Bird Sightings
March 7th sightings – Easterly Winds
Sightings
The day started off slightly foggy, with a cool easterly breeze off the mainland which lingered until the early afternoon. Due to the wind the birds tended to stick low to the ground today, resulting in low numbers of some of the island regulars but signs of some migration were apparent. This was particularly seen with census counts resulting in a single Goldcrest, 6 Robin, 5 Wren, 2 Dunnock, 4 Blackbird, 2 Stonechat, 3 Skylark and 4 Mallard recorded. Signs of movement came in the form of 4 Pied Wagtails feeding with the sheep in Highstreet Field and 2 ‘new’ Goldfinches in Millcombe. Out at sea, low numbers of Gannet passed, a few of the island's Shag, and a raft of 64 Razorbills were recorded.
Ringing
No ringing was undertaken today due to the weather conditions.
March 6th sightings – Census Counts
A short post today as our team were feeling particuarly tired today...
Sightings
A male Starling singing in the village today © T Weston
Census counts from today made up the majority of the counts from the island. These included 9 Mallard, 3 Eurasian Teal, 7 Woodpigeon, 4 Oystercatchers, 180 Razorbill, 40 Guillemot, 30 auk spp., 10 Kittiwake, 102 Herring Gulls, 10 Great-black backed gulls, 63 Lesser-black backed gulls (highest spring count so far), a Great-northern diver, 4 Gannet, 3 Shag, pair of Peregrines, 30 Carrion Crow (highest spring count so far), 10 Raven, 11 Skylark, 18 Wren, 133 Starling, single Song thrush, 15 Blackbird, 6 Robin, 7 Stonechat (most on territory now), 6 Dunnock, 18 House Sparrows, 3 Pied Wagtail, 4 ‘alba’ wagtail North, 20 Meadow Pipit, a single Rock Pipit, 6 Chaffinch and 26 Linnet (the highest count of the spring).
Ringing
Nocturnal counts resulted in 14 Snipe, 3 Jack Snipe, a Skylark and a Meadow Pipit seen. The Meadow Pipit was the only bird caught due to the wet and windy conditions which set in just after 21:00.
March 5th sightings – *Iceland Gull*
Another sunny, southernly wind led to some interesting sightings today. The day started with a ‘new in’ Great Northern Diver joining the overwintering adult in South Landing whilst ringing was being undertaken in Millcombe. A visitor reported almost standing on a Snipe spp before it flew off, meaning they had almost certainly found one of the overwintering Jack Snipe on the island. The sunny weather in the morning saw an impressive 22 Skylark noted across the island with the majority of these singing. Signs of some movement was particularly noted again in the Stonechat and Meadow Pipit with 9 and 65 counted respectively. However, an apparent afternoon arrival of wagtails saw the first White Wagtail of the year amongst the sheep on Highstreet Field, 12 Pied Wagtails (subspecies yarelli) seen on Brick Field/Airfield and 3 unidentified ‘alba wagtails’ which flew over north. The arrival led to some impressive views of the female type Merlin who began hunting the flock, as well as some nearby Meadow Pipits, finally grabbing one of the latter around the Old Hospital.
Adult Iceland Gull on Pondsbury © T Weston
A check of Pondsbury yielded a stonking adult Iceland Gull, the first of the year. This species is an annual vagrant with one record per year on average. The bird was roosting with a flock of Herring, Lesser-black backed and Great-black backed gulls on Pondsbury before flying off towards the west coast. Other species seen on the pond included 3 Eurasian Teal, a Water Rail (heard) and 2 Snipe. Checking along the coastline from North Light to the East and then to Millcombe Valley yielded roughly ~100 auks, 10 Oystercatchers, 165 Herring Gulls, 20 Lesser-black backed gulls, 8 Rock Pipits, 27 Fulmar, 42 Gannet (feeding amongst a pod of dolphins), a pair of Peregrines, 8 Raven, 22 Carrion Crow, 2 Redwing and a Song Thrush.
Ringing
A short session in Millcombe resulted in all birds caught being retraps. The oldest was a House Sparrow ringed as a chick in 2021. The bird had lost a couple of colour rings and these were replaced as part of the Lundy Sparrow Project that is ongoing on the island.
March 4th sightings – Wet, Wild and Windy
Sightings
As summarised by the title, today was a bit of a washout but the birds were still out there. Census counts made up most of today’s records with highlights including 2 Mallard on Rocket Pole Pond, 216 Razorbill off Benjamin’s Chair, 4 Linnets over Old Light, 4 Redwing, 3 Goldcrest and 4 Water Rail in Millcombe, 105 Herring Gulls in the fields, a single Kittiwake in South Landing, 13 Gannet off Southwest Fields, 2 Pied Wagtails in Highstreet Field, 4 Stonechat back on territory, and a pair of Peregrine calling as they flew over Quarter Wall. Other sightings from today included a female Merlin hunting the Church Field area, a single Skylark heard half-heartedly singing on the Airfield, a pair of Eurasian Teal on Pondsbury, 5 Chaffinch in Millcombe Valley, 24 Meadow Pipits between Quarter Wall and Halfway Wall.
Ringing
No ringing was undertaken today due to the weather.