By Eleanor Harris
The plan for the morning was to have a ringing session in Millcombe. After the rather windy days of the last week it was great to be out on such a calm morning, which was a total change from the strong Easterly winds which have been blowing through the island. Heading down to Millcombe, the valley was buzzing with birdsong, and this was a good sign of what was to come. The session was rather quiet with more birds outside the nets, but the birds spotted were rather special indeed. Some of the memorable birds of this morning were a Wood Warbler at Battlements Corner spotted by some visiting birders, a second singing Wood Warbler spotted by Thomas, and a stunning Hawfinch by Greg. It was great to be out in Millcombe as it was alive with song and activity, so we will keep you posted what turns up in the next few days.
It was beginning to get a little quiet so we decided to pack up and continue with the day. After some lunch we decided to head for a walk to North End as we had a report of a Little Egret by one of our visitors. This is a rather rare Lundy find so we were both keen to see if we could refind the bird. As we were walking up the track we spotted a Turtle Dove in Tillage field, this was rather special as they are becoming increasingly rare in the UK due to habitat loss through agricultural intensification as well as trouble along the migration route. It was a great bird to come across and my first, but also great to share this with some of the guests.
Our walk continued to North End with a good number of Wheatears, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks seen along the way, as well as a passage of Swallows and Sand Martins. We headed in the direction of Long Roost and found a good observation point to survey the area resulting in large numbers of Guillemots seen colonising the cliffs, five Puffins out to sea and a few Razorbills. It is great to have the seabirds back but we will see what this year brings in terms of numbers as it is notable that the harsh winter and storms have taken their toll. The Little Egret was nowhere to be seen so we decided to move on and check a few other possible locations but with no luck. One of the most random finds of today was a Willow Warbler and Blackbird at North End. Losing track of the time we headed back to the village to make some dinner and head to Wildlife Log to hear what other birders have seen.