Bird Sightings

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!

These last four days have had minimal migration movements through Lundy, however we did have a pulse of Willow Warbler on the 6th, with c.50 ringed in Millcombe and 30 seen on census and along the Upper Eastside Path. Two Chiffchaff and four Sedge Warbler were also processed on the 6th, along with a single Blackcap and Whitethroat. An adult and two juvenile Whitethroat were also seen in Millcombe on the 8th, and on the 9th a Garden Warbler was seen in Smelly Gully. On the topic of migration, three Spotted Flycatcher were counted on the 6th. 

A nice recent wader record was a single Snipe in Bartons Field on the 7th, the first bird since the 24th of July, one of only two that month.

Juvenile Shag are now adventuring from their nest sites and gathering with adults in roosting flocks on rocks along the shores. Birds have been seen in large numbers around Brazen Ward, Mouse Island, Battery Point, and Hens and Chickens. It is good to see so many successfully fledged chicks. The juvenile Peregrine Falcon are also doing well, with pairs of young birds continuing to be very vocal as they practice hunting around Old Light, Gannets Combe, North End and Southwest Point.

A check of our monitored Manx Shearwater nest boxes on the 9th revealed that the 10 chicks have developed by a notable amount, with the oldest chick sporting just a light fuzz of down over the body, much like a waistcoat, whilst its wings are almost completely fully grown! Another exciting seabird update, just 25 minutes after departing Lundy on the Oldenburg on the 5th, Ezra Sherwell and Chris Baillie spotted and Leach's Storm Petrel! A fantastic record for this time of year. 

In non-birdy news, a new Grey Seal pup, our second for the season, was seen on Ladies Beach on the 6th. One Emperor Dragonfly and two Ruby-tailed Wasp were also seen on the 6th, and a Clouded Yellow butterfly was recorded on the 9th.

The oldest Manx Shearwater chick from our monitored nest boxes. F. Turner, August 9

A survey of the breeding Kittiwake colony at Aztec Bay on the 4th revealed that all remaining chicks have now fledged, however several are still frequently returning to their nests with adults in between sea explorations. Whilst trying to land, these cliff-nesters were repeatedly battered by juvenile Peregrine Falcon learning to hunt. A survey of the Fulmar colony at Gannet's Rock on the 30th found 15 chicks present. While no Guillemot nor Razorbill remain on Lundy, a handful of male birds with their chicks have been seen over the past week from the MS Oldenburg crossing. An incredible seabird sighting was experienced on the evening of the 29th whilst setting up mist nets to catch Storm Petrel... a mega feeding frenzy of 600+ Gannet were seen endlessly plunging into the sea in two massive flocks off the North East of the Island. Recent Storm Petrel catches achieved 95 on the 29th and 24 on the 3rd. We have received information on the original ringing locations of 17 control birds we have caught recently and these can be seen on the Storm Petrel species account. A particularly interesting one was from Eilean nan Ron, on the north coast of Scotland!

Two Ringed Plover have been recorded on Lundy over the last week, one flying south over Rocket Pole on the 30th, a second heard from Quarter Wall Copse on the 1st. One Curlew was heard early morning on the 29th and again calling from Lower Lightouse Field during census. A Common Sandpiper was noted in the Landing Bay on the 28th, one at Brazen Ward on the 30th and one on Rat Island on the 2nd.

Autumn passage migration is continuing to slowly pick up, with two Sand Martin recorded at Ackland's Pond during census on the 2nd and a small southward passage of 12 Swallow over the Island on this same day. We have recently had the odd sighting of Spotted Flycatcher, including one bird at Stoneycroft on the 31st, one at Millcombe Pines on the 1st, and one above Quarter Wall Copse on the 2nd. We have recently had a small influx of Willow Warbler, with 40+ birds about the Island on the 28th, 29th, 1st and 2nd, 30 birds ringed in Millcombe on the 28th and 20 birds ringed on the 2nd. In terms of commonly breeding birds, large collective groups of adult and juvenile Linnet are frequently noted, with flocks of 60+ birds repeatedly seen in Ackland's Moor and Middle Park. We continue to have minimal sightings of Whitethroat, however on the 3rd, one adult with three juveniles was seen at St Helen's Combe, a positive confirmation of breeding on the Island.

An intriguing moth was found by Tony Taylor on the 2nd, a Lesser Yellow Underwing, found (after close scrutinisation by the Conservation Team over evening Bird Log) to be a subspecies generally found only on Lundy and the Isles of Scilly (ssp. sagittifer).

The first Grey Seal pup of the year has been found! Seen with its mum, swimming and playing in the cove below Benjamin's Chair on the 4th. This pup still has a white coat and is estimated by the Seal Survey Team to be 6-7 days old. After gathering photos of the adult female, they have found that she pupped on the same beach last year!

 First Grey Seal pup of the year! K. Cox, August 4

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