Bird Sightings

by Greg Lee

Wow! It was nice to wake up to a day with cloud and coolness in the air, following a very brief dosing of rain during the night, the first for many, many weeks. As it was still windy, census was understandably quieter with Willow Warblers just edging into double-figures across the entire duration of the patrol. However, the overcast skies made seawatching quite tempting with Manx Shearwaters clearly skimming over the waves, though I was desperately hoping some of the larger Shearwaters being reported off the Cornish coast would come into view. As I walked down the Beach road, I noted a few young gulls in the water, mostly Herring Gulls, but one particular bird seemed to be enjoying doing aerobatics, flying up and rapidly diving down. As I quite enjoy a bit of Gull photography, particularly young gulls with all the patterning to their plumage, I decided to snap some photographs when I became acutely aware of this bird having a striking white upper tail with a neat black tailband, quite unlike any Herring Gull at this age. Looking at the head, there was also a distinctive shawl along with a clean belly and axillaries on the underwing. Realising as many photos as possible was a good thing, I identified that this bird was a Caspian Gull, just the 2^nd record on Lundy, after Thomas and Eleanor spotting the first in early spring, of this increasing species in the UK. As it was still quite fresh moulting to 1^st-winter plumage, the head wasn’t as pale and standout as it will be over winter, but certainly it was still distinctive enough to catch the eye. All that time spent looking and sifting through winter gull flocks on various estuaries, rubbish dumps and even freshwater areas has certainly paid off this time.

Caspian Gull underside by G.Lee

Caspian Gull by G.Lee

The rest of the walk was quite quiet with the low cloud making for quite a different feeling compared to the glorious sunny weather the island had experienced over the past month or so. Butterflies were much reduced with Painted Ladies leading the charge with just seven individuals during my walk. The Linnet flocks remain impressive, whilst like clockwork, every time I reach Quarter Wall gate on census, my warm mammalian blood seems to always attract the attention of horseflies. Fortunately, as they are used to biting large livestock such as Cows and Horses, they aren’t quite used to their victims being armed with hands that can cover almost the entirety of their body, therefore they can be swatted away very easily. I believe this particular species of horsefly is Notch-horned Cleg (Haematopota pluvialis), however I’m open to suggestions of other species. Although they are trying to saw at my flesh, I do find the striking pattern of the eyes quite beautiful, though this is appreciated only quickly before my blood is drawn.

The rest of the day was spent in a horsefly free environment with lots of seabird data needing compiling and entering now the season has finished. Notably, I was on Kittiwakes which sadly saw the Aztec birds being plundered very quickly by other avian predators. However, in better news, lots of young Kittiwakes are now fledgling and swirling safely in Jenny’s Cove!

In the evening, members of the Conservation Team went out to catch some Wheatears. With the full moon, it was a harder ordeal, but we were treated to some beautiful noctilucent clouds drifting over from the high Arctic. Three Wheatears were caught though, one being new and the others being re-traps from previous sessions. There does seem to have been a reduction in Wheatear numbers recently, are the juveniles leaving the island already?!

by Greg Lee

Census today with a breeze and heavy dew in the morning making for a cool start as I got out of my tent. Millcombe appeared quiet to begin with, Willow Warblers just tipping over into double-figures in the morning. Interestingly, a young newly fledged Song Thrush was a notable sighting. This indicates that our ever-present male during spring actually did find a mate, though just clearly enjoyed the sound of his own voice. One of the Blackbirds was in heavy moult, having been run ragged by the demands of his chicks through spring, it was clearly enjoying spending time hiding and moulting its feathers. I then found a pair of Blackbird wings on the Beach looking quite like a predated pair of Manx Shearwater wings, indicating one juvenile hadn't quite made it.  Migrant Hawkers are starting to become daily features of census now and I spotted several of these dragonflies on the wing during the morning, but I was also lucky to see one perched and obtain a photo near Government House.

Migrant Hawker by G.Lee

The Channel Wagtails were around Rocket Pole, one noisily calling, whilst a Kestrel was also hovering over the site, enjoying the slight raise in the breeze. Offshore, a few Kittiwakes looked absolutely tiny against the waves, whilst the larger Gannets were soaring distantly across the water. At Stoneycroft garden, which is quickly turning into one of my favourite sites to check, I stopped and waited, staring at the two small bushes in the centre of the garden. Lo and behold, a Reed Warbler soon appeared and enjoyed skulking through the vegetation, just another species to add to a strong roster at this spot so far this autumn. What else will occur? A Willow Warbler nearby was also welcomed but most of the birds around the garden were Linnets, with several other large congregations seen at various points across the census route. Meadow Pipits too are becoming even more conspicuous, the buff-coloured juveniles looking quite distinctive compared to their parents.

Reed Warbler by G.Lee

Over the Airfield, my first Whimbrel of autumn bubbled away, though remained unseen. Hopefully we may get some rain to provide standing water for when wader passage really ramps up, though we may need a lot on our parched island! The usual spot near Pointless Wall also delivered a Sedge Warbler flushed from the Bracken before it dived into deep cover. As I headed back into the Village, a Swift whizzed over northwards.

Then it was office work time with some seabird data and general Bird Observatory data needing inputting. An important and interesting task to do now that the seabird season is over. It will be interesting to see the results of the long hours of work that Emma and I put into the seabird monitoring from mid-May into the middle of July. As I stepped out of the Tavern after my KP shift, I walked through the Laundry garden where I was amazed to see 100+ Silver Ys all nectaring on the bush in the garden, clearly some moth migration was afoot!

Other sightings of note today included a Black-headed Gull seen by Thomas in the Landing Bay mid-morning and just nine Puffins seen at Jenny’s from the Seabird Station by Jessie.

by Thomas Weston

The day started with a walk around the census route with Eleanor as it was our day off.

Willow Warbler by ThomasWeston

We are now seeing migration daily, the lull of summer has lifted and for the couple of weeks or so we have been seeing a nice pulse of Willow Warblers and the first few other migrant species. With the cliffs as bare as rock, census shifts from flocks of auks to passing Gannets, Manx Shearwaters and today, a large feeding frenzy of over 270 Kittiwakes. A whale, perhaps, but on this occasion we will never know!

Migration overhead/or birds actively moving through the island is what we refer to as 'vismig', quite simply Visible Migration, and it will be a term we use a lot soon! Well, we hope so...

Unringed juvenile Song Thrush by Thomas Weston

A Yellow Wagtail over Benjamin's Chair was undoubtably a migrant species, as well as the little 'flock(?)' of six Migrant Hawker dragonflies circling above the chair in the lee of the wind. In Millcombe, the highlight was indeed 2 Song Thrushes. We have had an already ringed male hanging around for months, singing his heart out and not attracting a mate. This male we know has been present for the past two years, leaving the island every late summer/autumn and returning again in spring. The only guesses we have of where it goes is based on the song – mimicing Curlew, Greenshank, Grey Squirrel, Chough, must mean somewhere near the coast? In France, Devon or Cornwall? Anyway, we recently caught another male and ringed this one at the bottom of Millcombe. But today, a nice obvious juvenile was seen. Was this born on island but not seen by any of us for months? It can't be, it's still got a bit of a gape! Did census not being undertaken in June lead to a secret brood being born and raised? Either way, this juvenile is a stunner - a classic fresh bird which could have migrated quite a distance or could have been born a lot closer to home! We shall never know.

Census finished with flocks of post-breeding finches, a flock of 5 Stonechats, and 11 Skylarks in the Airfield alongside a plethora of other species around.

Painted Lady in the Village by Thomas Weston

The rest of the day was spent admiring our thriving Painted Lady butterflies, Hummingbird Hawk-moths, and the range of other pollinators visiting the flowers. We checked on a brood of Swallows in the Timekeeper's Hut, finding they were of ringable stage, and saw the Channel Wagtail pair at nearby Quarter Wall Pond. 

By Tara McEvoy-Wilding

Thursday was yet another sunny day on Lundy. Whilst I did some office work, Thomas did census where he sighted a Ringed Plover at Benjamins Chair and and the pair of Channel Wagtails at Quarter Wall Pond. Before long it was time to head down to the boat. Sadly in the Landing Bay the first seal pup of the year was spotted floating dead near Christies Quay. We don't know what caused it's death but it was only ~3 days old.

Me and Thomas met Roy Dennis and his partner Moira off of the Oldenburg. Roy Dennis was the Assistant Warden on Lundy in 1958 and hadn't returned since so it was an exciting day. After leaving Lundy, he moved to Fair Isle and has played a key part in restoring populations of White-tailed Eagle, Osprey, Red Kite and Goldeneye amongst other species in the UK over the last 60 years! He is currently in the area as he is helping with the reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to Exmoor!

After doing the landrover lifts up the hill and a quick pasty we set off for Old Light, where Roy and the Warden used to live and we climbed the steps to the top to enjoy the view. Roy pointed out where Heligoland Traps used to be located, as these were the main locations for ringing on the island. As well as the Terrace trap which is still in place today, there were traps at Quarter Wall and in Stoneycroft Paddock. Millcombe was generally out of bounds for birding as it was the Harman family's private area of the island.

We then wandered up the west coast to the site of the Manx Shearwater artifcial nest boxes where we checked on a couple of chicks and told Roy about the project and the success Manx Shearwaters have had on Lundy since the rats were eradicated 20 years ago. 

We hopped back in the Landrover and drove up the island towards Tibbetts, stopping along the way. We learnt that Pondsbury used to be smaller and without an island as there wasn't a dam on the westside to hold the water in and Roy told us about going to visit Mr Tibbett when he was assistant warden. By this point we were running out of time so we headed back to the village and Thomas, Roy and Moira walked down through Millcombe while I did the lifts down.

It was great to have Roy visit the island and learn about what life was like on Lundy when he was doing my job! Hopefully we will be seeing White-tailed Eagles visiting Lundy from Exmoor soon!