Greetings Bird Observatory people! It's been a hectic start to the year for me as the new Warden but I feel that everything is coming together nicely for the year ahead. Big thanks to Joe Parker for getting the observatory over the line and fully accredited along with Chris Dee, Tim Jones and Tim Davis for all their constant help in the background. Also, everyone else who has been part of the observatory journey should be very proud at what has been achieved. Have to mention a huge thanks to Eleanor Grover who helped me massively through January!
I'll be taking on the blog along with Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris and the volunteers who will be joining shortly, there will be some changes to the format but it will still be packed full of the latest sightings. The island is starting to make sense to me now, having previously managed Flat Holm near Cardiff, I'm well aware of the balance that often needs to be struck on an Island with endless jobs to be done.
The Bird Observatory is one of those jobs and I'd like to promote it as much as possible, we'll be looking at doing more youth work with the BTO and other organisations but also encouraging research projects where we can. I'm also keen to encourage visiting ringers where possible and Brambles villa East will remain the chateau of choice on Lundy.
Anyway, on with last weeks sightings!
The nets were opened for the first time this year and did not disappoint, 4 Long tailed tits arrived on the 5th and by the 7th their number had increased to 5 and all of them were successfully caught and ringed in Millcombe valley. First recorded LTTs since 2021 and they remain in Millcombe valley as I write this. We were also visited by a hooded crow on the 4th that appeared to be mixing with the carrion crows, it hasn't been seen over the last couple of days so it may of moved on. In the Duck news, Mallards continue to be sighted in good numbers with 20 being spotted on the 5th, Teal are also present in Pondsbury with 8 spotted on the 8th. The first Wheatear was also recorded on the 8th swiftly followed by another at the North end of the island.
I feel like I have to add here that the weather this week has been merciful, January and February were brutal with heavy rain and severe winds. I'm used to some nasty weather having grown up on the coast and lived on Flat Holm (I promise I won't mention this Island again!), but I was seriously questioning my life choices prior to this week.
Seabirds! So the seabirds have been steadily increasing with Razorbill consistently spotted off Benjamins chair, Jennys cove and near the North light. I would estimate around 1000 are here at the moment, Guillemots are always nearby although far less in number. Puffin reached a high today with over 100 spotted between Jennys cove and the Fog battery. Fulmar are in good number with close to 100 spotted across the North of the island. The odd Manx Shearwater has also occasionally been spotted zipping across the landing bay towards rat island or up at North light. As a seabird enthusiast, I'm slightly biased towards the colony and that's definitely something I'm looking forward to watching grow over the season.
Peregrine have been spotted almost everyday this week with at least one being sighted, Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Kestrel were also present on occasion showing an increase in predator activity.
Honourable mention to a pair of intrepid Sand Martin heralding the beginning of their migration season on the 4th!
The most notable event of the past ten days has been the return to the island of Puffins after their challenging winter at sea, when Chris Baillie saw five rafting with 330 other auks, mostly Razorbills, at Jenny's Cove on 1st March.
Numbers of Teal on Pondsbury have increased steadily, from four on 21st February, to eight on 28th and 15 on 1st March, whilst the highest Mallard count was 18 on 28th.
Woodpigeons reached their highest count of the year so far, with a nevertheless modest four on census on 1st March, but passerines have been distinctly thin on the ground, especially in Millcombe and St John's Valley. Two Goldfinch on 27th February were the first for more than a month, and Pied Wagtail reached a year high of seven on 24th. Numbers of Skylark and Meadow Pipit, which often show significant increases in February, remained low, with no more than five and ten respectively to close out the month.
Lesser Black-backed Gulls also reached a new high-count for the year to date with 61 on 28th, whilst 322 Herring Gulls and 43 Fulmars were logged on the same day. Small numbers of Gannets have been seen on most days, with a maximum of eight on 23rd, whilst the peak count for Shags was 16 on 22nd.
Raptors have featured further sporadic sightings of a single Merlin and up to three Peregrines, whilst a Kestrel on the last day of February was the first since mid-January.
Among less common species, two Great Northern Divers were in the Landing Bay on 22nd February, with one the following day; and a single Golden Plover was logged on 27th. A Red-necked Grebe in the Landing Bay on 22nd & 28th February seems most likely to be the same individual as seen in January.
The long run of unsettled weather has continued but the transition to winds from a more typical westerly quarter, combined with a slightly more mobile pattern, has seen brief ridges of high pressure between frontal systems. Rainfall has been more patchy and there have been a few short-lived dry, even sunny breaks, though it has often remained windy and quite chilly.
Logbook entries for the last week have included two Teal on 18th, a doubling of the peak Woodpigeon count from one to two (!) on 17th & 19th, a single Water Rail on 19th, whilst hints of spring included six Lesser Black-backed Gulls on 18th and the highest Skylark count of the year so far, with six on 14th. Also notable were single Goldcrest on 17th & 18th, a Fieldfare in Barton Field on 19th, single Stonechat on 13th & 19th, two Pied Wagtails daily from 15th to 18th, and a handful of Meadow Pipits.
Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gulls, February 2026 © Simon Parker
Meanwhile, Razorbills rafting off South End, most of them resplendent in breeding plumage, give a glimpse of the season shortly to unfold, though there are worrying reports of large numbers of dead Puffins and other seabirds being washed up around the coastline of South West England. This is thought likely to be a result of prolonged stormy weather preventing birds from feeding properly due to reduced visibility in sediment-laden waters, at time when their energy demands are increased in the rough conditions.
Rafting Razorbills, February 2026 © Simon Parker
Lundy map - click to enlarge