Bird Sightings

Melodious Warbler in Millcombe. ©Angus Croudace

A drop in the wind and a slight NE wind resulted in this being the best day of the autumn for variety of species on the island. There were some standout highlights:

• A Wryneck around the Quarry/Quarry Beach area
• A Melodious Warbler in Millcombe.
• A Green Sandpiper spent a while circling the island and seen at several sites throughout the morning.
• A Redshank, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel and Curlew flew over the Village
• 13 Cormorants south
• A late Swift with the largest hirundine push of the Autumn.
• A Great-white egret flew distantly south past the East Coast.
• A fall of Wheatears on the Plateau including some of the ‘greenland’ subspecies.

Census was undertaken this morning and resulted in 14 Mallard, 4 Woodpigeons, single Oystercatcher, the Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper and Redshank, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Shag, single Kestrel, 5 Carrion Crows, 6 Ravens, 6 Skylark, 79 Sand Martins, 94 Swallows,  5 Blackcaps, 5 Whitethroats, single Reed Warbler, 39 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 6 Goldcrests, 12 Wrens, 78 Starlings, 4 Blackbirds, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 7 Robins, 12 Wheatears, 2 Whinchat, 12 Stonechats, 3 Dunnock, 31 House Sparrows, single flavissma Yellow wagtail, single Flava x Flavissma Yellow Wagtail, single Grey Wagtail,  6 Pied Wagtails, 3 Tree Pipits, 36 Meadow Pipits, 3 Chaffinches, 89 Linnets, and 47 Goldfinches.  

Pied Flycatcher in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston

A quiet walk around Pondsbury resulted in a single Blackcap, 3 Mallards, and 4 Willow Warblers. Quarries to Millcombe along the East Path resulted in 11 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 6 Blackcaps, a few Willow Warblers and the odd Wheatear and Stonechat.

Pied Wagtail in Millcombe. ©Thomas Weston

After yesterday’s fall of scarcities from the south, it was very much back to Lundy reality today as the wins swung SW – the worst kind of wind in the autumn for autumn migration to really get going. However, census was productive this morning and productive with 13 Mallard, single Feral Pigeon, 5 Woodpigeons, 2 Oystercatchers, 4 Great Black-backed Gulls, 4 Herring Gulls, 6 Shag, 2 Peregrines, 9 Carrion Crows, 7 Ravens, single Skylark, 4 Swallows,  5 Blackcaps, single Sedge Warbler, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 7 Goldcrests, 9 Wrens, 94 Starlings, 4 Blackbirds, 7 Robins, 4 Wheatears, 6 Stonechats, 4 Dunnock, 27 House Sparrows, single Flava x Flavissma Yellow Wagtail, 7 Pied Wagtails, 25 Meadow Pipits, 4 Chaffinches, 88 Linnets, and 26 Goldfinches.  

Other highlights from today included 2 Pied Flycatchers, single Spotted Flycatcher and a Whimbrel on the Terraces. There was a sign of things to come with a passage of 91 Sand Martins, 9 Swallows, a Tree Pipit, single Grey Wagtail in off the sea and North up Millcombe, and a low mix of warbler species.

Ringing

53 new and several retrap Manx Shearwater chicks were processed on the productivity colony this evening. There was much less activity then recent days with few adults flying around the colony this evening before and after midnight.

Melodious Warbler just south of Gannets Coombe.© Angus Croudace

Ringing

 Small catch in Millcombe, included a juv Pied Flycatcher. Nocturnal ringing resulted in 3 Storm Petrels and 30 Manx Shearwater chicks fledging from their burrows for the first time.

Linnet near the Airfield. ©Thomas Weston

Census was nice and productive this morning in the sun and reasonably nice weather with a breeze from the south. Species seen included 12 Mallard, 2 juvenile Flava x Flavissma hybrid Yellow Wagtails, and 3 Herring Gulls in Barton’s Field; 4 Great Black-backed Gulls and a single Wheatear around Benjamin’s Chair; a single Lesser Black-backed Gulls in Tent Field; 22 Shag in the Landing Bay; 8 Carrion Crows, 5 Ravens, 7 Stonechats, 4 Pied Wagtails, 22 Meadow Pipits and a single Skylark in the fields; 4 Swallows over the Airfield; 2 Goldcrests in Millcombe Pines; 5 Wrens, single Blackbird, 2 Robins, 2 Dunnocks, single Chaffinch in Millcombe; 53 Starlings and 37 House Sparrows in the Village; and 53 Linnets and 10 Goldfinches along the route.

Peregrine around the Fulmar productivity site. ©ThomasWeston

The Fulmar productivity survey was successful with half of the chicks fledged and flying around the site, as well as a new chick seen who must have been hiding behind a rock for quite a while. There was also a Peregrine, 3 Rock Pipits, and a couple of Skylarks in the vicinity. However, a successful little trip and also nice to see flocks of Shag here, and at North End too including a good number of juveniles noted. North End did not have too much moving and it was only the odd Gannet and Manx Shearwater of note before the rain set in for the following few hours. From the Oldenburg, a Balearic Shearwater was seen but unfortunately this was too far out to count on the island totals.

The rain came in for a while and made everything damp until later in the afternoon when the weather dried up a little and the Manx Shearwater boxes were checked. They are doing well, and the majority are ready to leave in the coming few days.

Ringing

The high proportion of Manx Shearwaters ready to go from the boxes translated into a good ringing session whereby 43 fledging chicks were ringed on the productivity colony with about double seen. However, due to a lack of rings, these birds highly likely left that night in the rain.