General news

The recent highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak has unleashed devasting impacts globally, with numerous seabirds showing significant declines in Britain since 2022.  Whilst there have been no signs of HPAI among the island's cliff-nesting seabirds to date, positive cases were confirmed for Herring Gull in 2023, as well as within auk populations on neighbouring the Pembrokeshire islands and beyond. To help assess the impacts HPAI locally, the RSPB and Lundy Bird Observatory conducted a census of one the island's most important breeding sites earlier this month.

Guillemots © Andrew Cleave

Methodology

RSPB staff members (Paul St Pierre & Leigh Lock) surveyed a sub-section of the island in early June with support from the Lundy Bird Observatory team (Joe Parker, Thomas Weston & Lucy Pécasse). Jenny’s Cove supports over 50% of Lundy's breeding auks and selected as the ideal location to sample the population. Birds were counted from land-based vantage points used in previous all-island surveys which date back to 1981. Following the previous methodology, all individuals of Guillemot, Razorbill, and Puffin were counted while Apparently Occupied Nests (AON) were logged for both Fulmar and Kittiwake.

Results

The results table below compares the seabird census of Jenny's Cove between 2023 and 2024. Figures relate to the number of individuals (ind.) present at breeding sites for all auks and Apparently Occupied Nests (AON) for both Kittiwake and Fulmar.

Table 1. Comparison of cliff-nesting seabirds breeding at Jenny's Cove, Lundy between 2023 and 2024.

Recent RSPB/LBO survey indicates Lundy's Puffin population is up 34% on last season © Joe Parker

Conclusion

The census did not detect any obvious effects of HPAI on Lundy's cliff-nesting seabirds, reporting ongoing population expansions for nearly every species surveyed. Sadly, this does not align with the national picture as many other colonies are reporting significant declines - see reports from Isle of May, NE Scotland, Skokholm and Farnes - which further underlines the importance of safeguarding Lundy's seabird colonies.

All species showed significant increases on the previous season except Fulmar, following the general trend since the seabird recovery project was completed in 2004. Furthermore, the notable increase for Kittiwake bucks the national trend and follows a consistent expansion following the rat eradication, coupled with excellent breeding success logged on Lundy last season. The 2023 all-island cliff-nesting survey detected a decline in Fulmar, so this is likely to be linked to a national trend.

What more can be done?

While this report is overwhelmingly positive news for Lundy's seabirds, continued monitoring of breeding colonies and preserving the island's rat-free status are paramount. Rodents stowed away on vessels could comfortably swim for a couple of kilometres, so ongoing checks ensure our nationally important seabird colony can breed in peace. We are delighted to work with the Biosecurity for LIFE project and recently welcomed the team over to conduct a routine check for rat signs and talk biosecurity measures. Dogs have 300 million scent receptors compared to our six million, making for an ideal companion to detect rodents. Rather than relying solely on passive surveillance techniques such as wax blocks, the ability to add an active detection technique to our biosecurity toolkit is a real game changer!

Thanks for invaluable colour-marking studies, we understand that seabirds move between colonies (e.g. Skomer-raised Guillemots breeding on Lundy), therefore ongoing checks for sick birds must continue. Should you come across a dead bird while visiting Lundy, please do not touch the carcass and inform the warden promptly. Lundy Bird Observatory continues to work closely with Natural England and Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to gather data and swab any carcasses for testing.

The conservation importance of Lundy as a seabird breeding site is clear and growing, recently becoming the third largest cliff-nesting seabird colony in England behind Flamborough SPA and the Northumberland Coast SPA. Supporting over 40,000 breeding seabirds, the island is also working alongside RSPB to push for Special Protection Area (SPA) status to safeguard seabird foraging grounds and flyways for future generations.

 Biosecurity for England/RSPB team on MS Oldenburg during recent visit to Lundy. Left to right: Laura Bambini (Senior Seabird Recovery Officer), Kuki (Conservation Detection Dog), Joe Parker (Lundy Warden) and Tessa Coledale (Biosecurity Officer England) © Joe Parker

Hi everyone! 

My name is Lucy and I am the new seabird assistant warden for the season! You will probably find me somewhere near Jenny's cove on the west cliffs studying the productivity of our puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes. You may also see me monitoring the fulmar population of Gannet's rock when you visit the island. I am a bird lover at heart and since finishing university, I have been lucky enough to be working closely with seabirds for the past 6 months during my time with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation on the Round Island restoration team. I was part of a long-term monitoring project, catching, ringing and taking biometrics of, chicks and adult, Round island petrels and red-tailed tropicbirds. We also monitored the wedge-tailed shearwater population of the island.  During my time in Mauritius, our team also surveyed reptiles such as keel-scaled boas and Gunther's geckos. On one expedition, I met Dr David Bullock who introduced me to Lundy as he was part of the major rat eradication team. Having been part of one also on Ile aux Aigrettes in September, I became interested in the Lundy as rat-free islands are so rare nowadays! When I saw the miracle story of the seabirds returning to exceptional numbers in two decades, I knew I would love to join the team! So far, I have been loving my time on Lundy, so if you see me around come say hi and have a look at the birds through my scope! 

Hello,

My name is Thomas Weston and I am the Bird Observatory Assistant for the majority of this year. I am a 24 year old from Gloucestershire, near Bristol and I am generally found along the banks of the River Severn, so to find me in the middle of the Bristol Channel should come as no surprise. I have an interest in conservation and migration with my main roles being the completion of the daily census, helpig with ringing, helping Lucy with some of her seabird work as well as the day to day routine of the island. Even though I have a particular interest in understanding wildfowl and other waterbirds, this position will provide me with a greater understanding of seabird ecology whilst picking up new surveying skills and methods, whilst living on an island.  I have previously volunteered at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust since a young age, and have undertaken projects with Nightjars, Brent geese, Gulls and Greylags. Within the last couple of years I have completed completed a Masters in Biodiversity and Conservation with the University of Exeter and have volunteered at Skagen Bird Observatory in Denmark last Autumn completing migration counts and ringing. I have been ringing since 2016 and achieved a trainer permit with endorsements for passerines, near passerines, waterfowl and large gulls which enables some of the ringing surveys to be completed in Millcombe and at night especially. I am looking forward to working at Lundy and will be based on the island between March 1st until the end of September. If you see me around the island or at the evening log feel free to come over and say hi.

How the Lundy House Sparrows Contribute to Research

Lundy’s resident population of house sparrows have been monitored by researchers for over 40 years. The Lundy Sparrow Project, although started at the University of Sheffield, has grown to be a collaborative effort, with researchers from both Imperial College and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Through close observations of these charismatic little birds, we’ve been able to better understand their lives, with researchers looking at questions such as how birds choose partners, how the dark markings on the male sparrows might affect their ability to find a mate, and how the friends they have affect their mate choice. In celebration of World Sparrow Day, PhD students who have worked on data collected from Lundy’s population have written a brief overview of how these birds are contributing to their research.

Yuheng Sun (University of Groningen)

My research has been primarily focused on ageing in wild birds. Studying ageing in wild animals is normally difficult because it is nearly impossible to track through an animal’s life to learn about their performance. However, the Lundy house sparrow population provides an ideal case for studying ageing-related questions in the wild. This is because the population is geographically isolated and immigration and emigration rates are extremely low, which allows us to track every individual throughout their life. Systematic monitoring has been running since 2000, providing sufficient data for studying ageing in this population.

My study question is what affects ageing? I am currently working on the effects of early-life environment on the decline in survival and reproductivity later in life. Initial results indicate that individuals reared in a bad environment start to decline earlier and faster, which suggests a “Silver Spoon Effect” on ageing. I am also interested in parental age effects, which can be the next question I am going to explore.

Sophie Wilkins (University of Sheffield)

My research has been primarily focused on looking at the long-term results of an introduction of mainland sparrows to the isolated Lundy population. In 1996 the number of breeding birds on the island dropped to less than 50 individuals. To improve the population’s chances of recovery, 50 birds were bought over from the mainland and released on Lundy. Through analysing the pedigree and whole genome sequencing data, I have established the impacts of this introduction on the native population.

The introduced birds that settled on the island primarily found partners among the native population, producing 43 broods within their lifetimes. By sequencing the genomes of the native and introduced birds, along with their descendants, I have compared the differences and similarities of genes in these three groups, allowing me to establish if the offspring of these introduced birds continued to survive and contribute to the overall population on Lundy.
I’ve also been investigating if this isolated population has experienced much inbreeding. Initial results suggest that the house sparrows of Lundy have maintained a low rate of inbreeding overall. Next, I will examine individual genomes to quantify the effects of inbreeding on individuals' survival and breeding success.

If you would like to know more about our sparrow research, you can read about it here.

The Lundy Bird Observatory accreditation received in February 2023, was subject to a three year probationary period. The plan was for the Warden, Joe Parker, and the ringing group leader, Chris Dee, to attend the Bird Observatories Council AGM in Thetford on 2 February 2024 to provide a status update. Unfortunately, due to fog, Joe was unable to leave the island, but Luke Marriner, who was working nearby in Norfolk, was able fill the second Lundy representative place. Our presentation aimed to demonstrate that we are meeting the requirements for being recognised as a bird observatory and that the operational aspects were working smoothly. This was well received and there were no questions, so we are pleased to report a successful first probationary year and that we are still on course for full membership in 2026.