second Lesser Whitethroat was also loitering in the Secret Garden, another good bird for the day. After a trip to the Terrace, heading back along the Village we had a Yellow Wagtail near the Lambing Shed followed by the bizarre sight of now four Collared Doves loitering on the roof of Barton Cottages, with a total of six being recorded today. Also notable was a good number of butterflies, with Red Admirals seemingly flying everywhere along with intermittent sightings of Painted Ladies.
Lesser Whitethroat by G. Lee
However, surprises can happen anytime on Lundy and today certainly provided one when a group of birdwatchers discovered a Western Bonelli's Warbler feeding in Millcombe Pines early evening! Despite showing well and thankfully calling, it was all too brief and the bird disappeared and couldn't be relocated, although a Spotted Flycatcher in Millcombe was appreciated. Additionally, a Hobby spotted flying along the West Coast was another year-tick for the island and a good record of this migratory falcon.
Western Bonelli's Warbler © Ashley Saunders
By Thomas Weston
Whimbrel at Quarter Wall © Thomas Weston
The day started cool and breezy, 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 Guillemots 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 Stoneycroft 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.
Lundy map - click to enlarge