By Thomas Weston
A good start to the month. Census counts were really nice, it was sunny but breezy from the SW, a good mix of migration was going on in the bushes, though not much was going on overhead. Even less was going on out to sea, and at one point I even got wet backs of my legs as it rained for a few minutes. Walking through Millcombe it was apparent there was a fall of Blackcaps with over 40 seen, and a good number caught in the nets too by the visiting ringing groups. A nice influx of Chiffchaffs to join our ever-present migrant Firecrest and Goldcrest were really nice to spot. In the bushes, Dunnock calls highlighted there may have been a small arrival of these, though the number of Robins have certainly dropped since last week's influx. There was the first Song Thrush of the autumn overhead, but out to sea not much was moving apart from some local Shags. From the Ugly, a flock of migrant Chaffinches alighted in the Pines, and a flock of roosting Oystercatchers were seen below Millcombe. There was at least one Water Rail calling in the bushes, and getting to the ringing table by the Gas Store led to the counts including a recently ringed Pied Flycatcher. A late Willow Warbler was noteworthy, and a few Goldfinches overhead was a nice charm to see. There was not much on the plauteau today, some passing Meadow Pipits were nice, as were the Skylarks overhead. There was a couple of Stonechats on the walls too which were tacking away to each other. After the rain, a Golden Plover was herd, a Peregrine and Kestrel flew by, and a couple of Woodpigeons erupted out of Quarter Wall Copse. A Sparrowhawk and Spotted Flycatcher reported by others did not make it onto the counts today, though the usual Mallards and flocks of Starlings ended the census counts today.
Whilst watching some winch training by the Pembrokeshire coastguards, check out the new Jenny's Cove Coordinated count post in the article section....
By Kirsty Cox
Another blog day, another day of unexpected events on Lundy!
It all started off as usual with some seal admin in the office. Tara and Simon are planning to put together a presentation about seal disturbance for a forthcoming meeting and so I spent time searching through footage taken during disturbance surveys to see what could be used as examples. I compiled some short clips for Tara and Simon to look at and then also completed some photo ID work before feeding the chickens and heading to recycling to do my weekly two hour stint.
That completed, I got ready to head out on the East Coast Survey. I was due to start at 1pm as we schedule the survey around low tide times, and, of course, the moment that I set out, it started to pelt it down with rain! With the wind too, it felt like quite a battering but by the time I made it to Landing Bay, the sun had come out.
One of the weaned and moulted pups, Asrai, was hauled out on the main jetty! We can only hope he won’t make a habit of it but he did look very content in the sunshine. And around Rat Island there were over 30 seals hauled out. It is wonderful to see how many more seals will haul out around that area when the beaches are closed and there are less people around.
Asrai on the Jetty
I continued along the Lower East Path, counting and photographing as I went. And when I got to Quarry Beach I was very pleased to discover that the mother of a pup there was a tagged seal! I hadn’t seen the tag previously but as soon as I did I had my suspicions as to which seal it was. I was excited to get back to the office to compare my records and see if my hunch was correct…
But that would have to wait, as when I reached Brazen Ward I had to turn around and run back to the village as I saw a visitor fall and hit their head. Although they said they were ok, I was concerned and didn’t think they should walk all the way back to the village. Normally when you walk the main track you pass lots of people, but of course today I didn’t and with no phone signal I had no option but to run all the way back to alert the first responder on duty to come out to see the visitor and to drive them back to the village!
That done and the visitor safely with Tara, the first responder on duty, and heading back to the village, I continued on my survey. I reached the north end without any further incidents and then walked back along the main track to the office. I checked in with Tara to see how the injured visitor was and luckily they seemed to be fine.
A quick look at my records confirmed that my hunch was right, and the tagged seal was indeed Gwynnvys, a seal who was rehabbed at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary and released in 2018, and who had previously pupped on Quarry Beach in 2024. I volunteered at the CSS last year and so it’s particularly special for me to be able to contact them to let them know that one of their rehabbed pups has now pupped successfully herself on Lundy for the second time.
Gwynnvys and her Pup
And in case you were wondering, the pup that we rescued on Saturday, is now settling into life at RSPCA West Hatch and has been renamed Bagpuss by the team there.
Bagpuss at RSPCA West Hatch Rehab
Elsewhere on the island there were sightings of a Lapland Bunting, a Garden Warbler, 38 Oystercatchers, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, a Yellow Wagtail, a Pied Flycatcher and a Firecrest.
By Tara McEvoy-Wilding
My morning was not particullay exciting as I was in the office catching up on some admin. Meanwhile, in Millcombe, the ringers had a busy morning! 258 new birds were ringed, with 21 retraps of 16 species. This included 80 Blackcaps, 21 Swallows, 8 Goldcrests and 4 Firecrests.
This week the Lundy Field Society are here on the third conservation break of the year. This afternoon, myself and Emma had 6 volunteers to help us fix and replace some of the Manx Shearwater nest boxes on the west coast. This involved digging out burrows that had too much soil in them, filling in the backs of boxes that had been excavated too far for us to monitor, replacing damaged lids and replacing whole boxes which had become rotten. Due to the easterly wind, the west sidelands were very warm, but depsite the heat the volunteers did a great job of fixing the boxes!
Replacing the rubber 'hinge' on one of the boxes
Hard at work on all the boxes in the E section
Lundy map - click to enlarge