Bird Sightings

A beautiful juvenile Wryneck was caught and ringed at the Terrace Heligoland, an all too infrequently encountered species these days, due to habitat loss. Since this, a Wryneck has been seen about the terrace daily, presumably the same bird. This seemed to be the signal for autumn migration to begin in full flow, and we have had a flurry of exciting sightings over the last few days.

Wryneck, caught in the Terrace Heligoland. F. Turner, August 19

A first for the autumn, one Firecrest was seen in Millcombe on both the 19th and 20th, and one Goldcrest in Quarter Wall Copse, also on the 20th. A male Common Redstart was found on the Terraces on the 19th and both this and a Whinchat seen on the Castle Path on the 20th were also the first for the autumn on Lundy. A final first passerine migrant since spring, three Tree Pipit passed over the Island on the 20th.

Beating the count of 22 on the 15th, 36 Spotted Flycatcher were recorded during census and along the East Coast on the 20th, along with six Pied Flycatcher. Nine Swift were seen on the 19th, and three on the 20th. Two House Martin were noted on the 19th, and a further three on the 20th along with six Sand Martin. On the 18th, two Yellow Wagtail were heard in Barton's Field; only one was seen, an unringed juvenile, so presumably these birds are migrants rather than those which bred/were hatched on Lundy this year.

A pale morph Buzzard was spotted above Millcombe before travelling north up the East Coast on the 20th. Another nice raptor sighting, a possible male Sparrowhawk was recorded on the 19th, and a confirmed sighting of a male at Rocket Pole on the 20th followed.

In terms of warblers, decent numbers were counted on census and along the East Coast on the 20th, including 63 Willow Warbler, three Grasshopper Warbler and three Whitethroat.

Five Cormorant flew past Jenny's Cove on the 20th, heading North.

A Curlew was heard over Ackland's Moor on the 18th. A single Redshank was heard and seen about Pondsbury on both the 18th and 19th, while two Greenshank flew south from Rocket Pole on the 20th. Also on the 20th, a Ringed Plover was heard passing Quarter Wall on the West Coast, two Green Sandpiper visited Pondsbury, two Turnstone were seen below Montagu's Steps, and two Snipe were also noted near Quarter Wall. Two Snipe were also present on the 19th, these at Pondsbury.

A night time mist netting session of Storm Petrel gained 6 retraps and 35 new birds on the night of the 19th, along with two Manx Shearwater. A fledgling Manx Shearwater, rather lost, was found bewildered in the Black Shed in the morning and was ringed before being returned to the slopes.

Whinchat. J. Parker, August 20

It was a big day for Willow Warbler migration on the 15th, with 102 counted on census, and 132 seen in the day as a whole. Other warbler passage to note on this day includes nine Whitethroat and three Sedge Warbler; the latter were ringed in Millcombe. The 15th was also the first bumper day of the autumn for Spotted Flycatcher, with 22 noted. One Pied Flycatcher was ringed in Millcombe and a further bird seen throughout the day.

Pied Flycatcher. J. Parker

We have had a very small push of hirundines recently, three Sand Martin passing over Hanmer's Cottage on the 14th and 15 across the Island on the 15th, and one House Martin over the Village on the 17th. 

Wader passage is beginning to increase, several species noted across the last few days. On the 14th a Whimbrel was heard faintly calling from several locations across the South End of the Island. On the 15th a Curlew called below Brick Field and a Common Sandpiper was heard in the Landing Bay in the early hours of the morning. A Ringed Plover and a Dunlin called from Tent field on the 16th, and Dunlin were recorded again on the 16th and 17th. One Snipe was found on Quarter Wall Pond on the 17th.

The highest count of August, 36 Fulmar were counted along the coastlines on the 14th. Two Cormorant flew off the East coast on this day, heading south. A juvenile Grey Heron drifted over the North End Turning Circle on the 15th.

Three Clouded Yellow butterflies were noted on the 15th, and we have had daily sightings of Hummingbird Hawk-moth in Milllcombe. A Spiny Starfish and the test of a Sea Potato were found in the Landing Bay 14th. We also have a couple new Grey Seal pups, on Lady's and White Beach. 

Sand Martin passage has suddenly burst into action, with 20 birds counted over the Village on the 10th and c.84 in several flocks along the East Coast on the 13th, in addition to two Swift heading south over Ackland's Moor. Two House Martin flew over the Tavern on the 12th. The second brood of Swallow nesting in the Government House Shed have been ringed; a total of four chicks. 

After an absence of Kestrel sightings since the 4th, a female and two juvenile males have been seen repeatedly between the 11th, 12th and 13th.

There has been a bit of wader movement over the recent days too. A juvenile Dunlin flew east over Southwest Field on the 11th and two were seen on the Main Track by Airfield on the 13th before they took off south. A probable male Curlew (based on the observation of a short bill length) was sighted flying northeast along the coast on the 12th. Finally, a Lapwing on the 13th was seen at Halfway Wall.

A check of the Kittiwake colony in Aztec Bay on the 11th had no adults or fledged juveniles returning to the cliffs, but a raft of 78 birds was seen (and heard) a little way out. Survey of the Fulmar colony on Gannets Rock showed there still to be 13 chicks present, however some are almost fully grown and it won't be long until they follow those chicks which have already fledged.

Fulmar chick on Gannet's Rock. F. Turner, August 11

Uncommon birds for Lundy over the last few days include three juvenile Black-headed Gull flying east past North Light, and a juvenile and adult Cormorant flying over Rat Island before tracking south, both on the 13th.

Although beyond the reach of the Lundy survey area, here are some notable birds were spotted from the MS Oldenburg crossing on the 13th: one Sandwich Tern, 120 Guillemot, one Razorbill, one Puffin and c.700 Manx Shearwater!

Thanks to great coverage of the East Coast on the 13th, we were able to record a total of 8 Spotted Flycatcher throughout the day, the highest count since May! Three Pied Flycatcher were also seen on this day, and one was ringed in Millcombe on the 10th. The 13th was also a bit of a crazy day for Linnet and Meadow Pipit, with 244 of the former and 159 of the latter counted. The still, warm and humid weather perhaps created a surge of insects on the wing and so these birds were out and about making the most of the abundant food source. We also had a high Willow Warbler count of 31 and Wheatear of 44 on this day, both species frequently noted flycatching. A flurry of migrating warblers were ringed in Millcombe on the 10th, including two Sedge Warbler, two Grasshopper Warbler and two Whitethroat.

Two Clouded Yellow butterflies were seen on the 10th. A Spiny Starfish was found at the end of the Jetty on the 12th. 172 Grey Seals counted along the East Coast during a seal survey, and a second pup was found at Lady's Beach, increasing our total to three!

These last four days have had minimal migration movements through Lundy, however we did have a pulse of Willow Warbler on the 6th, with c.50 ringed in Millcombe and 30 seen on census and along the Upper Eastside Path. Two Chiffchaff and four Sedge Warbler were also processed on the 6th, along with a single Blackcap and Whitethroat. An adult and two juvenile Whitethroat were also seen in Millcombe on the 8th, and on the 9th a Garden Warbler was seen in Smelly Gully. On the topic of migration, three Spotted Flycatcher were counted on the 6th. 

A nice recent wader record was a single Snipe in Bartons Field on the 7th, the first bird since the 24th of July, one of only two that month.

Juvenile Shag are now adventuring from their nest sites and gathering with adults in roosting flocks on rocks along the shores. Birds have been seen in large numbers around Brazen Ward, Mouse Island, Battery Point, and Hens and Chickens. It is good to see so many successfully fledged chicks. The juvenile Peregrine Falcon are also doing well, with pairs of young birds continuing to be very vocal as they practice hunting around Old Light, Gannets Combe, North End and Southwest Point.

A check of our monitored Manx Shearwater nest boxes on the 9th revealed that the 10 chicks have developed by a notable amount, with the oldest chick sporting just a light fuzz of down over the body, much like a waistcoat, whilst its wings are almost completely fully grown! Another exciting seabird update, just 25 minutes after departing Lundy on the Oldenburg on the 5th, Ezra Sherwell and Chris Baillie spotted and Leach's Storm Petrel! A fantastic record for this time of year. 

In non-birdy news, a new Grey Seal pup, our second for the season, was seen on Ladies Beach on the 6th. One Emperor Dragonfly and two Ruby-tailed Wasp were also seen on the 6th, and a Clouded Yellow butterfly was recorded on the 9th.

The oldest Manx Shearwater chick from our monitored nest boxes. F. Turner, August 9