12th and 13th brought F4-5 easterlies making birding Millcombe and the East a bit more difficult.
Great coverage of the island, in particular sheltered areas of the west coast on these days with easterlies led to some high counts of 55 Chiffchaff on 12th, including 14 at Devil's Chimney. It also turned up a Black Redstart and a single Snow Bunting near the Devil's Slide. There was also an arrival of Wheatear on 12th, with numbers back up to 11 after remaining at one or two since September 29th. A single Common Redstart was below the Terrace on 11th and at North Light on 13th and a Yellow-browed Warbler was present in Quarter Wall Copse for a second day on 11th.
Common Redstart at North Light D. Burbidge
A single Curlew was seen from South Light on 12th, and there were good counts of 26 Oystercatcher on 11th and 12th. A Grey Plover was also reported on 11th, a nice bird for Lundy. Ringed Plover continues to be recorded from single flyovers. Six Snipe were recorded on the 13th. More Herring Gull have been seen lingering with counts of 47 on 11th and 63 on 12th. Fairly typical autumn counts of certain species previal including 2 Sparrowhawk (male and female), a couple of Water Rail in Millcombe, single Teal at Pondsbury, three Kestrel, seven Peregrine, and a single Merlin.
A new Great Spotted Woodpecker, the third for the autumn was in Millcombe on 12th, in a fairly notable year for this species. It was heard in Millcombe in the morning of 13th but then sadly predated remains of a Great Spotted Woodpecker were found later in the day at Gannets Coombe. In a similarly notable run of records the third Treecreeper of the autumn (all of which have been ringed) was resighted on 11th and 13th. The Rosy Starling was resighted on 11th but hasn't been seen since. A single Grey Wagtail was recorded on 11th and 12th. A single Stock Dove was photographed at Stoneycroft on 13th.
A single Song Thrush was present on 11th with 15 on 13th. After a single vanguard Redwing first thing on 12th, the 13th saw 135 Redwing and 70 Fieldfare move through, matching a clear arrival across the rest of the UK. Chaffinch numbers have started to pick up also with 10 on 11th, 29 on 12th and 53 on 13th. A lovely male Brambling was also photographed in Quarters Allotments.
Fieldfare against a classic late autumn Lundy setting of bare Sycamores and the Bristol Channel - A. Croudace
Firecrest counts were at nine on 11th, four on 12th and nine on 13th. Goldcrest counts were around 30, Blackcap counts remain around 20, Goldfinch around 50 and Siskin around 20. Swallows are the only hirundines recorded in this period with 55 on 11th, 31 on 12th and 10 on 13th. A Garden Warbler was ringed on 11th. Three Reed Bunting on 11th included a male in Millcombe and two female types at Pondsbury, and a further single on 12th.