Bird Sightings

By Simon Parker

There's a strange calm this morning, last nights wind has been and gone, the sun is back and it feels good to be outside again.  Walking down towards the beach road, through Millcombe valley, it's eerily quiet.  Everything is hunkered down or made a quick escape before the storm.  I had a thought this morning (a rare thing). If I had not looked at the weather forecast and seen the impending force 10 arriving tomorrow, could I sense that a storm was approaching?  I actually believe that we can sense weather patterns and the more we do it, the more we improve.  Initially you can just look, that's a big dark cloud, it's going to rain.  But there's more subtle signs, air pressure for instance.  Sometimes it can feel like there's a tension in the air, and nature will always seek to correct that by seeking balance.  This morning, there's a distinct lack of wildlife, a sign that that last night was pretty wild and tomorrow is bringing an even bigger storm.

The few birds that were out and about tended to be the seabirds, hardy and built to handle the more extreme weather.  My personal favourites, the Gulls, seem to be in their element in high winds. Sightings wise it was a quiet day, but here's some highlights...

Gulls on Water Tanks pool

 Herring Gulls are still present in large numbers by the water tanks, they're enjoying the benefits of the heavy rain by populating the lake that's formed through the winter, 226 counted in total although around 30 were found prospecting nest sites off Benjamins chair.  Meadow Pipit are still in fairly good numbers with 23 spotted. 

A pair of Stonechat were found between Rocket Pole Pond and the Old Light and 3 brave Skylark were found singing around the airfield making the most of the relative calm. Millcombe totals were low and the Long Tailed Tits were absent 3 Blackbird, 2 Robin a Wren and 3 Woodpigeon in total.

 One thing to mention albeit a sad ending to the blog, a lone Woodcock was found floating out to sea off the Landing Bay. Possible casualty from last nights storm.

By Eleanor Harris 

Me!

Hello readers, my name is Eleanor and I will be helping with Bird Observatory tasks, as well as working as a General Assistant. I have previously visited the island on holiday but always had a keen interest in the landscape and wildlife, seeing how it has changed and developed over the years. As well as visiting, I have also had the opportunity to assist with Observatory tasks including census, ringing and much more. I look forward to meeting you all and sharing my love of Lundy. 

Today we woke up to a still, relatively calm day so me and Thomas undertook census ahead of leading a guided bird walk to Jenny’s Cove. More on this to come…

Walking through the shelter of the village it felt relatively calm but as we approached Millcombe valley, the wind picked up and was swirling in all directions signalling a shift from the calm of yesterday. Walking through Millcombe we heard two bubbly Goldfinch as well as one Dunnock and three Wrens so a good start to the day. Once reaching the Ugly we scanned the sea with a few Shags to start but the highlight came with a Great Northern Diver seen close to the shore. Continuing the route onwards, some of the other highlights were 139 Razorbills off Benjamin’s Chair and two Peregrines signalling the return of spring. 

Once reaching the village we had a quick chat with Simon before starting a guided walk to Jenny’s Cove. Simon’s plan for today was to continue planting trees at Brazen Ward so look out for these on your next visit. 

The guided walk started at the Tavern with the aim of showing the group some Puffins at Jenny’s Cove. On Sunday we saw around 124 Puffins so we were hopeful for a few. The route took us along the west coast past the Old Light where we saw a quick glimpse of a Merlin, one of the overall highlights. It was great to show the group this species as it was new to many. The walk continued onto Jenny’s Cove with some good views of 72 Fulmars, Shags and Gannets at Jennny’s but sadly no Puffins. It was a lovely mix of people, from all ages and backgrounds who attended with a range of Lundy experiences from first time visitors to regulars. Thank you to all who attended and the positive feedback as it was lovely meeting you.

Common Gull 2nd Calander Year

After reaching Jenny’s the group divided with people going their separate ways. Me and Thomas decided to have a quick walk to Brazen Ward then return for lunch. Once reaching Brazen we spotted Simon and Tara planting trees near the Mouse Hole and Trap. Descending to Brazen we had excellent views of a Common Gull and a few Gannets feeding close to shore. After some sea watching, Thomas spotted a Red Throated Diver far out to sea so after some scanning we also located groups of Manx Shearwaters, Kittiwakes and Gannets feeding far out to sea. Returning to the village we had excellent glimpses of the same female Merlin perching on the main dry stone wall. 

Once recaching the village the weather started to change with cloud, fog and rain so the plan for the evening is to shelter from the approving storm. We look forward to meeting to you all at Wildlife Log over the coming weeks and hearing your days and sightings. 

By Thomas Weston

Hello! Welcome to a slightly new set up to the blog. We thank the Tims for updating the website over the past few months and the previous observatory staff for updating the website too. However, we have slightly changed the format of the blog this month with the aim to provide a more interactive, educational, and social space to allow staff and volunteers to showcase the amazing work of Lundy Bird Observatory, as well as some of the birding highlights too. Of course, we will be posting out Lundy highlights and rarities, but also the accounts of the author’s day, experiences whilst on the island, and some nice pictures along the way too. The new format hopes to make you, the reader, feel more connected from the comfort of your home (or whilst on the island!) So, sit back and enjoy….

Me in the field by Eleanor Harris

Today’s blog comes from me, Thomas Weston, a previous Lundy Bird Observatory volunteer assistant in 2024 whereby I lived on the island between March and October completing census, undertaking a range of ringing, found a range of species from common to rare, helped with the seabird surveys, worked with Housekeeping and Tavern, and interacted with a lot of the visitors to the island. I used to write the blog daily, but within my new role as Bird Observatory warden, with the help of the fellow staff on the island and the volunteers who will be arriving soon, we have arranged to change the blog author daily which hopefully will provide a varied range of posts.

Starlings on Quarters - Look out for colour rings!

Today started foggy, we met for our travel day meeting and it was Simon who was undertaking the census today whilst Eleanor and I undertook housekeeping. The cloud base dropped to a few hundred metres, so helicopters were delayed for about an hour or so. Alas, there were not many species seen around the Village this morning, however 92 Starlings were a highlight on the Quarters accommodation. Simon didn’t mention any highlights on census apart from drizzle and bad visibility, though he did spot the Great Northern Diver and the Red-necked Grebe in the Landing Bay around 10:30. It is great to have these species around, and we hope to catch up with them soon whilst they transition to summer plumage. During Housekeeping, I noted a nice Stonechat male in St John’s Valley, and a flock of 30 Meadow Pipits near Castles. In the Village, a Chaffinch and a couple of Wrens were very vocal around the Laundry. However, the undoubtably highlight was a Rook who flew in off the sea over the Castles before heading over the Village North at around 12:20. This is the first of the year and a Lundy scarcity. This afternoon, Steve noted a female Merlin around the Landing Bay whilst Eleanor reported a few more small flocks of Meadow Pipits near Old Light, before having amazing views of the female Merlin hunting a flock over the Village this afternoon. A great way to end the day and I even saw it too! Perfect! A quick chill, some dinner and Wildlife Log at 20:00 is the plan.  

Greetings Bird Observatory people! It's been a hectic start to the year for me as the new Warden but I feel that everything is coming together nicely for the year ahead.  Big thanks to Joe Parker for getting the observatory over the line and fully accredited along with Chris Dee, Tim Jones and Tim Davis for all their constant help in the background.  Also, everyone else who has been part of the observatory journey should be very proud at what has been achieved. Have to mention a huge thanks to Eleanor Grover who helped me massively through January!

I'll be taking on the blog along with Thomas Weston, Eleanor Harris and the volunteers who will be joining shortly, there will be some changes to the format but it will still be packed full of the latest sightings.  The island is starting to make sense to me now, having previously managed Flat Holm near Cardiff, I'm well aware of the balance that often needs to be struck on an Island with endless jobs to be done.

The Bird Observatory is one of those jobs and I'd like to promote it as much as possible, we'll be looking at doing more youth work with the BTO and other organisations but also encouraging research projects where we can.  I'm also keen to encourage visiting ringers where possible and Brambles villa East will remain the chateau of choice on Lundy.

Anyway, on with last weeks sightings!

 The nets were opened for the first time this year and did not disappoint, 4 Long-tailed tits arrived on the 5th and by the 7th their number had increased to 5 and all of them were successfully caught and ringed in Millcombe valley.  First recorded LTTs since 2021 and they remain in Millcombe valley as I write this.  We were also visited by a Hooded crow on the 4th that appeared to be mixing with the Carrion Crows, it hasn't been seen over the last couple of days so it may of moved on.  In the Duck news, Mallards continue to be sighted in good numbers with 20 being spotted on the 5th, Teal are also present in Pondsbury with 8 spotted on the 8th.  The first Wheatear was also recorded on the 8th swiftly followed by another at the North End of the island.

Long-tailed Tit in Millcombe © T Weston

I feel like I have to add here that the weather this week has been merciful, January and February were brutal with heavy rain and severe winds.  I'm used to some nasty weather having grown up on the coast and lived on Flat Holm (I promise I won't mention this Island again!), but I was seriously questioning my life choices prior to this week.  

Seabirds! So the seabirds have been steadily increasing with Razorbill consistently spotted off Benjamins chair, Jennys cove and near the North light.  I would estimate around 1000 are here at the moment, Guillemots are always nearby although far less in number.  Puffin reached a high today with over 100 spotted between Jennys cove and the Fog battery.  Fulmar are in good number with close to 100 spotted across the North of the island.  The odd  Manx Shearwater has also occasionally been spotted zipping across the landing bay towards rat island or up at North light.  As a seabird enthusiast, I'm slightly biased towards the colony and that's definitely something I'm looking forward to watching grow over the season.

Peregrine have been spotted almost everyday this week with at least one being sighted, Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Kestrel were also present on occasion showing an increase in predator activity.  

Honourable mention to a pair of intrepid Sand Martin heralding the beginning of their migration season on the 4th!