Bird Sightings

By Thomas Weston

Chiffchaff in Millcombe. ©ThomasWeston

Migration was strong today and it was noted throughout the day that birds were arriving. Eleanor and I found a Blackcap with 3 Chiffchaff in Millcombe before census. Unfortunately, the wind being so easterly meant that Millcombe was unringable this morning. However, census with Simon went really well. We noted the warblers noted above, a range of resident species, and an even higher count of Razorbill then yesterday with now nearer 300!

White Wagtail in Barton's Field.© ThomasWeston

Wheatear in Barton's Field. ©ThomasWeston

Moreover, we noted some migrants. These included 4 Cormorants North, Sand Martins, Wheatears, White Wagtails with an increase in Pied Wagtails, and more Meadow Pipits annoying the local males who have now set up territory.

I was in the Tavern this afternoon working so the core migrants were not seen and it seemed they just kept coming with sightings from members of the public. Today was also a good day for butterflies with Peacock Butterfly, Small Tortoiseshell, and Red Admiral seen as well as Buff-tailed Bumblebees.

After the Tavern shift, Eleanor and I had the crazy idea to go nightcatching with the calmer weather. We ended up seeing 16 Snipe and 5 Jack Snipe. We caught a Jack Snipe from October 2025 and a new Snipe too! We heard an Oystercatcher and at least 4 Manx Shearwaters too. A great, but rather long day today.

By Thomas Weston and Eleanor Harris

The wind changed from West to Southwest yesterday provided a little burst of spring migrants the opportunity to arrive to the island, and many to pass through too. However, last night the wind changed to a Southeast, the optimum wind direction from the mainland to the island providing a nice tailwind for those wanting to make the jump.

We were on census this morning. Fog started the day but soon lifted to a lovely sunny morning with high cloud, a perfect mix for migrants. The first migrant noted were the Linnets, a species we have only recorded in small numbers this month so far. Then, the Meadow Pipits started calling as they passed overhead and we even saw some more coming in off the sea which is always impressive and great to note. Like the Linnets, a flock of migrant Goldfinches and a small increase of Chaffinches was noted too, showing the finches were certainly moving this morning.

The Landing Bay was a little choppy with the wind change so we only noted a single Guillemot and a nice flock of Kittiwakes fed just offshore. However, Benjamin’s Chair was slightly less choppy and resulted in a resurgence of 218 Razorbills - the highest count of the month. As we walked round, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were singing their hearts out, ahead of the breeding season. It was a beautiful sunny day and lovely to be out on such a sparkly morning.

MeadowPipit in Tillage Filed. ©ThomasWeston

The Gulls were out in force today, lured in by the sheep feeding! Numbers of Herring Gulls were in the 300s and Lesser Black Backed Gulls also joined the feeding frenzy. Walking back to the Village we noted more singing birds and arrivals of Meadow Pipits on the East coast fields.

The rest of the day was spent doing Health and Safety admin work and so a much-needed walk in the evening resulted in a 10,000 step walk to Jenny’s Cove, via the Upper East Path and Pondsbury. Some of the highlights included a Grey Heron on Pondsbury and 88 Kittiwakes in Jenny’s Cove who were new back to the island. The evening was breezy but dark, so we expect some more Manx Shearwaters arrived. Tomorrow is looking good for some migrants from the East!    +

By Simon Parker

Today was a day reminiscent of my life as Warden on that other Island that shall not be named.  As Warden, it's important to be flexible to the jobs that come your way and everyday is different, today was an excellent example.  It all started at 5.30am, I'm currently helping Tristan the Islands engineer with his morning pre power checks.  For those unfamiliar with Lundy, the power comes on automatically at 6:15am everyday.  Prior to that, Tristan checks the generators for serviceability and tops up oils/coolant.  All things I'm familiar with from previous jobs and all was well this morning, everyone had enough power for their morning kettle and nothing set on fire.

 I had enough time to go and clean out the church ready for the visiting Landmark Trust luminaries to explore it later in the day, possibly for some stained glass window spotting or to soak up the divine favour, that's not for me to say.  But, I'm told by Thomas that some of them may read this blog now, welcome! I hope the church was clean..

 After that, I still had time for breakfast before grabbing the "posh" land rover and picking up the team to go up the island planting trees.  Me and the conservation team have been battling the inclement weather to plant over 100 trees along the lower East path between Gannets Combe and Brazen Ward.  I've also been press ganging visitors into helping out, so if you're visiting soon, I have about 45 left to plant so bring a shovel!

Roger (Ranger) Dina (visiting ex vol and local hero) Tara( Assistant Warden)

 These trees have some strong Deer protection and are 2-3 year old to give them more chance, our hope is that this could be the beginning of more trees along the East coast in the future.  Be sure to check them out when you're next over. 

A quick drive back to meet Tom the farmer in the tavern where we gave a presentation to the Landmark team on the future of stewardship on the island, much chin scratching was had.  But time was flying by though and soon Thomas and Eleanor arrived for out pre-planned check on the Manx Shearwater boxes.  Some of them needed some interior design alterations but overall things were looking good, there were even signs of some cheeky early prospectors.

 Back to the village to get a quick bite to eat before heading to the tavern for the Southwest Marine Ecosystem Seminar where I talked a bit about Lundys seabirds with the help of Paul St Pierre from the RSPB.  That just about wrapped up and finished around 10pm, a pretty varied day.

 Somewhere in of all that, a Grey Heron was spotted over the quarry, the lone Jackdaw is still around the village and plenty of parachuting Meadow pipits are around.  Thomas and Eleanor were much more successful and spotted 10 Sand Martin at the North end of the island along with a Green Sandpiper in Pondsbury with a group of Teal.  Not a huge birding day, just an average day for a Warden.

By Thomas Weston

Monday is a travel day, so morning meeting started the day.  Eleanor was on a Housekeeping Day today, so her plan for the rest of the day was cleaning properties and making sure they looked extremely presentable ahead of the new guests that were going to arrive later in the day. Tara was on helicopter duties so was based around the Village throughout the day.

Red Throated Diver in the Landing Bay. Thomas Weston

Simon and I decided to undertake census together. The weather was west and windy so not ideal for opening nets in Millcombe Valley so we thought a joint census would be good. A new in Song Thrush and some nice signs of Spring with breeding birds and the start of the Blackthorn blossom was great to see. The Landing Bay was a hive of activity and continued our great run of divers with three Red-throated Divers and two Great Northern Divers who have been overwintering individually but occasionally seen together. We had some good numbers of Shag and Gannets with a unusual species for our census being a Fulmar. This species breeds around the island, but are somewhat unrecorded generally when undertaking census, odd. Moving on round to Benjamin’s Chair and the wind brought the swell up again. South West Field held very few birds apart from a few hardy Meadow Pipits. No sign of the Caspian Gull today in the gull flocks, but nice flyby views of the female Merlin again who is now residing up to Quarter Wall from the South. She has her favourite places too!  The Airfield held a couple of singing Skylark and a couple of singing Meadow Pipits with females of the latter seen too. Over at Quarry Cottages, a single Grey Wagtail flew over and passed heading South. The Landing Bay was glistening in the hazy sun and heading back to the Village saw flocks of Starlings and Meadow Pipits in Tillage and Brick, plus our female Merlin again.

Jackdaw in Tillage by Thomas Weston

After a break, my task was to complete a ring stock check of all the bird ringing rings we have on the island. The task took most of the day to complete and included counting our main store, walking into Millcombe and walking to the Heligoland Trap on the Terraces. On my journey to count rings and record ring strings a Jackdaw was an undoubtable highlight, as well as more flocks of Meadow Pipits and three Chaffinches in Millcombe Valley. The sun was out and the wind was calming a bit, a good sign for the next few days.