By Eleanor Harris
Today started off with a rather foggy and damp morning, a continuation of last nights eerie weather. As I did not have to start work till 12 noon I joined Thomas for our daily census loop. It started off as foggy on the top but dropping into Milcombe this cleared. There had been an arrival with Robins filling the valley with birdsong. A good mix of species included Pied Flycatcher, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Stonechat and adult and juvenile Blackbirds. It is amazing how yesterday the valley was a different story with everything sheltering from the persisting storm.
Carrying on the route it was amazing to see how localised fog and mist patches were with the end of the island cloaked in mist and the south relatively free with sea level clear and bright. Looking out to see we had a nice mix of Gannets, Manx Shearwater, Kittiwakes and Fulmar but it is noticeable how numbers of Manx Shearwaters are slowly decreasing with many starting their migration to South America.
Continuing on the route we hit the fog patch just after Rocket Pole with the number of birds increasing dramatically. It is interesting to see how weather changes affects bird numbers and what is visible. The mist continued from this point on with the air becoming slightly muggy, a change from the cool weather of the early morning.
Heading back to the village we both got ready for the day with some tea and toast had with the staff when we arrived back, Lundy tradition.
Meanwhile we heard a report of two Glossy Ibis from Greg yesterday, and that one of them decided to remain as per one of our visitors. One of the Ibises flew down to the village and was spotted by our Ranger team heading into Barton’s field. This caused much excitement and due to its accessible location many people got to see this bird including staff from their Barton’s Houses. What a treat it was to have this bird arrive so in my break I went to take a look. We will see how long this bird will stay.