Despite no further sightings of the Eastern Subalpine Warbler, the 3rd of May produced an exciting pair of new warbler species for the year... Richard Campey came across a sculking Cetti's Warbler in St John's Valley on a morning bird watch, and not long after, on census, Flo Turner came across a Dartford Warbler, seen and heard around Belle View Ruins before it flew off soutwards, from gorse bush to gorse bush along the Upper Eastside Path. The former species is the first spring record for Lundy, and the latter the fourth! Fantastic to see. Too busy chasing rarities, Campey didn't bother to count the humble Robin.
It was certainly all go on the 3rd, proven by a sudden Racing Pigeon influx, 14 birds seen charging over the Island throughout the day. The following day, although just one Racing Pigeon was sighted, we had a pleasant passage of 245 Swallow. However, despite his great intention to count these migrating hirundines between 13.20 and 14.30hrs, Campey fell asleep. Other passage migrants include singles of Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat on the 3rd, a single Bullfinch calling in Milcombe on the 4th, and a great count of 9 Siskin along the East Coast, including Millcombe and the Quarries, also on the 4th.
Although not seen or heard on the 3rd, Cuckoo was recorded again on the 4th, at Quarter Wall Copse and in Millcombe.
At least one Tree Pipit was noted at the South End on the 3rd, but on the 4th we had a count of 5! Single female Pied Flycatcher were seen at the Quarries on the 3rd and in Millcombe on the 4th, and 6 Spotted Flycatcher across the South East also on the 4th. While a male Black Redstart was observed singing at the North End that day, a male Common Redstart was about Rupell's Quarry.
The Hooded Crow continues its presense in the fields about the South End.
Single Whimbrel were seen at the North end on both the 3rd and 4th. A much less common wader noted in the early hours of the 4th was a Greenshank! Stirred in the night by the muscial tones of singing Manx Shearwater, Brennig Hughes, from the RSPB, heard the single bird calling over the Lodge Garden, cirlcling twice before it continued its northwards passage. This is the first record for the year! During a nocturnal survey the other end of the day, the Conservation Team's efforts with thermal imagers revealed the first incoming Storm Petrel recorded on Lundy this year! The elusive seabirds were seen dashing like bats about the rocky coastal slopes, hopefully prospecting nest sites for this coming breeding season. In other seabird news, a check of the nest boxes at the Manx Shearwater colony produced a count of 11 eggs being incubated, which is very positive news so early in the season as last year a total of 11 chicks successfully fledged overall. Another coastal nesting bird noted over the past two days was Shag, with 37 counted at the North End on the 4th, including several nesting pairs, and this within a total of 80 birds seen across the whole Island.
One last piece of Island breeding evidence was in the form of another Mallard brood on the 3rd, a female with 8 young sighted at Pondsbury.
A magical Lundy night sky, May 4. F Turner.
May on Lundy started with quite a surprise visitor to the East Coast! At 14.24hrs on the 1st, an Eastern Subalpine Warbler was spotted foraging in the brambles just south of the Terrace Heligoland Trap. The bird was continually noted amongst flycatchers and an array of other warblers in the nearby willows until 16.08hrs when it was last seen. Richard Campey saw the bird again on the 2nd, this time in Millcombe in the late afternoon, however it vanished again and hasn't been noted since. St Helen's Copse also came up trumps with some lovely warblers on the 1st, including a Lesser Whitethroat and a Wood Warbler.
Eastern Subalpine Warbler, sculking in the brambles, May 1. R Campey.
Another photo of the beautiful Eastern Subalpine Warbler, May 1. R Campey.
A further surprise, or perhaps more apt Lundy weather than the glorious sunshine we've recently been blessed with, was a thick blanket of fog shrouding the Island on the morning of the 2nd. This led to some slightly lower census counts than usual, with birds having to be prodominently recognised by sound alone! As the fog finally lifted in the afternoon, an incredible sight of 200+ Common Dolphin in 13 pods was seen off the North End. The day before, from the incoming Oldenburg, 7 Porpoise and 22 Common Dolphin were seen, in addition to a super count of 310 Manx Shearwater!
The first Cuckoo of the year also joined us to welcome in May, this being seen by Halfway Wall on the 1st and at the Terraces on the 2nd.
Our Whimbrel passage appears to be steady, one bird spotted on the 1st and 3 on the 2nd. An evening kayak on the still waters around Landing Bay and Devil's Kitchen on the 1st inevitably turned into a wader survey, and we gained a good species count! 2 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone (first for the year, a male in gorgeous summer plumage), 3 pairs of Oystercatcher, 2 Common Sandpiper and the Whimbrel mentioned above. Another 2 Dunlin were also seen on the 1st, these around Kistvaen Pond, and 2 were spotted through the fog on the 2nd.
A Dunlin, peering through the fog, May 2. K Power.
Redstart sightings have been a lovely highlight of the past two days. A male Common Redstart was on the Terraces on the 1st, and a female at North Light on the 2nd. Both a male and female Black Redstart were seen near Belle View Ruins on the 1st, and just a female the next day. Flycatchers have also been a bit of a theme, with 10 Spotted Flycatcher noted on the 1st, 7 Pied Flycatcher on the 1st, and a further 2 Pied Flycatcher on the 2nd.
The 2 Blue-headed Wagtail were present again in Barton's field on both days. Having looked more closely at the ringed bird from photographs, we are getting suspicious that it may in fact be a Channel Wagtail, and possibly one of the chicks hatched here last year from a pair made up of a female Blue-headed and a male Yellow wagtail! We are continuing to investigate this...
A single Tree Pipit on the 1st and 2 on the 2nd were heard overhead. Whinchat also continue to be noted, with 3 on both days. Another constant is the Hooded Crow which continues to be seen with Carrion Crow among the southern fields. Swift continue to pass through in small numbers, 4 dashing by on the 2nd.
A female Mallard was seen with 9 young in the Village Beer Garden, the first brood seen this year! Other breeding activity of note includes several pairs of Linnet seen nest building, 2 Stonechat pairs carrying food, and a Blackbird pair, also carrying food - described, by one visiting birder, as having a beak so full of grubs it looked unlikely the bird would be able to take off! To help out our breeding seabirds, the Conservation Team assisted some visiting RSPB researchers with the installation of some new Storm Petrel boxes. We'll be monitoring these over the next few months and we hope to bring you some good news of successful breeding!
Storm Petrel nest box installation! May 2. F Turner.
On the 29th of April 2025, a first for Lundy appeared over the Island... First spotted by Jimmy Hair at 1201hrs, a puzzling raptor flying over Barton's Field was eventually identified, with great excitement, as Booted Eagle! The unbelievable bird was observed throughout the afternoon, thermalling over the Village, Barton's Field and the Castle until 1700hrs, harassed repeatedly by Peregrine Falcon and Kestrel all the while. The big question on everyone's mind was "will it roost??!" The eagle appeared very reluctant to leave the Island, despite what seemed to be several attempts to fly southwards. Unbelievably, the bird did in fact remain on the Island overnight (though the roosting location was never discovered) and was spotted, again first by Jimmy, just S of Quarry Pond at 0935hrs, and not long after by Bird Obs Warden Joe Parker from his bedroom window! The bird was last observed aroun 1200hrs, presumed to have departed Lundy once the morning sea mist had cleared.
Booted Eagle over the Village, 29 Apr. J Parker
Another Booted Eagle flight shot, 29 Apr. J Parker
Before the excitement of the eagle, a female Golden Oriole was seen in Millcombe during census on the 29th by volunteer Assistant Bird Obs Warden Flo Turner at 0841hrs. This was observed later in the morning by others in the conservation team as it flew up the valley, but not noted again in the afternoon.
The yellow theme of the 29th continued, with 4 Blue-headed Wagtail and 3 Yellow Wagtail seen in Barton's Field and Highstreet Field. 2 White Wagtail were also about in Barton's. One Blue-headed Wagtail was seen again in Barton's Field on the 30th. Lundy Cabbage has started to come into flower in Millcombe too, another cheerful yellow sight!
If things couldn't get any better, on the 30th, Assistant Bird Obs Warden Ezra Sherwell located a stunning male Woodchat Shrike at 1320hrs, just S of Quarry Cottages. It was seen well throughout the afternoon, enjoying several tasty beetles on the gorse. A male Black Redstart was also a nice spot, lingering about Belle Vue ruins throught the afternoon. Quarter Wall was the place to be it would seem, as a male and female Whinchat were also recorded!
A sprinkling of waders were also about the Island on the 29th, with 2 Whimbrel, one Dunlin and 2 Common Sandpiper seen. On the 30th, 5 Common Sandpiper were spotted, matching the month's high count. 4 flew up from a wet flush near Halfway Wall West, and one was spotted from the back of a Landy in Landing Bay!
In contrast to all the wonderful sightings of the day, the 29th was sadly the first day since the 18th where no Sand Martin were recorded. However, the 1st Spotted Flycatcher of the year were found on the 29th, with 2 in Millcombe, one of which was ringed alongside a lovely female Pied Flycatcher. A new Hooded Crow was seen in Brick Field on the morning of the 30th, however this was not spotted again. A single Collared Dove was found right at the top of the South Light headland at 1900hrs, looking a little confused before flying towards Millcombe.
Numbers of Red Admiral butterflies appear to be steadily rising, with c.20 seen about the Island on the 30th. Another intriguing lepitopteran encounter was an Emperor Moth being predated by a Stonechat near Quarry Pond.
What a fantastic couple of days on Lundy!
Lundy map - click to enlarge