Sand Martin passage has suddenly burst into action, with 20 birds counted over the Village on the 10th and c.84 in several flocks along the East Coast on the 13th, in addition to two Swift heading south over Ackland's Moor. Two House Martin flew over the Tavern on the 12th. The second brood of Swallow nesting in the Government House Shed have been ringed; a total of four chicks.
After an absence of Kestrel sightings since the 4th, a female and two juvenile males have been seen repeatedly between the 11th, 12th and 13th.
There has been a bit of wader movement over the recent days too. A juvenile Dunlin flew east over Southwest Field on the 11th and two were seen on the Main Track by Airfield on the 13th before they took off south. A probable male Curlew (based on the observation of a short bill length) was sighted flying northeast along the coast on the 12th. Finally, a Lapwing on the 13th was seen at Halfway Wall.
A check of the Kittiwake colony in Aztec Bay on the 11th had no adults or fledged juveniles returning to the cliffs, but a raft of 78 birds was seen (and heard) a little way out. Survey of the Fulmar colony on Gannets Rock showed there still to be 13 chicks present, however some are almost fully grown and it won't be long until they follow those chicks which have already fledged.
Fulmar chick on Gannet's Rock. F. Turner, August 11
Uncommon birds for Lundy over the last few days include three juvenile Black-headed Gull flying east past North Light, and a juvenile and adult Cormorant flying over Rat Island before tracking south, both on the 13th.
Although beyond the reach of the Lundy survey area, here are some notable birds were spotted from the MS Oldenburg crossing on the 13th: one Sandwich Tern, 120 Guillemot, one Razorbill, one Puffin and c.700 Manx Shearwater!
Thanks to great coverage of the East Coast on the 13th, we were able to record a total of 8 Spotted Flycatcher throughout the day, the highest count since May! Three Pied Flycatcher were also seen on this day, and one was ringed in Millcombe on the 10th. The 13th was also a bit of a crazy day for Linnet and Meadow Pipit, with 244 of the former and 159 of the latter counted. The still, warm and humid weather perhaps created a surge of insects on the wing and so these birds were out and about making the most of the abundant food source. We also had a high Willow Warbler count of 31 and Wheatear of 44 on this day, both species frequently noted flycatching. A flurry of migrating warblers were ringed in Millcombe on the 10th, including two Sedge Warbler, two Grasshopper Warbler and two Whitethroat.
Two Clouded Yellow butterflies were seen on the 10th. A Spiny Starfish was found at the end of the Jetty on the 12th. 172 Grey Seals counted along the East Coast during a seal survey, and a second pup was found at Lady's Beach, increasing our total to three!