By Thomas Weston
Last night was mostly wind, rain and hail, so to wake up to a glimmer of sunlight was a nice change to yesterday’s weather. The wind did not die down until the afternoon, and hail showers passed through throughout the morning, but it was great to be out.
Pair of Mallards in Rocket Pole Pond - Don't forget to record breeding evidence. ©Thomas Weston
Census started well with a few Chaffinches calling in Millcombe, and our hardy flock of 6 Woodpigeons sheltering just below Government trying to get out of the wind. The Landing Bay was something from another world with flat conditions making it easy to pick out our winter plumaged Great Northern Diver close offshore. Walking round to Benjamin’s Chair was a different state of play, with towering waves and no auks on show today. However, a friendly pair of Stonechat and a flock of very peachy Meadow Pipits were nice to see. Rocket Pole held a pair of Mallards. We have started recording any signs of breeding evidence on the island so if you spot any birds showing signs of breeding (singing, nest building, presence in good habitat, feeding chicks etc) then please let us know.
Female Sparrowhawk in the Lambing Shed ©Tom Carr
My first hail storm soaking of the day followed as I walked through South West Field. However, a small flock of Herring, Great Black-Backed and Lesser Black Backed Gulls were a good consolation. The Airfield was quiet, and missing the daily sheep feeding resulted in slightly lower numbers of Carrion Crows today. A brief bit of sunshine resulted in two singing Skylarks whilst another nice flock of Meadow Pipits near Quarter Wall were lovely to see. Quarter Wall Copse was very quiet and the walk back to the Village did not yield many birds. However, farmer Tom sent a great photo of a female Sparrowhawk in the Lambing Shed, after a tasty House Sparrow or Starling methinks.
Spot the Cormorant!
Admin and lunch called but a brief chat to Lundy regular Myra was very lovely. She has just arrived to the island for a short stay and within an hour she had already found a potential Cormorant in the Landing Bay. A scarce species and the first for the year so a quick walk to drop bits off in the Gas Store resulted in confirming the Cormorant as well as seeing a distant Red-throated Diver flying in from the North, and a resting Guillemot as well as gulls heading from the Mainland from the East. A great day and a productive one too!