By Emma Abel
The conservation team started the morning with a round island boat trip. With clear skies and calmer waters we set out up the East coast, where there were lots of juvenile Herring Gulls bobbing about in the water with their parents greeting us with their high-pitched begging calls. The East slopes were a beautiful gradient of greens into orange, with the pesky Bracken finally starting to die off with an eye-catching demise.
As we got to the North we were greeted by a Cormorant sitting majestically on a rock. it was at this point I realised binoculars plus a rocking boat would not make a happy Emma so I enjoyed the large bird with my eyes, still able to make out its white cheeks. Heading round the West coast, it was an amazing sight to see the island from a different angle, with the cliffs almost split into two, steep rocky faces leading into grassy slopes which stretched up to even more steep rocky buttresses. Jenny's cove was full off Kittiwakes, adults joined by their freshly fledged juveniles learning to fly, swirling around the cove. A couple came over to the boat, checking us out and giving us a nice view of their distinctive black W across their wings. Another curious soul was the Fulmar dipping and weaving low over the waves, passing close by the boat and giving us a good long stare. A few of the last Puffins gave us a speedy fly-by, their frantic flight pattern helping us pick them out whirring past.
A Round Island Boat Trip by EAbel
Once we got back onto dry land, I headed back to the North to check on the Fulmar chicks, realising how appropriate that turn of phrase is with the grass looking crispier than ever. The lack of rainfall over the last months has taken its toll on the vegetation and the island looks parched. Hopefully there will be some rain soon. At Gannet's Rock I set up my scope and found 9 large fluffy Fulmar chicks tucked in to the cliff face. They still have some developing to go, having some of the longest breeding seasons of the birds on Lundy, with a fledge date of late August.
A Crispy Lundy by EAbel