By Thomas Weston
Today was a windy travel day. A day which was uncertain for many reasons – was the boat coming? Would it land? Would people have to stay another night? However, for me the day started quite early and before the power came on. I put the washing on just as the power was switched on and had a rather chill start to the day watching passing Swallows, Starlings, and House Sparrows from the house.
Around 8am I started census. It was blustery and Millcombe was quite windy. A couple of Swallows flew over and charms of Goldfinches made it on to the list. Linnets were scattered across the area in loose groups of 4-10. The Wrens were calling quite a bit today, with both juveniles and adults noted. Whilst Wheatear adults moult, the juveniles were the showiest today, however I did see an adult male and female in known breeding areas. Before leaving the Upper section of Millcombe, two Chaffinches completed the current finch set on the island with anticipation for other finches to come soon!
Lundy born Chiffchaff by Thomas
A feeding frenzy near Rat Island/Benjamin’s Chair yielded 20 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Gannets, 6 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 70 Herring Gulls, 8 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, and 3 Auk spp just too far away to see. Five Shags joined the party as I was heading away from the Landing Bay, whereby a few Meadow Pipits carrying food were noted along the banks – perhaps some late second broods yet to fledge? A Pied Wagtail in the vicinity of Brambles has been around for a while, but great to see! In the bushes a pair of Stonechat, a Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff, and a Woodpigeon were the best in the wind. Small birds were really challenging to find up to Government but did include a Whitethroat and a Blackbird. Carrion Crows have bred around the island successfully this year with 9 adults and 3 juveniles noted on the way out of Millcombe and on the south coast.
Looking towards Castle, there were 2 Ravens in the sky being mobbed by the Crows. On the South Coast a calmer feel was had, a Swift flew by, and small flocks of passerines hid in bushes and disturbed out of the grass when passing. A nice range of butterflies were seen with Painted Lady, Red Admirals and Meadow Browns all being noted. Bird wise, the Starling flocks must have been hiding as only a few were seen today, however the best of the bunch included 2 Sand Martins – a sure sign that Bird Autumn is here! A Mallard in front of the house and a small proportion of House Sparrows seen were the last couple of species noted.
Off to the Tavern for me, the boat was indeed delayed, and stayers never arrived until 2pm by which point my break almost started. There were no bird reports from visiting guests, but we shall see later as they settle in, and my break comes to an end. However, there was an unusual report of a Hedgehog. These adorable, spiny, garden visitors are much loved, however they are a biosecurity hazard on the island and luckily for our breeding birds, it was not alive on arrival. A fascinating find and an extremely bonkers record!
We shall see how the rest of the day goes…