Bird Sightings

By Eleanor Harris

Today really feels like the first day that spring has sprung on the island since we arrived with warm and mild weather after the cold from the storm. A real and noticeable change has come with many signs around of what is going come. It was a beautiful morning to be out and about for sure. On my walk to work in Housekeeping I had a few Starlings showing well and some rather friendly House Sparrows outside the laundry a nice start to the day. 

Whilst I was Housekeeping this morning Thomas headed off to complete census with some of the highlights being a Female Sparrowhawk, Jackdaw, Male Kestrel on Quarry Cottages and 18 Pied Wagtails. Signs of spring are all around the island with birds starting to think about breading so some exiting few months ahead of us, but we will keep you all posted on this so watch this space!!

Meanwhile, Simon and the team headed up North to Gannets Combe to continue tree planting with the help of some of our guests. A very successful time was had, and we look forward to you seeing the efforts of their hard work when you visit next.

Landing Bay View ©EleanorHarris

At my tea and toast break I decided to head for a short walk to see what I could find in Millcombe.  It was great to be out and about on such a clear day with views of the mainland, the first for many days. I headed to the Ugly and on my way saw a Robin and a few Dunnocks. The highlight came with a Red Throated Diver hanging out in the Landing Bay, lovely to see in full summer plumage!

Before heading back to work it was great to have some outside time and feel the warm sun after the cold and grey days. Signs of spring are around with a Peacock and a Large White Butterfly seen in Millcombe and the Village which are some of the first of the new season.

Whilst working we had reports of a Basking Shark in the Landing Bay from two staff members and their guests, this was a rather exciting as they are rarely seen from Lundy. Tara rushed down to the bay but was unable to catch a glimpse of this elusive creature. After work both me and Thomas went to have a look from the Castle but sadly it had moved on before we reached the area. On the way though we did have some excellent views of a female Merlin looking rather dramatic against the clear open Lundy skies. It was not a wasted trip as we had some incredible views of a Gannet feeding in the bay with three Shags. It is rare to see then this close, so it was super cool and a great finish to the working day.

Camping Field View. ©Eleanor Harris

The plan for the evening is to relax and do some Night Catching the first of the season. Overall, it has been a great day with signs of spring surrounding the island and beautiful clear skies. We will see what the weather brings in the next day or so and how spring progresses on the island.

Snipe in the hand and ringed under licence. ©Eleanor Harris

A little update on our Night Catching was that it was a great evening overall with a Common Snipe and a Skylark ringed and processed on a calm and clear night. We will keep you posted throughout the upcoming season on our nighttime adventures!!

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.