by Greg Lee
This week we are pleased to be joined by a glut of brilliant Lundy birders who have contributed immensely to the long term-studying of the avifauna of this small island in the Bristol Channel. Today I joined Chris Dee, head ringer of the Observatory ringing group, and his small team down in Millcombe for a ringing session. Having arrived on Tuesday, Chris had unfortunately experienced some pretty dramatic weather which limited setting up any nets, however, with the winds finally calming down and the weather looking settled for the remainder of the week, it was worth getting some ringing done. The session overall was good with a steady trickle of birds well into the afternoon, Willow Warblers being the main species along with the intermittent Chiffchaff and Blackcap. There was some variety too though with a couple of Sedge Warblers, a Meadow Pipit and perhaps the highlight of the day, a female Pied Flycatcher that had somehow slipped under our noses, despite the fact we were all armed with binoculars to watch for birds between net rounds. During the whole session, it was noted that a stream of Swallows was consistently going overhead along with smaller parties of both House and Sand Martins and we were treated to the reeling of a Grasshopper Warbler above the valley. Something which was echoed by other birders around the island during the day. As a boat full of day-trippers and new guests arrived, we were also able to show members of the public the work we were doing, a fine acredula-type Willow Warbler being very popular. I was also pleased to meet both Tim Jones and Tim Davis and we look forward to seeing what they can discover on the island over the next week. They had already sighted the Great Northern Diver, our first Whimbrel of the year and a good flock of Arctic Terns, the latter being just outside of the Recording Area on the boat across to the island! Thomas would also have fruitful census with a Whitethroat, four Greenland Wheatears and two Siskins.
Willow Warbler
Once things had started to calm down around lunchtime, I headed back up to the Lodge although Chris and his team would continue to ring a few more birds into the early evening. Migrant totals from across the island during the day included 96 Willow Warblers, 258 Swallows, 66 Sand Martins, 52 House Martins, 21 Chiffchaff, 14 Blackcap, three Sedge Warblers and two Whitethroats. It was also noted that many butterflies were on the wing including Large White, Red Admiral, Small White and Holly Blue, the latter being the first record of the year.