by Kirsty Cox
This week has been a week of ‘lasts’ as on Monday I come to the end of my time on Lundy. It has been quite the three months and I can’t quite believe it is coming to an end.
Today was my last East Coast Survey and this is also my last Blog, so another two ‘lasts’ ticked off!
I started with some ID work in the office which led to more updates to the ever evolving Seal Report I am writing as I managed to ID one of the tagged seals that I had photographed earlier in the season. She has visited Lundy before and is a West Hatch rehabbed seal known as Combe Florrie Tutti Frutti.
Then I walked to the north end to start my survey at 11.35. It was a lovely day to be walking the East Coast - the wind has dropped and although it was overcast, there was no rain. The north end of the island was suspiciously quiet seal wise but I realised why when I reached Quarry Beach and there were 68 seals hauled out! That counts as the biggest haul out this season by some way as all the others have all been around 30-40. It was just wonderful to see them relaxing undisturbed on the beach. 
Spot the Seals at Quarry Beach!
And I was also treated to the sight of a new white coat pup! There hasn’t been a new one in two weeks now so I had thought it was unlikely there would be any more but it felt very special to see another one before I go. So, for a last East Coast Survey it was certainly eventful!
Creating the survey album and processing the photos in the office took a while but it meant I could also have a catch up with Thomas who had done census this morning and had also been up to visit the Storm Petrel colony at the North End. There were some amazing counts on the island today with lots of visible migration. At log the final numbers were 444 Woodpigeon (the highest Lundy count ever!), 1191 Starlings, 108 Song Thrushes, 3 Mistle Thrush, 1592 Redwing, 34 Blackbird, 27 Fieldfare, a Ring Ouzel, 10,111 Chaffinches, 15 Brambling, 3 Greenfinches, 131 Siskins, a Lapland Bunting, 9 Snow Buntings, 2 Golden Plover, 1 Woodcock, 3 Snipe, 2 Merlin, 5 Sparrowhawk, 81 Skylark, 4 Swallows, 17 Chiffchaff, 31 Blackcap and an Eastern Lesser Whitethroat.
And that’s the end of my last Blog post. Thank you for reading - it has been lovely to meet people visiting Lundy who have said that they have enjoyed hearing about the seals over the past months. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to count myself as part of the Lundy Conservation Team this season and to feel as if I have contributed in a very small way to the protection of the amazing Grey Seal population here. Thank you for having me Lundy!