Bird Sightings

A change in wind direction and reduction in wind speeds after Storm Amy this week. A slower couple of days to start the week, picking up with a few pulses of Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Blackcap as the week has progressed.  As the winds swung northerly we welcomed a few birds from northern climes, with 2 Whooper Swans flying N over Pondsbury on 8th and 3 Snow Buntings in-off above North Light on the same day. Reed Bunting are popping up again with singles on 6th, 9th and 10th, and members of the LFS field studies group were delighted to encounter a very showy Lapland Bunting on the track at Pondsbury on 10th. 

Lapland Bunting, Pondsbury - M. English

Up to three Water Rail are calling in Millcombe, with an individual heard by the terrace several times too. A single Black-headed Gull flew N from the Ugly on 5th and a Great Skua was seen from the castle heading W on 7th.  Two Curlew flew NW over the Ugly on 5th and a single was heard on the 6th. A single Sanderling dropped into the track on Castle Hill on census on the 5th and was later seen at Pondsbury. It was a good day for waders, with a flock of four Redshank passing over the village. Ringed Plover singles have been recorded again daily since the 8th, and a flock of six Golden Plover on 7th flew over the village but weren't seen again. Great coverage by visiting birders saw 13 Snipe recorded on 8th.

Sanderling, Castle Hill - A. Croudace

A Great White Egret, just island's sixth record after the first in 2020 was a great find when it flew over Millcombe heading NW on the 9th, seen by four observers but clearly on a mission, with no photos nor resightings. Up to three Sparrowhawk are regularly seen and finally some Merlin arrived, with three seen all over the island on 9th and two seen on 10th. With no significant thrush movement yet there's not a huge amount of prey available, and all of the pigeons have already succumbed to the Peregrine Falcons, of which up to six are recorded daily. The Peregrines have been watched hunting Linnet and Starling this week, clearly having to resort to smaller items on the menu. Hirundines are petering out with totals ranging from 43 and 178 this week, with a couple of House Martin also and a single Sand Martin.

Nice Skylark passage on 9th totalled 85 birds at log including a very high flock of 35 over Millcombe first thing, although wagtail passage has dropped off significantly, with just three Grey Wagtails and small numbers of Alba Wagtails all week. A fairly late Tree Pipit was heard over Millcombe on 9th. Our third Yellow-browed Warbler of 2025 was heard in Quarter Wall Copse on the 9th too. Our second Red-breasted Flycatcher of the autumn is favouring St Helen's Copse, present 8-10th and extremely vocal, proving very entertaining to watch. Spotted Flycatcher lingered until the 8th, and Pied Flycatcher are still dropping in, with another new bird ringed on 10th. A juvenile Common Redstart was also ringed on 10th, the only record of the month apart from two on 6th. A stunning male Black Redstart was a fairly early record, seen below the Beach Road on 5th.

Three Garden Warbler arrived with 48 Blackcap on 7th, our highest count for this week. Firecrest numbers had dwindled to one or two at the start of the week but are now bolstered back up to either birds, accompanied by around ~25-50 Goldcrest, with a peak of 87 on 9th. In an exceptional year for Treecreepers another two birds have been seen and ringed in Millcombe this week, making that three individuals thus far in 2025. A couple of long-winged migrant Chaffinches have been ringed but we are still awaiting the finch movement to start with gusto! Up to 10 Siskin have been seen on a more regularl basis this week with one Redpoll on the 9th and one Greenfinch on the 6th.

A juvenile Rose-coloured Starling was new in today, a bird that has become just about annual since 2014. Ring Ouzel singles have been recorded on the 6th (west side 3/4 wall) and 9th (south of The Ugly). A single Song Thrush was ringed in Millcombe on 10th.

1st winter Rose-Coloured Starling by the Airfield. A. Croudace

An overdue first for Lundy finally fell today when a DUSKY WARBLER was picked up calling vociferously on census. It was rummaging around the overgrown vegetation in Millcombe Pond before briefly bursting out of cover onto some brambles where it allowed a brief but good look plus a record shot. The bird was followed as it worked its way up the Millcombe allotments, starting on the ground before moving on some higher vegetation. It was then lost just below slope net, but turned up minutes later in the next net round in secret garden! It was resighted later in the morning very briefely after ringing, skulking in vegetation above the Gas Shed. 

Dusky Warbler in the hand. A Croudace

1st and 2nd October were very quiet, with most birds from the busy end of September falls departing. Storm Amy then arrived on 3rd and 4th, with very poor visibility hampering any birding on 3rd, and an appallingly quiet census and log! The winds picked up late morning on the 3rd with heavy showers and max gusts of 55mph (Force 9) on 3rd and 4th.

Just a couple of Firecrest remain after a brilliant run in late September, with Goldcrest numbers falling from around 20 on 1st and 2nd to half that latterly. Despite small numbers of Siskin and the odd single Redpoll starting to pass over recently, there is a notable absence of much finch migration thus far - checking data from last year we had our first 'in-off' flock of Chaffinches on the 21st September, but records in 2025 are still pretty exclusively attriuted to the half dozen local breeding birds. This should start to change very soon, and morning vigils at Government Platform will be accompanied by an ever-increasing churruping and tinkling! The influx of Greenfinches that we have recently enjoyed has been petering out, with just singles recorded on 2nd and 3rd. Blackcap have reduced from 7 birds on 1st and 2nd to 2 on 3rd and 4th, but a single Garden Warbler on the Upper East was nice on the 2nd. A single Spotted Flycatcher on the 1st has the potential to be our last record of the year! 

Best bird of this period probably goes to a flighty Turtle Dove on the airfield and around Quarter Wall on the 2nd.

One or two Snipe are recorded most days, and Storm Amy pushed what must be the entirity of the island Oystercatcher population round to Miller's Cake, where 28 were roosting on morning of 4th, sheltered from the Force 8 westerly. On the raptor front a male and female Sparrowhawk are both frequently seen around Millcombe, as well as two male Kestrel and daily records of Peregrine Falcon. Hirundines have petered out to practically nothing, with 2 Swallow on 4th. A Yellow Wagtail went over on census on 2nd, with two Grey Wagtail on 1st. 

A seawatch from the castle on the morning of 4th produced 130 Gannet moving west, 15 Kittiwake moving North and a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Herring Gulls.

The weather forecast now looks favourable for a larger influx of migrant in the coming week, and with a great number of birders staying on the island stay tuned for hopefully a busier period of sightings incoming! North end has been chronically under monitored for about a week and so we're looking forward to much more thorough coverage.

The last two days of September have been full of surprises with an American passerine, the Grey-cheeked Thrush ringed in Millcombe on the 29th, only the second for the island.

Grey-cheeked Thrush A. Croudace

Other ringing highlights included the first autumn passage Yellow-browed Warbler, Redstart and Treecreeper. A second Yellow-browed Warbler was also found in Quarter Wall Copse. Large numbers of Blackcap, Goldcrest and Meadow Pipit were present on the island with 102, 60 and 254 counted respectively. Other species recorded within Millcombe included 4 Firecrest, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Greenfinch and a Song Thrush. A variety of passerine species were noted passing over the Island with 4 Grey Wagtail, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Redpoll and 18 Siskin the highlights among more common species including Swallow and Meadow Pipit. A Whinchat was also recorded. Other notable non-passerine species included a Water Rail in Millcombe, and a single Grey Heron, Ringed Plover and Sparrowhawk.

Yellow-browed Warbler A. Croudace

There were no sightings of the Grey-cheeked Thrush on 30th, however, a single Yellow-browed Warbler and 3 Firecrest remained in Millcombe. Greenfinch numbers were back up to 11 with a single Redpoll, 7 Siskin, 1 Grey Wagtail and a Song Thrush observed in Millcombe. The Water Rail and Grey Heron were still present and a single Golden Plover was seen briefly circling above the Village during the afternoon. 

Visual migration or “vismig” was the theme of the week with high numbers of hirundines passing. There was 6200 Swallow, 286 Sand Martin and 139 House Martin on the 22nd, with 3000, 66 and 98 of the same species respectively recorded on the 23rd. 2 Yellow Wagtail were seen passing on the 23rd and 26th, along with Grey Wagtails recorded every day at counts of up to 7, 3 White Wagtails every day from the 22nd-24th and passage of up to 20 “alba” wagtails. Skylark passage peaked at 48 this week, Meadow Pipit numbers increased to 363 on the 28th, with all day of the week above 100. 3 Tree Pipit were recorded on the 25th, a Lapland Bunting seen flying over the Airfield on the 26th, 2 Redpoll on the 28th, Siskin passage every day, with daily counts up to 11 and 2 Chaffinch seen migrating off the Island from Benjamin’s Chair.

Warbler numbers were at some of the highest for the Autumn with 114 Chiffchaff on the 22nd and 90 on the 23rd, and 225 Blackcap on the 22nd and 81 on the 23rd. Other warblers present included a Sedge Warbler on the 22nd and 25th, a Reed Warbler on the 24th, 26th and 28th, a Grasshopper Warbler on the 23rd, up to 2 Garden Warbler on the 22nd, 24th, 26th and 28th, a Whitethroat on the 22nd and 28th and up to 6 Willow Warbler gradually declining in number throughout the week. Firecrest numbers were up, with high counts of 15 on the 25th and 28th, with Goldcrest numbers also high, rising to 74 on the 28th.

The initial signs of thrush passage was evident this week with the first Redwing of the Autumn recorded on the 25th with 5 birds present. A single Redwing was also recorded on the 26th, with a Ring Ouzel spotted on the 22nd and a Song Thrush on the 28th. 

Other notable passerine sightings this week included a Treecreeper spotted in St Helen’s Copse on the 28th, a Wryneck ringed in Millcombe on the 22nd, with a single bird also seen on the Terrace on the 22nd, 23rd and 25th. Redstart were observed on the 23rd, 25th and 26th, with 1, 3 and 2 seen on these dates respectively. Whinchat were also present this week with individuals seen on the 22nd, 23rd, 26th and 27th, with the highest count of 3 on the 22nd. A single Reed Bunting was seen on the 23rd and 27th, and Greenfinch noted every day from 23rd-28th, with the highest recorded count at 11. A Red-breasted Flycatcher was spotted on the Terrace on the 26th, being harassed by the Robin and Pied Flycatcher in the area. Low numbers of both Spotted and Pied Flyactcher were also present. The highest ever single day count of Rock Pipit on the island was recorded on the 26th, with 64 birds noted from a full island count.

Red-breasted Flycatcher P. Holt

The first Osprey of the year was recorded flying out over Rat Island on the 26th, and a Hobby was seen on the 22nd flying over Millcombe, likely following the high numbers of hirundines. The number of Sparrowhawk on the island is now up to 4. 

Hobby A. Croudace

Wader passage was lower this week, although still produced a nice selection of species including Snipe every day and Ringed Plover every day except the 27th, with counts of up to 7 and 4 respectively, a Green Sandpiper and Golden Plover on the 22nd, a Curlew on the 24th and a Lapwing on the 25th. The highlight was a Curlew Sandpiper heading south around 0920 on the 28th, heard from the track by the Lambing Shed and glimpsed in flight. The same bird was also flushed from a puddle on the track above St John's around 2100 on the same day in the dark, but has not been seen again. This is the first record since 2004, with very little suitable habitat on Lundy. In a year with a notable national autumn influx, presumably as a result of a successful breeding season for this species, it certainly felt like the best chance in a while Lundy was going to have of recording this lovely wader again, and so it is pleasing to see this come through.

Strong passage of Kittiwake and Auk was observed between the 22nd and 26th, with high counts of 846 Kittiwake and 501 Auk noted on the 25th.  7 Razorbill were seen off the North End as well as a Pomarine Skua on the 25th, as well as single Skua Sp. passing distantly on the 24th and 25th.

Other notable species included a Teal on the 27th, up to 3 Water Rail back on the Island encountered every day, Grey Heron every day, with a high of 8 on the 24th, including a passing flock of 7, and Cormorant flyovers every day from the 22nd-26th, culminating in the passage of 21 birds on the 26th.