Bird Sightings

by Greg Lee

It was almost a complete 180-degree turn for today’s census with Storm Dave bringing the exact opposite of the weather conditions I had enjoyed on yesterday’s census. Instead, an F5 WSW wind was blowing across the island, and we were completely enveloped in a thick fog complete with spells of (mercifully) light rain. Usually censuses at the moment produce a total of between 35-40 species in good weather, but with viewing so difficult, I could only muster 27 species this morning, which was ten less than yesterday. However, I was able to produce a year-tick for the island when I picked up a Stock Dove in flight over Millcombe. The bird seemed quite unsettled and seemed to fly around the valley several times before disappearing somewhere, clearly it didn’t enjoy the company of its bigger cousins, the Woodpigeons, which were also hunkering down in the trees. A very small total of Warblers was sheltering in Millcombe, with Willow Warblers leading the majority and the Treecreeper was again scrambling up a tree trunk on the slopes of the valley. The Landing Bay was actually easier to view then yesterday with a single Guillemot, a couple of Razorbills and a modest number of Shags in the sheltered waters. Off Benjamin’s Chair, the Razorbills were still gathering as we fast approach the time of year where the bustling seabird colonies are most active. It was most surprising in the murk to hear a Skylark still bursting in song near the airfield, clearly it doesn’t want to put spring on hold. With the weather being so unpleasant, today presented a good opportunity to catch up with the very important job of data-entry and so for much of late morning and early afternoon I was collating the recent bird sightings onto the online data log before preparing for a kitchen porter shift in the evening.

Stock Dove by G.Lee
Elsewhere, Rosie, who was been helping out with ringing this week reported a Curlew flying off the West Coast and a Hooded Crow hybrid was found in Tillage Field by Eleanor and Thomas. After the past couple of days of triple-figure counts, a lone Sand Martin battling the winds at Pondsbury was a bit of a sorry sight.

Hooded x Carrion Crow by T. Weston

By Greg Lee
It was a glorious sunny morning for my census today with just a light NW wind on the top of the island. After a very clear night, it perhaps wasn’t surprising that the bushes weren’t filled with newly arrived birds, but it seemed like the perfect conditions to keep an eye on what was moving overhead. Sure enough, Sand Martins, House Martins and Swallows were arriving in off the sea all through the morning along with flocks of Linnets. Birders on the mainland Devon coast have been reporting large movements of the latter over the past couple of days. With the sun gleaming off the sea from the east, looking down at the Landing Bay was a bit more of challenge but after scouring the surface, the Great Northern Diver was sitting happily, having avoided the attentions of a Grey Seal the previous morning. Millcombe is currently full of Blackthorn blossom, and this is a magnet for many of the warblers pushing through with small numbers of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs interspersed with the occasional Blackcap this morning. The regular Treecreeper also made itself known by calling from the Pines area. When the local Sparrowhawk buzzed through, even the vocal Song Thrush dived down into the scrub, but the birds were quickly back to normal with a couple of minutes. If you are visiting the island, the Millcombe Song Thrush is a well-known individual with a particular penchant for mimicry. Just today it imitated several waders including Curlew, Greenshank, Green and Common Sandpipers. On top of that it also seemed to be enjoying doing Crossbill and perhaps most strangely, the harsh alarm-call of a Grey Squirrel. Has this bird spent some time in woodland next to an estuary? Heading to Benjamin’s Chair, Sand Martins were whizzing past me and I was surprised to see two cliff-feeding Willow Warblers in this area. Less surprising was an impressive raft of Razorbills on the sea, I could hear the birds rather deep calls drifting up the cliffs as they sat tightly-packed on the water. Over on the airfield, the Skylarks were in full song, and the Meadow Pipits were also squeaking around in various parties. The male Kestrel was also hovering in the still winds, usually I encounter this bird sat on the Quarry cottages or nearby rocks.

 Willow Warbler Millcombe © Greg Lee

After census, I decided to briefly check on Millcombe again as the sun had risen considerably and there may have been a mid-morning arrival, which is a feature of island bird migration. Although there wasn’t a great deal more in terms of birds, at least two Peacock Butterflies were feeding up on the blossom whilst overhead two Peregrines were wheeling high over the valley amongst some Herring Gulls. I also took two students from the Imperial College London to the Manx Shearwater colonies on the West Coast. Over the next two weeks, they are hoping to collect the calls of up to 50 different individuals, as a part of a wider study into variation in bioacoustics between different Manx Shearwater populations. Whilst enjoying the sun on the slopes of the West Coast, more Sand Martins and Swallows were passing through, Puffins and Razorbills were sat on the sea and there was plenty of Wheatear action amongst the rocks. The slew of Common Dolphin records also continued with another 20+ feeding distantly offshore.

By Thomas Weston

The weather forecast featured rain and light winds from the west for most of the morning before coming out sunny and warm in the afternoon. Now, Lundy and weather can be particularly unpredictable, and it really depends on which one you end up looking at! There was quite a thick fog hanging over the island, but something felt different, a warm breeze braced the island and whilst walking down to the Boat meeting, a Willow Warbler emerged in the Laundry Garden. When there are warblers in the Village you know it will be a good migration day, but it was odd. Could they see the island? Was the mix of fog too disorientating? Did they pass overhead in the night whilst the moon was bright and heading on over whilst we slept? Predicting migration is a nightmare here and questioning it leads to many more questions!

A Foggy Start by Eleanor Harris

Anyway, Eleanor was set for undertaking census today. The fog lingered throughout, though Eleanor still spotted some nice species which was very exciting! Some of the results included that Millcombe had an increase in finches with numbers of Goldfinch and Linnet up. There was a nice selection of warblers with Blackcap, Chiffchaff (one singing), Willow Warbler (one singing), and a single Goldcrest seen demonstrating a very small arrival of birds who must have seen the island as they came across. Other migrants in the Millcombe area included 2 White Wagtails flying north from Castle Hill as well as the return of the Song Thrush. Fog was a real problem past Benjamin’s Chair and the views were quite limited. There was a couple of more unusual species seen here with a Ringed Plover heard in flight having taken off from Kistvaen Pond (the one by Rocket Pole Pond) as well as a flyover Canada Goose (24^th island record) heard honking as it flew past. Amazing! Fog made the rest of census difficult due to visibility and heading back to the Village to chill before Tavern was the plan.

Castle Hill by Thomas Weston

Meanwhile, Greg and I undertook housekeeping, so our species were mostly seen via a moving Landrover but there were some nice bits and bobs around. Castle Hill and the south-east corner of the island was drenched in sun for most of the morning before the fog crept from the northern areas of the island and enveloped this section too. A flock of House Martins came in off the sea at The Castle plus a few Swallows and Sand Martins too. Whilst cleaning around the Millcombe area I saw a ‘Northern’ acredula type Willow Warbler, the Treecreeper calling near St John’s Valley, and spotted a Redwing coming out of the Blackthorn too! A nice selection of migrants to add to the other sightings made by birders and ringers, plus daytrippers on the island.

Oldenburg by Thomas Weston

Tara welcomed the first boat of the season back in and said hi to Simon who has been off island for the last few days. The first boat is always a momentous day for the island and Tara is one of the first people who helps see the boat in and makes sure everyone is okay as they arrive. Her work doesn’t only involve seeing boats in on travel days but also helping give lifts to people up the Beach Road, helping with luggage, shop stores supplies, moving logs and making sure the island is in a good condition for those staying and for those visiting too.