Bird Sightings

So far, February has seen a continuation of the prolonged spell of unsettled weather conditions that dominated in January. A persistent south-easterly airflow, between a large 'blocking' area of high pressure over Scandinavia and low pressure systems trying to move in from the Atlantic, brought fairly mild but often dull, wet and windy weather, with only fleeting drier, brighter slots. However, there were signs of a change towards the end of the reporting period, with the Scandinavian high finally shifting and more typical westerly winds returning to south-west Britain.

It has been an unsurprisingly quiet time for birds, though Lundy Warden Simon Parker has braved the elements to keep morning census ticking over, alongside other contributions to the bird log from island residents and visitors alike. A single Woodpigeon was seen on 4^th and 12^th, up to six Oystercatchers have been recorded regularly, whilst large gull numbers peaked at 23 Great Black-backs on 4^th and 234 Herring Gulls on 12^th. Offshore, an estimated 1,000 auks, mainly Razorbills were seen on 8^th, six Gannets on 7^th, and a single Great Northern Diver on 5^th. Raptors have been represented by single Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Peregrine, reflecting a seasonal dip in prey availability, with Starling being the only passerine recorded in any number during morning census, reaching a maximum of 67 on 12^th. Other landbirds have included single Skylark, Chiffchaff and Song Thrush, up to six Meadow Pipits (on 8^th) and a scattering of Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird and Chaffinch, alongside the resident House Sparrows, the latter wisely spending most of their time hunkered down around the farm buildings.

The vast majority of Lundy's breeding Shags move away from the island in winter, with eight on 8^th January being the highest count of the year to date and only ones and twos logged so far in February. Sadly, one of the Shag chicks ringed at Long Roost, in the far north-west of the island, on 22^nd June last year, was found dead (together with other seabirds) on the coast of south-west Jersey, Channel Islands, on 1^st February – likely a victim of the protracted stormy weather, which makes feeding difficult, with inexperienced first-year birds particularly vulnerable to exhaustion and starvation.