On the 29th of April 2025, a first for Lundy appeared over the Island... First spotted by Jimmy Hair at 1201hrs, a puzzling raptor flying over Barton's Field was eventually identified, with great excitement, as Booted Eagle! The unbelievable bird was observed throughout the afternoon, thermalling over the Village, Barton's Field and the Castle until 1700hrs, harassed repeatedly by Peregrine Falcon and Kestrel all the while. The big question on everyone's mind was "will it roost??!" The eagle appeared very reluctant to leave the Island, despite what seemed to be several attempts to fly southwards. Unbelievably, the bird did in fact remain on the Island overnight (though the roosting location was never discovered) and was spotted, again first by Jimmy, just S of Quarry Pond at 0935hrs, and not long after by Bird Obs Warden Joe Parker from his bedroom window! The bird was last observed aroun 1200hrs, presumed to have departed Lundy once the morning sea mist had cleared.
Booted Eagle over the Village, 29 Apr. J Parker
Another Booted Eagle flight shot, 29 Apr. J Parker
Before the excitement of the eagle, a female Golden Oriole was seen in Millcombe during census on the 29th by volunteer Assistant Bird Obs Warden Flo Turner at 0841hrs. This was observed later in the morning by others in the conservation team as it flew up the valley, but not noted again in the afternoon.
The yellow theme of the 29th continued, with 4 Blue-headed Wagtail and 3 Yellow Wagtail seen in Barton's Field and Highstreet Field. 2 White Wagtail were also about in Barton's. One Blue-headed Wagtail was seen again in Barton's Field on the 30th. Lundy Cabbage has started to come into flower in Millcombe too, another cheerful yellow sight!
If things couldn't get any better, on the 30th, Assistant Bird Obs Warden Ezra Sherwell located a stunning male Woodchat Shrike at 1320hrs, just S of Quarry Cottages. It was seen well throughout the afternoon, enjoying several tasty beetles on the gorse. A male Black Redstart was also a nice spot, lingering about Belle Vue ruins throught the afternoon. Quarter Wall was the place to be it would seem, as a male and female Whinchat were also recorded!
A sprinkling of waders were also about the Island on the 29th, with 2 Whimbrel, one Dunlin and 2 Common Sandpiper seen. On the 30th, 5 Common Sandpiper were spotted, matching the month's high count. 4 flew up from a wet flush near Halfway Wall West, and one was spotted from the back of a Landy in Landing Bay!
In contrast to all the wonderful sightings of the day, the 29th was sadly the first day since the 18th where no Sand Martin were recorded. However, the 1st Spotted Flycatcher of the year were found on the 29th, with 2 in Millcombe, one of which was ringed alongside a lovely female Pied Flycatcher. A new Hooded Crow was seen in Brick Field on the morning of the 30th, however this was not spotted again. A single Collared Dove was found right at the top of the South Light headland at 1900hrs, looking a little confused before flying towards Millcombe.
Numbers of Red Admiral butterflies appear to be steadily rising, with c.20 seen about the Island on the 30th. Another intriguing lepitopteran encounter was an Emperor Moth being predated by a Stonechat near Quarry Pond.
What a fantastic couple of days on Lundy!