Bird Sightings

By Thomas Weston

With the Young Birders spending the rest of the day yesterday settling in and exploring around the island, it was nice to see everyone getting to know each other and having some birding and nature chats. 

Today, the aim was to introduce the team to ringing! 

A Sedge Warbler caught and ringed in Millcombe by Thomas Weston

We got up early and headed to the Tavern for 05:15. An early start which led to a lot of the team needing some well-earned tea before heading into the valley – especially as the power was not going to be on for another hour. The day started with a nice breeze and a stunning sun rise too. We headed down and started opening the nets. The team gathered and we started to catch some birds. It was pretty productive with 67 individuals caught and processed throughout the morning. Ringing totals follow (new/retrap): Robin 1/1, Sedge Warbler 4/0, Linnet 5/1, Chaffinch 2/1, Blackcap 1/1, Whitethroat 1/0, Goldfinch 1/0, Swallow 1/0, Wren 3/2, Willow Warbler 15/1, Chiffchaff 1/0, House Sparrow 0/12, Spotted Flycatcher 0/2, and Dunnock 0/1.

A 100m away, Greg and Emma went through the moth trap from the night before. There were some good species seen and recorded. A moth list can be provided below in a bit, once counted and written!

Around 08:15, Eleanor came through undertaking our daily census. She ended up heading on round and recording a nice range of species throughout the route. Some of the highlights included Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and a good number of Swallows and Linnets. It was great for some of the team to join and hear more about our work, as well as to see some nice species along the way.

Simon sampling for Lundy Cabbage Flea Beetles in Millcombe by Thomas Weston

Meanwhile, the remaining team had the choice to either explore the island, help with some Lundy Cabbage Flea Beetle surveying with Simon and Kirsty, or continue in Millcombe a little longer. Some of the team were super keen to see two endemics for the island, as well as see some more ringing, so the team reamined down in Millcombe. It was great for Lucile as we caught so many House Sparrows that she could talk through the process of processing them, and to get some additional biometrics that other speces rarely require. The team thoroughly enjoyed themselves and by 11am we all headed out of the valley. 

Back in the Village, Eleanor and I helped Lucile with some of the Starling and House Sparrow traps to help top-up the number of colour-ringed birds before the end of the season and before Lucile has to leave us until Novemeber. Lucile found a new brood of Sparrows, which we will monitor until they fledge, and we also ringed a brood of Swallows in the Vehicle Shed area. A lovely brood of 4 growing youngsters.

A brown Millcombe whilst collecting kit. Thomas Weston

I then decided to break for lunch and to gather all the relevant equipment ready for the evening ahead, featuring a talk by Greg and undertaking of some nocturnal surveys! More on that tomorrow....

by Greg Lee

A quieter feel to census this morning with a lot of activity seemingly reduced, certainly for commoner species such as Starlings and Gulls. Whether there was a genuine reason for this is unclear. There certainly hadn’t been a big wave of migrants, with another light showing of Willow Warblers, numbering 14 across the entire census route and other species being a little bit on the scarce side. Insect-wise, it was a very good display though with lots of Hummingbird Hawk-moths and Painted Ladies on the wing. A knackered Clouded Yellow caught my eye in Millcombe, but posed well for photography, whilst a much fresher individual exhibited more classic Clouded Yellow behaviour and was zipping over the grassland at a speed much too great for me to follow for a perched photograph, now I’ve discovered my manual focusing hack on my lens! A Tree Pipit buzzing over caught my ear near Benjamin’s Chair, the first of the autumn for this fairly infrequent migrant. Otherwise, a Mallard flushed near the Gorse at Quarter Wall was a rare addition to my recent census counts and a Sedge Warbler on the wire next to a Linnet determined that I wouldn’t leave the notepad empty of its BTO code. The main event was heading down to the jetty, where we welcomed a group of visiting birders/ringers for the week who are coming to stay on the island and do lots of various activities and we also welcomed Kirsty, who is back as the seal volunteer for the next couple of months. As the Oldenburg pulled in, an immature Black-headed Gull was a bonus, seemingly moving in front of the Oldenburg before disappearing northward. Although a few had been reported recently, I had failed to see any on census, so this was a nice bird to see.

Clouded Yellow by G.Lee

Once we had met all our visitors, we took them up to the Village to show them around before letting everyone go and explore the island in the sun and get settled. As evening drew in, Emma and I went to set up the moth-trap in Millcombe. It didn't take very long for the moths to come in with the good conditions, one of which was hulking great female Oak Eggar, always a chunky addition to the August moth-trap! Here's to a good week full of interesting sightings and activities!

by Greg Lee

A brighter census with a cooling breeze. Despite the northerly direction, it was a bit quieter for migrants than perhaps expected, with a light scattering of 16 Willow Warblers, three Whitethroats and one Sedge Warbler. In the brighter conditions, it was quite challenging to look at the birds, but it didn’t help that my optics are in need of a good wipe. A Collared Dove flying out of Millcombe was my first for a while, it seems boggling to me that these birds are willingly crossing the Bristol Channel and arriving on the island throughout the season. This particular bird would also be heard by Emma calling from the roof of Pigs Accommodation. As I headed up Battlements Corner, I sighted several Migrant Hawkers and my first Common Darter of the season, lacking the blue on the eyes of the Red-veined Darters which we have been seeing plenty of this year. Neither Migrant Hawker nor Common Darter is particularly uncommon here and in fact, I’ll be seeing plenty of both well into September I can imagine! Perhaps the best bird sighting of the day however, was the first Green Sandpiper of autumn seen on Pondsbury by Thomas and Eleanor. With the island being so dry, it is nice to know some waders are still dropping in! A few office jobs were needing doing during the afternoon before the often busy Friday KP shift, so my own sightings were limited. The Channel Wagtail family still remains on the island, with at least two juveniles moving between the Rocket Pole area and Quarter Wall.

A boat trip around the island led to a good Shag total from Thomas and Eleanor with 253 sighted along the rocks, whilst in the evening, three Grey Herons were seen leaving the rocks near South Light, the first for a couple of months. 

Common Darter by G. Lee

By Thomas Weston

Some good birds were seen this morning. Starting the day in Millcombe, I opened a few nets with Greg and Lucile. There was some nice cloud cover at dawn which led to some new birds being caught. These included a single new adult Whitethroat in full wing moult, multiple Willow Warblers including a retrap from a few weeks ago, 2 new Stonechats, 4 new Wrens, 3 new Linnets, and a single new Blackap too. There were some lovely sunrise views and whilst the sun was gaining, the breeze changed from SW to NW. The change in wind led to a Curlew heading out of the Landing Bay an hour into sunlight, as well as quite a few passing Gannets, a steady but consistent line of Manx Shearwaters, a possible large shearwater seen distantly shearing south, and a pod of closer-in Bottlenose Dolphins which was a good surprise for the three of us. In fact, they were Lucile's first dolphins ever.

We closed the nets just after 08:00, after which Lucile joined me for census this morning. There was a nice range of species seen throughout the route, and many nice views of some of the residents and passage migrants currently on the island. In total, there were 5 Mallards, 5 Woodpigeons, 2 Oystercatchers, 5 Kittiwakes, 6 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 22 Herring Gulls, 17 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, 8 Gannets, 24 Shags, a single Kestrel, 4 Carrion Crows, 8 Ravens, 18 Swallows, 4 Willow Warblers, single Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler, 18 Wrens, 81 Starlings, 8 Blackbirds, one of the breeding Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Stonechats, 10 Wheatears, 27 House Sparrows, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Pied Wagtails, 28 Meadow Pipits, a single Chaffinch, 166 Linnets, and 25 Goldfinches.

The rest of the day was spent organising the plan for the upcoming Young Birders Week, as well as inputting ringing data from the previous few sessions we have undertaken.

Colour ringed House Sparrow juvenile caught in the Village –  by Thomas Weston

Plus as always, a few retrap Starlings and House Sparrows from the traps.

House Sparrow in moult in the Village – by Thomas Weston

This one in some nice primary moult.