Bird Sightings

By Thomas Weston

A day where SE winds should have given more than they did, in my opinion.

There was a nice census undertaken today whereby 40 species were seen in total, a new high count for the month so far....

One of the most numerous species today, the Meadow Pipit in Brick Field by Thomas Weston

These included: 30 Swallows, 52 Linnets, 12 Robins, 6 Ravens, 3 Whitethroats, 3 Blackbirds, 2 Stonechats, 3 Feral Pigeons, 7 Wrens, 13 Shags, 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Goldcrest, single Dunnock, single Chaffinch, single Rock Pipit, an impressive 104 Meadow Pipits, 7 Manx Shearwaters, single Woodpigeon, 5 Great Black-Backed Gulls, 4 Herring Gulls, single Goldfinch, one flyover Yellow Wagtail, a Sparrowhawk over Barton Field, an Oystercatcher, 3 Kestrels, 17 Carrion Crows, single Lesser Black Backed Gull, 3 Wheatears, 89 Starlings, 3 Pied Wagtails, single Fulmar, single Gannet, 2 Kittiwakes, 7 Mallards, a new in female type Teal on Quart Wall Pond, 3 Alba Wagtails, single Ringed Plover over the Terraces, 2 Peregrines chasing each other, and 3 House Sparrows. 

Later in the morning, a subsequent look around Millcombe yeilded a Firecrest. 

Elsewhere, a couple of Lesser Emporers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, and a Whinchat were around the Terraces and all spotted by Greg. A Dunlin over Jenny's Cove was seen by Emma, and some sad news came in the form of one of the Glossy Ibis were found dead around Punchbowl Valley. This was the second of the two birds that appeared, the juvenile was showing very well in Barton's Field for a couple of days, but this must have been the one seen with it a few days ago. This bird was photographed by a couple of climbers and walkers, and subsequently identified as an adult. 

By Greg Lee

With clear skies overnight and a slackening of the breeze, it perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise that there was a good arrival of migrants. Perhaps it is a bit too early to call it an Indian summer, since summer itself only really just ended, but it was a gorgeous early September day with sunshine and plenty of heat. First thing, I joined Ian and Rosie (our Manx Shearwater ringing team) in heading to Millcombe to set the nets up. As we reached Secret Garden, there was a big flock of Blackcaps in the area, with birds seemingly everywhere in the bushes. What followed was a rather steady September ringing session, with a few Blackcaps moving through. Then, it was time for census, and the main Blackcap flock was relocated at the top of Millcombe, with some Whitethroats. I estimated at least 40 of the former although they seemed to be moving around in a very mobile group. A flyover Dunlin and Ringed Plover were nice, as was a small increase in Willow Warblers but there was little in the way of surprises, although a loafing Sparrowhawk was doing its best to become a public menace to the Starling flock. At the Terrace, it was even busier with around 60 Blackcaps working their way southward along the Quarries. Having experienced falls like this at Sandwich Bay, often, although very magical, discerning other species is difficult amongst the mass of Blackcaps and it was no different here with few other migrants being picked out amongst the ample supply of grey Sylvia warblers. A Clouded Yellow was my first for a couple of days, I’ve been reading recent reports elsewhere of counts of 1000+ of this wonderful butterfly species at some sites, surely this year must be approaching a record total for Lundy?

Willow Warbler at the Terrace by G.Lee

What followed was a rather busy day which saw me heading out on the Butterfly transect in the heat of the afternoon. Although butterflies were in good supply, the main sighting came on the Upper East Path when a large Dragonfly caught my eye. Particularly as this one had grabbed a hapless Red Admiral in flight. However, it then did something that so rarely the large dragonflies do here and it perched. When it did, I realised it had an electric-blue saddle, apple-green eyes and a brown/violet thorax, it was a Lesser Emperor! The first Lundy record of what is an ever-increasing but impressive dragonfly species. Since my previous experience had resulted in some rather poor in-flight shots, I was thrilled to obtain a perched image of this smart insect. Elsewhere, our rather special visitor in the Glossy Ibis was also seen at times today, enjoying the vicinity of Barton Field to admiring viewers including other island staff!

Lesser Emperor by G.Lee

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By Eleanor Harris

Today started off with a rather foggy and damp morning, a continuation of last nights eerie weather. As I did not have to start work till 12 noon I joined Thomas for our daily census loop. It started off as foggy on the top but dropping into Milcombe this cleared. There had been an arrival with Robins filling the valley with birdsong. A good mix of species included Pied Flycatcher, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Stonechat and adult and juvenile Blackbirds. It is amazing how yesterday the valley was a different story with everything sheltering from the persisting storm. 

Carrying on the route it was amazing to see how localised fog and mist patches were with the end of the island cloaked in mist and the south relatively free with sea level clear and bright. Looking out to see we had a nice mix of Gannets, Manx Shearwater, Kittiwakes and Fulmar but it is noticeable how numbers of Manx Shearwaters are slowly decreasing with many starting their migration to South America. 

Continuing on the route we hit the fog patch just after Rocket Pole with the number of birds increasing dramatically. It is interesting to see how weather changes affects bird numbers and what is visible. The mist continued from this point on with the air becoming slightly muggy, a change from the cool weather of the early morning. 

Heading back to the village we both got ready for the day with some tea and toast had with the staff when we arrived back, Lundy tradition. 

Meanwhile we heard a report of two Glossy Ibis from Greg yesterday, and that one of them decided to remain as per one of our visitors. One of the Ibises flew down to the village and was spotted by our Ranger team heading into Barton’s field. This caused much excitement and due to its accessible location many people got to see this bird including staff from their Barton’s Houses. What a treat it was to have this bird arrive so in my break I went to take a look. We will see how long this bird will stay.