Although this period of the year is generally quiet for bird migration, we see many other changes, particularly in the breeding birds.
While most of our cliff-nesting seabirds have finished breeding and departed for the season, Kittiwake monitoring continues, and a high count for the last three weeks of 295 birds was recorded on the 7th. On the 14th, 55 nests with young were counted at Jenny's Cove, and 38 on the 22nd, with the first fledglings flying about the Cove; on the 23rd, 27 adults were noted on nests in Aztec Bay. Fulmar monitoring has also not yet come to a conclusion, with 13 chicks counted at Jenny's on the 22nd. The last Guillemot recorded this year were seen on the 17th, consisting of 19 birds on the sea at Jenny's and one adult with a chick in Aztec Bay; zero birds remain on the cliffs at Jenny's. A very similar story can be told for Razorbill, with 10 in Jenny's on the 17th, and since then just one bird in the Landing Bay, recorded here up until the 23rd. The highest Puffin count for last three weeks was c.200 on the sea at Jenny's on the 14th; numbers are steadily decreasing however, with just three recorded on the water at Jenny's on the 27th.
Young Kittiwake and adults on the cliffs. K Power
The Oystercatcher chicks ringed in Landing Bay and Lammetry Bay this season are presumed to have successfully fledged, being last seen, quite well developed, on the 20th or earlier this month. Other wader sightings include a single Curlew at the North Light on the 19th, a single Sanderling on Landing Beach on the 25th (a really nice uncommon wader record, this bird was half in summer plummage), one Snipe at Quarry Pond on the 5th and one at North End on the 24th, ones and twos of Common Sandpiper on the 16th, 19th and 21st, and a Green Sandpiper at NE Point on the 11th.
A team from the RSPB have recently started monitoring wild nests of Storm Petrel around the Island, tagging adult birds to investigate the routes taken on foraging trips during the chick feeding stage. The Lundy Conservation Team have also begun catching Storm Petrel, the first mist netting session producing 88 new and 50 retraps, including several controls from around the British Isles (details to come soon!) and one French-ringed bird! On our last Storm Petrel nest box check, we found six boxes with nesting activity, including 3 adults incubating eggs. An incredible count of Manx Shearwater at the North and South End of the Island was undertaken on the 10th: C.3,000 were recorded off the South End, made up of 16 rafts, mostly 300 birds per raft but one of 1,000+; at the North End, there were c.10,000 shearwaters in 37 rafts. Extrapolating this data to cover the rest of the Island's perimeter, this could potentially mean there are now far more Manx Shearwater on Lundy than the previous estimate of 25,000. Big counts have continued, with 3,500 in 5 rafts off the Battery on the 13th, and c.1,200 off the Castle on the 15th. 11 were also caught while mist netting Storm Petrel on the night of the 24th.
Mist netting in Millcombe has recently picked up, with a good number of juvenile Willow Warbler (flying lemons!) dropping in. Autumn migration seems to have started, and upcoming spells of rain gives lots of potential to create falls of migrants onto the Island. The first record of breeding Willow Warbler since 2012 was recorded on 20th, with five chicks ringed in a nest in Millcombe! Chiffchaff have also been breeding, with recently fledged birds being caught in the mist nets in Millcombe. Two Sedge Warbler were ringed in Millcombe on two occasions over the last three weeks, and on the 17th a single Reed Warbler! After a deficit of Whitethroat sightings since the 10th, one was recorded alarming in Millcombe on the 27th. It would seem breeding success has been low for this species on Lundy this year. Numerous Stonechat juveniles have been ringed in Millcombe recently, with at least one new bird caught almost every session. A pair of juvenile Pied Wagtail have also been caught and are frequently seen about lower Millcombe with at least one of the adults. Ad-hoc catching of Wheatear across the North and East coastlines has been successful, especially with the high number of juvenile birds currently present.
Other interesting bird sightings includes 10 Swift recorded on the 11th, 15 Black-headed Gull counted a mile off Lundy from the Oldenburg, and the frequently seen "playing" or "practicing" of grappling juvenile Peregrine Falcon. All five Swallow chicks from the Government brood have successfully fledged and the adults have begun a second brood!
Grey Seal females all along the shores are heavily pregnant - the first pups are due any day now! Harbour Porpoise have been seen off Lundy on several occasions: one off the Castle on 11th, three off the North End on the 18th and five, again at the North End, on the 20th. 16 Common Dolphin were off the North End on the 11th.
Butterfly and moth species seen throughout the last three weeks on East Coast/Millcombe surveys, and across the Island, include: Small Tortoiseshell, Ringlet, Red Admiral, Large White, Small White, Small Copper, Small Heath, Painted Lady, Peacock, Grayling, Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, 5-Spot Burnet, 6-Spot Burnet, Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Oak Eggar, Spectacle, Bright-line Brown-eye, Dark Arches, Large Yellow Underwing, Magpie Moth, Silver-Y and caterpillars of Emperor Hawk-moth, Fox Moth and Knot-grass. In terms of dragonfies, one Common Darter was seen in the Campsite on the 15th, and one Emperor on the West Coast on the 26th.
Oak Eggar Moth in Millcombe. F. Turner, July 24