Bird Sightings

Ring Ouzel male at Halfway Wall. ©Liz Gouldson

After yesterday’s excitement, we introduce our newest member to the team, Lucy Pécasse who will be completing our seabird productivity work this year! The first full day of work included checking out the study sites and climbing up and down the cliffs in search of seabirds – even if it was super windy. Welcome to the team.

 A big drop in migrants today as the weather changed to a strong south-westerly with frequent rain showers. The standout highlights of the day:

• A Ring Ouzel spotted at ½ Wall and photographed by our guests.
• The highest Manx Shearwater (1455) count of the year from the Ugly.
• The highest Wheatear (36) count of the year with a good mix of migrants and breeding birds.
• Single Greenfinch in Millcombe (scarce here).
• A female Bullfinch in St Helen’s Copse (scarce here).

 Other sightings from today included 6 Mallard, 4 Eurasian Teal, 14 Woodpigeons, 8 Oystercatchers, 122 Puffin, 87 Razorbills, 17 Guillemots, 162 Auk spp, 104 Kittiwakes, 84 Herring Gulls, 12 Great Black-backed gulls, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, single Red-throated Diver, single Great Northern Diver, 8 Fulmar, 58 Gannets, single Cormorant,  19 Shag, female Sparrowhawk, male Kestrel, single Peregrine, 19 Carrion Crows, 12 Ravens, 10 Skylarks, single Swallow, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Chiffchaff, 15 Blackcap, 8 Goldcrest, 7 Wrens, 122 Starlings, 3 Blackbirds, Song Thrush, 4 Robins, 12 Stonechats, 36 Wheatears, 6 Dunnocks, 8 House Sparrows, 2 Pied Wagtails, 72 Meadow Pipits, single Rock Pipit, 4 Chaffinches, 6 Linnets, 5 Goldfinches and a Lesser Redpoll.

Willow Warbler on the Gorse at Rocket Pole. ©Joe Parker

After a very wet day yesterday, the clouds parted and a clear night with southernly winds occurred. Winds were recorded from as far south as Northern Spain, so it was a mild night inspiring migrants to use this weather window to move. Due to the drop in wind speed and in suitable wind direction, it was an early start for the team today with the Millcombe nets opened at 05:15 this morning. The increased cloud cover and relatively low cloud base around dawn led to a small fall of migrants first thing and the ringing session started off quite steady. However, just before 9am, a very short period of drizzle arrived and from this moment onwards, a large arrival ‘fall’ of migrants occurred. This led to the number of birds caught and ringed increasing substantially. The number of birds found around the island increased after 9am with good coverage from all comers. The number of birds arriving to the island stayed high throughout the day and the nets were closed around 18:15. In total, the team ringed 191 new birds comprising of four main migrant species: the first Willow Warbler for the year, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Goldcrest (plus one of our resident Wrens). The team also recaptured an additional 5 birds throughout the day including a 4yr old Blackbird, a Goldcrest caught a few days ago and a Robin and Dunnock originally ringed last year. Full ringing details can be found below.

Thank you to fellow birder Tim for confirming some statistics. The day beat a couple of records including the highest ever numbers of Willow Warbler recorded in March with 97 seen by all comers, and the highest ever numbers of Chiffchaff recorded in March with 334 seen by all comers. The 135 Blackcaps recorded almost equalled the March record of Blackcap sighted (previous March record on the 31/03/2021 was 144). The 42 Goldcrest seen was the highest Spring total for many decades, but this count did not beat the 60 on the 27-31/03/1989 or the 50 on the 27-28/03/1974.

The first Jackdaw of the year in Brick Field. ©Joe Parker

It was not just a notable day for the passerines but today saw the highest counts of the year for Puffin (511), Woodpigeon (21), Linnet (32), Goldfinches (8), Siskin (4), and the first Grey Wagtail and Jackdaw of the year. To add to the craziness of the day, the American Green-winged Teal was still present on Pondsbury.

Other sightings today included: 10 Mallards, 4 Eurasian Teal, 2 Water Rail, 14 Oystercatchers, 6 Snipe, 302 Razorbills, 3 Guillemots, 2 Auk spp, 30 Kittiwakes, 140 Herring Gulls, 6 Great Black-backed Gulls, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, single Red-throated Diver, single Great Northern Diver, 19 Fulmar, 5 Manx Shearwaters, 10 Gannets, 2 Cormorants, 24 Shag, pair of Kestrel, single Merlin, single Peregrine, 20 Carrion Crows, 13 Ravens, 19 Skylarks, 43 Sand Martins, 9 Swallows, a single Firecrest, 16 Wrens, 83 Starlings, Song Thrush, 10 Blackbird, 7 Robins, 19 Stonechats, 24 Wheatears, 10 Dunnocks, 19 House Sparrows, single White Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtails, 16 ‘alba’ wagtails, 79 Meadow Pipits, 3 Rock Pipits, 6 Chaffinches, single Greenfinch, and a single female Reed Bunting.

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The last few days have seen cold North-westerly winds, but this changed overnight with a shift in the wind direction to the South resulting in slightly warmer weather and frequent showers. As a result, the Lundy Bird Observatory team, and fellow visiting birders Andy and Tim, were out early this morning in search for anything new. The shift in wind led to some birds hunkering down, but there were some signs of movement throughout the morning before the rain came in heavy.

The first bird recorded this morning on census was a Wren at the top of Millcombe Valley. This was the first of 12 recorded this morning involving 10 singing individuals across the census area. The next species spotted were the Robins, with 8 individuals seen throughout Millcombe with 6 singing individuals recorded. Species came quick with a fly over female Sparrowhawk, 2 Linnets North, an ‘alba wagtail’ over North, 4 Blackbirds, 3 Chaffinches, one of yesterday’s Greenfinches in the pines, the highest count of Woodpigeons for the year with 12 noted, 5 Goldcrest (all unringed), and 4 Dunnocks were spotted. Visiting birder Andy was stationed at the Ugly and was primarily recording Manx Shearwaters passing SW with a total of 190 individuals seen between 07:30 - 08:30. Census counts from the Ugly included a Great Northern Diver (2 seen today by allcomers), 8 Shag, 4 Ravens, 29 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Gannets, 10 Great Black-backed Gulls, 50+ Auk spp SW, 2 confirmed Razorbills, single close Guillemot, 6 Kittiwakes and a pair of Oystercatchers. Walking to Benjamin’s Chair was relatively sheltered with a few Meadow Pipits noted (13 seen on census). The view to the south was very blustery with a Peregrine and a single Porpoise spotted off Benjamin’s Chair. Nearby, a pair of Mallard were on Rocket Pole Pond with another pair seen on Brick Field and a single on Quarters Pond. In Southwest Fields/Ackland Moor/Airfield, 3 Skylarks were the only birds of note. The only Chiffchaff of the morning was seen along ¼ Wall, whilst on the way back to the Village, 135 Herring Gulls, 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 70 Starlings, and a flock of 16 Carrion Crows were in Tillage Fields. A total of 4 Pied Wagtails and 14 House Sparrows were seen in the Village.   Green-Winged Teal still at Pondsbury. ©Thomas Weston

A walk down to the Terraces resulted in a Chaffinch, 2 Goldfinches, a pair of Swallows in off the sea, a singing male Stonechat, 2 Blackbirds, 6 Wrens, 2 Ravens, 4 Herring Gulls, 2 Shag and 4 more Manx Shearwaters though counts of the latter were undercounts of the actual number passing. Walking up to Pondsbury resulted in a single male Wheatear, 4 European Teal, the American Green-winged Teal, a single Carrion Crow, another Raven, and a single male Mallard.

Other sightings from today included 12 Puffin off the Battery this morning, but there was no sign this afternoon. However, an afternoon search resulted in 53 Fulmar, 5 Gannet and 4 Kittiwake passing the Battery in abysmal weather. Drenched already, a seawatch from the Ugly this evening resulted in 10 Guillemots, 6 Razorbills, 12 Manx Shearwaters, 14 Shag and a couple of Great Black Backed Gulls.  

Another lovely sunny day with weakening North-westerly winds throughout the day. The island felt quite birdy this morning, but the wind direction means it was quite tricky for birds to come across to the island from the mainland. However, as the title suggests, a few eager migrants are pushing through, and it will be interesting to see what the afternoon holds as the wind eases even more.

Census started with a small flock of Goldfinches at the top of Millcombe. This flock split several times and it was difficult to judge how many there were at times but 6 was the best count and seemingly involved a pair, a lone male, and a small flock of 3 individuals. Other bits in Millcombe included 6 Chaffinches, 5 Robin, 10 Wrens (13 seen in total), 9 Dunnocks, 2 Goldcrests, 4 House Sparrows (30 seen in total), the singing male Song thrush, 6 Woodpigeons, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackbirds and 2 Greenfinches (scarce here) found by Andy that were finally caught up with near Millcombe House. A Firecrest was also seen in the pines but was not picked up on census. Off the Ugly, 5 Gannets, 8 Shag, 2 Kittiwake, 4 Oystercatchers, 18 Herring Gulls (127 seen in total), 3 Great Black Backed Gulls and 7 Lesser Black Backed Gulls. Likewise, a Red-throated Diver and Great Northern Diver were subsequently seen from the Ugly but not picked up on census unfortunately.

Meadow Pipit in front of Old Light. ©Thomas Weston

Walking to Benjamin’s Chair was quiet with a pair of Ravens (4 see in total) noted. At Benjamin’s Chair, 3 Porpoise, 2 Fulmar, a Rock Pipit, 2 Wheatear males (1 singing), and a flyover flock of 3 Goldfinches and a single Siskin were nice additions to the census. Rocket Pole Pond had no birds on the pond itself but the regular pair of Stonechats and the sound of territorial Skylarks and Meadow Pipits singing in SouthWest Fields were nice to hear. Checking Lower Lighthouse Field resulted in a White Wagtail that was initially feeding alone with the sheep, then joined by 4 Pied Wagtails where great comparisons were had, before all birds took flight as a flock of Starlings came through. Unfortunately, the wagtails were lost to view. Moving towards the Airfield and a Meadow Pipit was showing really nicely on the wall by Old Light (see above). The Airfield was quiet but a couple more Stonechat and Skylark were noted and a Snipe was flushed from the wet verges in front of ¼ wall.

Spot the Wheatears on The Terraces. ©Thomas Weston

A quick break from the census heading towards The Terraces resulted in a flock of 4 Wheatear, 3 Chiffchaff and a House Martin hanging around Quarry Pond as well as a single Goldcrest and the usual Stonechats, Dunnocks, Robins and Blackbirds on The Terraces.

Back to the census and Brick Field had an interesting flock of 9 Skylarks which could well be new in migrants as the ‘normal’ birds noted on census are either singing or hanging around favoured males territories. A pair of Mallard, flocks of Herring Gulls, 14 Carrion Crows (20 seen in total) and 108 Starlings were the best between here walked back to the Village.

Other bird sightings today involved:

• Small flock of Puffins off North Light.
• Manx Shearwaters passing the East Coast in low numbers.
• American Green-winged Teal still on Pondsbury.
• Highest count of the year of Wheatear with 21 spotted including 8 colour ringed birds.
• Sand Martins, Swallows and House Martins all arriving off the South Coast.

 One of the eight colour-marked Wheatear arriving back today. This male was originally ringed as a second calendar-year bird in June '22, but not encountered in '23, so it's nice to have him back! © Joe Parker