Bird Sightings
7th - 12th February
Most of my recent birding has taken place at night while conducting nocturnal surveys around the southern quarter of the island with the fantastic new support from enthusiastic islander, Jane Sharkey! A session on 7th revealed the elusive female Snow Bunting is still overwintering, roosting in South West Field. A couple of additional nocturnal sessions puts our current annual ringing totals at 21 new Common Snipe, 7 new Jack Snipe, 3 new Woodcock and 5 new Skylark. The Green-winged Teal continues its residence at Pondsbury, logged during visits to the site on 7th and 12th. A high tide visit to Brazen Ward on 7th only revealed 6 roosting Purple Sandpiper, however it's likely more were out of sight. Further north, a roosting Woodcock flushed from Gannet's Coombe while the female Kestrel worked the sidelands. The day also welcomed the first stirrings of spring with a hint of passerine movement, namely 7 Meadow Pipit and 9 Skylark. A visit to Jenny's Cove on 12th enjoyed 190 Kittiwake going in and out of breeding sites, accompanied by 12 Guillemot on ledges while 2 Great Northern Diver were feeding in the Landing Bay.
Re-trap Skylark returning to Airfield breeding grounds, 7 Feb © Joe Parker
28th January - 6th February
A winter seal census was conducted along the east coast on 28th as part of Cornwall, Devon and SW Wales wide study coordinated by Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust. It would have been rude not to have checked Pondsbury en route to North End and a preliminary long distance scan on approach revealed a small group of Teal and Mallard. A closer inspection kicked up 2 Common Snipe and quickly revealed a 8 Eurasian and a drake Green-winged Teal - incredibly only the second island record (previous record back in May 2006). A wander down Brazen Ward to count the hauled out seals produced a minimum count of 13 Purple Sandpiper and a flyby female Merlin. A female Kestrel worked the Lower East all day and Gannet's Rock was laden with 78 prospecting Fulmar, while Long Roost received similar interest from returning seabirds, with 55 Guillemot on ledges and 105 Razorbill feeding nearby offshore. By 1st February the first returning Skylark started to return, confirmed by a between season re-trap encountered on the Airfield after a 3 month absence.
Green-winged Teal in flight (centre) with Eurasian Teal at Pondsbury, 28 Jan © Joe Parker
Green-winged Teal at Pondsbury, 28 Jan © Joe Parker
11th - 27th January 2024
The island has now reopened after a busy 3-week long 'shutdown' of vital maintenance works. The Purple Sandpiper record count was broken yet again, this time involving 14 individuals at Brazen Ward on 13th. A visit to Jenny's Cove that afternoon welcomed the first returning Guillemot (108) to ledges in preparation for the upcoming breeding season, joined by six Fulmar inspecting old nesting sites and the first Herring Gulls returning to their breeding colonies. Pondsbury featured two drake Wigeon, joining a mixed flock of nine Teal and 15 Mallard while 6 Common Snipe roosted in the surrounding area. The overwintering female Merlin has been seen most days over the village, keeping the c200 strong Starling flock wary. Redwing numbers are pretty stable, averaging around the low double digits most days and a female Greenfinch put in a brief appearance at Millcombe Pond on 13th. A nocturnal survey the following day caught up with the female Snow Bunting originally ringed in SW Field on 30th Dec 2023 - a surprise given the absence of any daytime observations! The session also included a venture north of Threequarter Wall, ringing a new Woodcock at Widow's Tenement. A visit along the Obs census route on 27th encountered 322 Herring Gull feeding in Brick Field and preening at Quarter Wall Pond. A short stint from The Ugly at midday enjoyed 89 Kittiwake and six Common Gull feeding off the east coast, however the continued absence of divers continues!
Happy New Year
Very unsettled weather at the start of January delayed any quality birding to kick-start the year. Undeterred, a trip down to Brazen Ward on 2nd was rewarded with a record-breaking count of 13 Purple Sandpiper at high tide. The first decent weather window arrived on 7th, with light easterlies delivering a female-type Black Redstart at Benjamin's Chair. However, the dry, relatively conditions weren't to last, and the following evening brought a light dusting of snow, rarely experienced on Lundy! A brief nocturnal survey around the village on 7th welcomed the first use of the ringing pliers for 2024, ending on two Common Snipe and a retrap Woodcock from December 2023. Another session three nights later logged a total of 32 Common Snipe (predominantly feeding in Lighthouse Field) and a single Jack Snipe, plus 4 hardy Pygmy Shrew scurrying around South West Field in the dark. Highlight of the evening was awarded to retrap Common Snipe originally ringed on the island back on 4th November 2023. Every retrap and ringing recovery helps us to build a clearer picture of the movements of wintering Snipe across the island.
Retrap Woodcock in South West Field, 7 Jan © Joe Parker