By Emma Abel
Today I joined Simon for a quiet census, seeing most of the usual suspects around Milcombe but all the rarer birds seemed to evade us this morning. However heading up to North Light we saw a Dunlin circling over our heads and were the joined by 4 curious Whimbrel probing the soil with their curving beaks. Today seemed to be a good day for Whimbrel as there were a group of 9 seen over on Pondsbury later in the afternoon, along with a handsome Golden Plover.
Meanwhile in the village the Sparrow research team had an exciting day, having found a 25th House Sparrow in the population! As the island's isolated population dropped over the winter, a new sparrow possibly joining the breeding population is great news for both the research team and their sample size and the sparrow's genetic diversity.
Minke Whale and Whimbrel migrating toward The Castles by Thomas WestonIt wasn't only bird excitement on Lundy today. Off the South Coast a Minke Whale was spotted lazing its way along, feeding in the waters close to the island for a good part of the afternoon. Joning it in the feeding frenzy were a couple of pods of Dolphins and 17 Gannets that wanted to join in on the feeding frenzy. Always a magical sight.