By Emma Abel
Today was a glorious day on Lundy
Last night we set out the moth trap as the night was due to be warm and cloudy –
ideal conditions for trapping. We had 21 moths of 6 species, the most abundant
species being Brown Silver-line, of which we trapped 9. There were also 4 Bright-
Line Brown-Eye, 3 Marbled Coronet, 3 Common Quaker and 1 Garden Carpet.
Finally our largest moth of the day was the Brindled Ochre, a chunky moth suited to
coastal habitat, with an amicable face.
Brindled Ochre by Emma Abel
As it was such beautiful morning, the mist nets were also set up for a bird ringing
session, where a good mixture of species were recorded and ringed. One bird stood
out the most, which was a Nightingale caught in the laundry garden by PHD students
working on the Sparrow project. It was aged as an adult and based on several
plumage features, it was confirmed to be a different individual to the one seen
yesterday at Quarter Wall. Additionally 5 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat,
1 Linnet, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Chiffchaff and 3 Willow Warblers were ringed and 1 Dunnock
re-trap.
Nightingale
I left the ringers to go to Jenny’s Cove to carry out my Puffin monitoring. The cliffs
were much fuller today, which is a relieving sight after last week’s empty shelves
during the strong easterly winds. There were 83 puffins on the slopes going in and
out of burrows, billing with their partners or just sunning themselves in the morning
rays. These are still low numbers for the Jenny’s Cove Colony, and we do hope to
see the population increase. The light brown Leucistic Puffin was back on the colony
today, prospecting various burrows, most of which seemed to be occupied by
existing pairs that did not want company. As for Guillemots, the shelves were very
full with an estimated 2000 birds packed in around the cove.
Additionally, this afternoon a female Dotterel was seen at the North End, along with a
Lesser Whitethroat and a Spotted Flycatcher at the Terrace.
Dotterel by Greg Lee