Bird Sightings

By Thomas Weston

Hello! Welcome to a slightly new set up to the blog. We thank the Tims for updating the website over the past few months and the previous observatory staff for updating the website too. However, we have slightly changed the format of the blog this month with the aim to provide a more interactive, educational, and social space to allow staff and volunteers to showcase the amazing work of Lundy Bird Observatory, as well as some of the birding highlights too. Of course, we will be posting out Lundy highlights and rarities, but also the accounts of the author’s day, experiences whilst on the island, and some nice pictures along the way too. The new format hopes to make you, the reader, feel more connected from the comfort of your home (or whilst on the island!) So, sit back and enjoy….

Me in the field by Eleanor Harris

Today’s blog comes from me, Thomas Weston, a previous Lundy Bird Observatory volunteer assistant in 2024 whereby I lived on the island between March and October completing census, undertaking a range of ringing, found a range of species from common to rare, helped with the seabird surveys, worked with Housekeeping and Tavern, and interacted with a lot of the visitors to the island. I used to write the blog daily, but within my new role as Bird Observatory warden, with the help of the fellow staff on the island and the volunteers who will be arriving soon, we have arranged to change the blog author daily which hopefully will provide a varied range of posts.

Starlings on Quarters - Look out for colour rings!

Today started foggy, we met for our travel day meeting and it was Simon who was undertaking the census today whilst Eleanor and I undertook housekeeping. The cloud base dropped to a few hundred metres, so helicopters were delayed for about an hour or so. Alas, there were not many species seen around the Village this morning, however 92 Starlings were a highlight on the Quarters accommodation. Simon didn’t mention any highlights on census apart from drizzle and bad visibility, though he did spot the Great Northern Diver and the Red-necked Grebe in the Landing Bay around 10:30. It is great to have these species around, and we hope to catch up with them soon whilst they transition to summer plumage. During Housekeeping, I noted a nice Stonechat male in St John’s Valley, and a flock of 30 Meadow Pipits near Castles. In the Village, a Chaffinch and a couple of Wrens were very vocal around the Laundry. However, the undoubtably highlight was a Rook who flew in off the sea over the Castles before heading over the Village North at around 12:20. This is the first of the year and a Lundy scarcity. This afternoon, Steve noted a female Merlin around the Landing Bay whilst Eleanor reported a few more small flocks of Meadow Pipits near Old Light, before having amazing views of the female Merlin hunting a flock over the Village this afternoon. A great way to end the day and I even saw it too! Perfect! A quick chill, some dinner and Wildlife Log at 20:00 is the plan.  

Greetings Bird Observatory people! It's been a hectic start to the year for me as the new Warden but I feel that everything is coming together nicely for the year ahead.  Big thanks to Joe Parker for getting the observatory over the line and fully accredited along with Chris Dee, Tim Jones and Tim Davis for all their constant help in the background.  Also, everyone else who has been part of the observatory journey should be very proud at what has been achieved. Have to mention a huge thanks to Eleanor Grover who helped me massively through January!

I'll be taking on the blog along with Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris and the volunteers who will be joining shortly, there will be some changes to the format but it will still be packed full of the latest sightings.  The island is starting to make sense to me now, having previously managed Flat Holm near Cardiff, I'm well aware of the balance that often needs to be struck on an Island with endless jobs to be done.

The Bird Observatory is one of those jobs and I'd like to promote it as much as possible, we'll be looking at doing more youth work with the BTO and other organisations but also encouraging research projects where we can.  I'm also keen to encourage visiting ringers where possible and Brambles villa East will remain the chateau of choice on Lundy.

Anyway, on with last weeks sightings!

The nets were opened for the first time this year and did not disappoint, 4 Long tailed tits arrived on the 5th and by the 7th their number had increased to 5 and all of them were successfully caught and ringed in Millcombe valley.  First recorded LTTs since 2021 and they remain in Millcombe valley as I write this.  We were also visited by a hooded crow on the 4th that appeared to be mixing with the carrion crows, it hasn't been seen over the last couple of days so it may of moved on.  In the Duck news, Mallards continue to be sighted in good numbers with 20 being spotted on the 5th, Teal are also present in Pondsbury with 8 spotted on the 8th.  The first Wheatear was also recorded on the 8th swiftly followed by another at the North end of the island.

Long-tailed Tit in Millcombe © T Weston

I feel like I have to add here that the weather this week has been merciful, January and February were brutal with heavy rain and severe winds.  I'm used to some nasty weather having grown up on the coast and lived on Flat Holm (I promise I won't mention this Island again!), but I was seriously questioning my life choices prior to this week.  

Seabirds! So the seabirds have been steadily increasing with Razorbill consistently spotted off Benjamins chair, Jennys cove and near the North light.  I would estimate around 1000 are here at the moment, Guillemots are always nearby although far less in number.  Puffin reached a high today with over 100 spotted between Jennys cove and the Fog battery.  Fulmar are in good number with close to 100 spotted across the North of the island.  The odd  Manx Shearwater has also occasionally been spotted zipping across the landing bay towards rat island or up at North light.  As a seabird enthusiast, I'm slightly biased towards the colony and that's definitely something I'm looking forward to watching grow over the season.

Peregrine have been spotted almost everyday this week with at least one being sighted, Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Kestrel were also present on occasion showing an increase in predator activity.  

Honourable mention to a pair of intrepid Sand Martin heralding the beginning of their migration season on the 4th!

The most notable event of the past ten days has been the return to the island of Puffins after their challenging winter at sea, when Chris Baillie saw five rafting with 330 other auks, mostly Razorbills, at Jenny's Cove on 1^st March.

Numbers of Teal on Pondsbury have increased steadily, from four on 21^st February, to eight on 28^th and  15 on 1^st March, whilst the highest Mallard count was 18 on 28^th.

Woodpigeons reached their highest count of the year so far, with a nevertheless modest four on census on 1^st March, but passerines have been distinctly thin on the ground, especially in Millcombe and St John's Valley. Two Goldfinch on 27^th February were the first for more than a month, and Pied Wagtail reached a year high of seven on 24^th. Numbers of Skylark and Meadow Pipit, which often show significant increases in February, remained low, with no more than five and ten respectively to close out the month.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls also reached a new high-count for the year to date with 61 on 28^th, whilst 322 Herring Gulls and 43 Fulmars were logged on the same day. Small numbers of Gannets have been seen on most days, with a maximum of eight on 23^rd, whilst the peak count for Shags was 16 on 22^nd.

Raptors have featured further sporadic sightings of a single Merlin and up to three Peregrines, whilst a Kestrel on the last day of February was the first since mid-January.

Among less common species, two Great Northern Divers were in the Landing Bay on 22^nd February, with one the following day; and a single Golden Plover was logged on 27^th. A Red-necked Grebe in the Landing Bay on 22^nd & 28^th February seems most likely to be the same individual as seen in January.

The long run of unsettled weather has continued but the transition to winds from a more typical westerly quarter, combined with a slightly more mobile pattern, has seen brief ridges of high pressure between frontal systems. Rainfall has been more patchy and there have been a few short-lived dry, even sunny breaks, though it has often remained windy and quite chilly.

Logbook entries for the last week have included two Teal on 18^th, a doubling of the peak Woodpigeon count from one to two (!) on 17^th & 19^th, a single Water Rail on 19^th, whilst hints of spring included six Lesser Black-backed Gulls on 18^th and the highest Skylark count of the year so far, with six on 14^th. Also notable were single Goldcrest on 17^th & 18^th, a Fieldfare in Barton Field on 19^th, single Stonechat on 13^th & 19^th, two Pied Wagtails daily from 15^th to 18^th, and a handful of Meadow Pipits.

Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gulls, February 2026 © Simon Parker

Meanwhile, Razorbills rafting off South End, most of them resplendent in breeding plumage, give a glimpse of the season shortly to unfold, though there are worrying reports of large numbers of dead Puffins and other seabirds being washed up around the coastline of South West England. This is thought likely to be a result of prolonged stormy weather preventing birds from feeding properly due to reduced visibility in sediment-laden waters, at time when their energy demands are increased in the rough conditions.

Rafting Razorbills, February 2026 © Simon Parker