Bird Sightings
April 6th Sightings - Storm Kathleen
Storm Kathleen maybe brings 50 – 65mph wind gusts to the island but we continue the census and daily tasks.
Counts from this morning included 2 Mallard, 6 Woodpigeons, 11 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 11 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, 2 Fulmar, 3 Gannet, Shag, Peregrine, 20 Carrion Crows, 6 Raven, 4 Skylarks, 3 Swallows, 2 Willow Warblers, single Goldcrest, 13 Wrens, 33 Starlings, 2 Blackbirds, 3 Redwing, single Song Thrush, 4 Dunnocks, 28 House Sparrows, 4 Pied Wagtails, 4 Meadow Pipits, 4 Chaffinches, Linnet and 2 Goldfinches.
Ringing
One of the Manx Shearwater caught and ringed at the study colony. ©Oli Henman
We retuned to the Manx Shearwater colony for the second night in a row and caught an additional 12 new and 18 retrap individuals. Highlights from this evening included a bird originally ringed as a chick in 2009 and not seen since alongside a bird that was ringed as a chick in 2010 and subsequently encountered in April 2023. Incredible birds and great to know Lundy born birds are returning to Lundy to breed.
April 5th Sightings - Census Counts and Manxies
The winds changed to a southernly direction over night, but the strength was a little high for migrant passerines to be moving in the night. However, it seems our Golden Plovers have departed with a nice tail wind.
The wind affected census today with most passerines sticking low. However, 4 Mallards including the pair on Rocket Pole Pond; 9 Woodpigeons all above Smelly Gully; 4 Oystercatcher, 2 Gannets and 5 Shag in the Landing Bay; mixed gull flocks in Tillage and the Airfield resulted in 79 Herring Gulls, 25 Lesser Black-backed gulls and 11 Great Black-backed Gulls; a pair of Kestrel were around ¼ wall; a female Merlin was hunting the Water tanks; a Peregrine flew past near Castles; 32 Carrion Crows were in the fields around the Village; 6 Ravens were in the Village; only 3 Skylarks and 5 Meadow Pipits were spotted; 4 Goldcrest were feeding low by the Gas Store; 8 Wrens, 9 Robins and 3 Dunnocks half-heartedly sang; 34 Starlings and 2 Pied Wagtails were feeding with the sheep, 4 Blackbirds seemed very low today but if they were anything like the 4 Redwing who were at the bottom of the Blackthorn bushes then everything was a bit more hidden than normal. The singing Song Thrush continued in Millcombe whilst finches in the area included 4 Chaffinches, 4 Linnet and a Goldfinch.
Ringing
A last-minute decision resulted in a nocturnal session at one of the Manx Shearwater colonies with the team. In total 30 new and 22 retrap birds were captured including 2 chicks originally ringed in 2012, 2 chicks originally ringed in 2013, 2 adults ringed in 2014 and various records from every subsequent year.
April 4th Sightings - Hampered Birding
Another day of westerly winds and dropping cloud base led to a low fog over the island that was not the most inspiring weather for anything. However, 3 Mallards, 2 Woodpigeons, single Oystercatcher, 3 of the 4 Golden Plover in Brick Field with an additional one seen further North by members of the public, 84 Herring Gulls, 8 Lesser Black-backed gulls, 5 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Razorbills, 3 Shag, a single Cormorant flew North, single Kestrel, 19 Carrion Crows, 7 Ravens, 11 Skylarks, 2 Sand Martins, single Swallows, 4 Blackcaps, 9 Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 5 Goldcrest, 15 Wren, 34 Starling, 9 Blackbirds, 5 Redwing (11 seen later in St Helen’s Field), single singing Song Thrush, 7 Robins, 6 Stonechat, 9 Dunnocks, 14 House Sparrows, single Pied Wagtail, 12 Meadow Pipit, 5 Chaffinches, 14 Linnet and 15 Goldfinches.
A Ring Ouzel female at North End, a couple of Eurasian Teal on Pondsbury, a passage of hirundines and a flock of 120 Puffins were the highlights by allcomers today.
Ringing
A very short session this morning was soon hampered by drizzle that seemed to just be falling in Millcombe as the top of the valley was very humid and close. However, some lunch and a post-rain session resulted in another hour in Millcombe but absolutely no birds were caught and to make matters worse, the rain came back again.
April 3rd Sightings - You're so Golden
A really nice day with Swallows, Sand Martins, Willow Warblers and Wheatears seen.
A change from the migrant inspiring southernly winds quickly changed to a westerly wind overnight. This seemed to have sturred a little displacement of some of our long distance, high Arctic waders leading to a small arrival on the island. This was noted when a Eurasian Curlew was heard in flight and a Golden Plover was seen flying over the Village heading South, both the first of the year. This latter was in summer plumage and presumably dropped in on the south coast, but it was uncertain where this bird ended up. However, later in the morning, when Lucy and Thomas were tasked to chase the Goats out of ¼ Wall, a brief interlude occurred when Lucy stumbled across a presumably new Golden Plover on the path just in front of Quarry Cottages. This was very peculiar. The bird was unfazed by the presence of the duo and continued feeding around the building. After talking to a few passersby, the team went to complete a Fulmar survey at Gannet’s Rock and found 67 on their usual ledges, as well as a female Merlin and a couple of nearby Peregrines too. On the way back, a check of the plover did not yield any success, but Lucy did it again and found a new flock of 4 Golden Plover in Brick Field including three in summer plumage and a different individual to the one photographed above. This was very exciting, and it was great to inform the guests of these waders. Their plumage being so immaculate and black extending from the head to lower belly indicated these were most likely heading to the Icelandic/Faeroes population and were of the northern race P.a. altifrons.
A Golden Plover at Quarry Cottages. ©Thomas Weston
Alongside the flyover waders, census was productive with 3 Woodpigeons, 115 Herring Gulls, 20 Lesser Black-backed gulls, 11 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Razorbills, single Fulmar, single gannet, 3 Shag, Kestrel, 28 Carrion Crows, 6 Ravens, 3 Skylarks, 3 Swallows, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs, 7 Goldcrest, 5 Wren, 63 Starling, 4 Blackbirds, 5 Redwing, single singing Song Thrush, 5 Robins, single Stonechat, 5 Dunnocks, 12 House Sparrows, Meadow Pipit, 5 Chaffinches, single flyover Linnet and 3 Goldfinches.
Ringing
An nocturnal session resulted in 32 Snipe (2 caught and ringed), 2 Jack Snipe, a Meadow Pipit, 2 Skylarks (both caught and ringed) and 4 Golden Plover (all caught and ringed) seen. We also heard at least 4 Manx Shearwaters and a single Redwing.