Bird Sightings

By Thomas Weston

Last night was mostly wind, rain and hail, so to wake up to a glimmer of sunlight was a nice change to yesterday’s weather. The wind did not die down until the afternoon, and hail showers passed through throughout the morning, but it was great to be out.

Pair of Mallards in Rocket Pole Pond - Don't forget to record breeding evidence. ©Thomas Weston

Census started well with a few Chaffinches calling in Millcombe, and our hardy flock of 6 Woodpigeons sheltering just below Government trying to get out of the wind. The Landing Bay was something from another world with flat conditions making it easy to pick out our winter plumaged Great Northern Diver close offshore. Walking round to Benjamin’s Chair was a different state of play, with towering waves and no auks on show today. However, a friendly pair of Stonechat and a flock of very peachy Meadow Pipits were nice to see. Rocket Pole held a pair of Mallards. We have started recording any signs of breeding evidence on the island so if you spot any birds showing signs of breeding (singing, nest building, presence in good habitat, feeding chicks etc) then please let us know.

Female Sparrowhawk in the Lambing Shed ©Tom Carr

My first hail storm soaking of the day followed as I walked through South West Field. However, a small flock of Herring, Great Black-Backed and Lesser Black Backed Gulls were a good consolation. The Airfield was quiet, and missing the daily sheep feeding resulted in slightly lower numbers of Carrion Crows today. A brief bit of sunshine resulted in two singing Skylarks whilst another nice flock of Meadow Pipits near Quarter Wall were lovely to see. Quarter Wall Copse was very quiet and the walk back to the Village did not yield many birds. However, farmer Tom sent a great photo of a female Sparrowhawk in the Lambing Shed, after a tasty House Sparrow or Starling methinks.

Spot the Cormorant!

Admin and lunch called but a brief chat to Lundy regular Myra was very lovely. She has just arrived to the island for a short stay and within an hour she had already found a potential Cormorant in the Landing Bay. A scarce species and the first for the year so a quick walk to drop bits off in the Gas Store resulted in confirming the Cormorant as well as seeing a distant Red-throated Diver flying in from the North, and a resting Guillemot as well as gulls heading from the Mainland from the East. A great day and a productive one too!

By Thomas Weston

Today has been a day of wind, wind, wind! Gusts of up to 40mph have battled the island from the west and resulted in low cloud and drizzly outbursts of rain too making Lundy particularly wet and windy today.

However, wind did not stop census today. It was a quiet one for sure with nothing more than 6 Woodpigeons, a single Wren who flew into my legs, and a female Sparrowhawk perched by Old School being the only species of note in Millcombe – in fact the only species seen in Millcombe!! It is amazingly hard to imagine that deep in the undergrown there are Robins, Dunnocks and Blackbirds thinking about breeding soon. Not to mention all those migrants waiting to come over to the island and pass through to breeding grounds further North!

Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls at the Watertanks. ©ThomasWeston

The strong west winds resulted in a sheltered Landing Bay with a small flock of Shag hidden close to the shore and a single Oystercatcher on the rocks. Alas no sign of the Great Northern Diver today, though it could well be out there somewhere amongst the waves. Walking into a blown-out St John’s Valley, and eye watering views over Benjamin’s Chair resulted in no birds being seen, however some impressive big waves and being intermittently blown sideways was the ‘highlight’. Southwest fields yielded a couple of Meadow Pipits, though they stayed low and sheltered. The Lighthouse Fields and the Watertanks Pool was productive for gulls, with large flocks totalling 288 Herring Gulls, 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 11 Great-Black Backed Gulls. There were a few Mallards on the Pool and a few suspect pairs in prime breeding areas so we hope they are soon to be sat on eggs when the weather warms up! Back to the Airfield and the usual Skylark was seen, not singing his heart out but hunkered in some long grass looking rather cold. Quarter Wall and the walk back into the Village was wet and windy, though invigorating to be out in weather so extreme.

The Conservation Team then met up for hot drinks and a chat about some upcoming projects, exciting times ahead and we look forward to bringing more updates to you when we can. However, with the weather closing in even more and cloud cloaking the island, this afternoon’s bird reports are few and far between, though a female Merlin at Castles was seen by one of the staff.

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.