Bird Sightings

12th and 13th brought F4-5 easterlies making birding Millcombe and the East a bit more difficult.

Great coverage of the island, in particular sheltered areas of the west coast on these days with easterlies led to some high counts of 55 Chiffchaff on 12th, including 14 at Devil's Chimney. It also turned up a Black Redstart and a single Snow Bunting near the Devil's Slide. There was also an arrival of Wheatear on 12th, with numbers back up to 11 after remaining at one or two since September 29th. A single Common Redstart was below the Terrace on 11th and at North Light on 13th and a Yellow-browed Warbler was present in Quarter Wall Copse for a second day on 11th.

Common Redstart at North Light D. Burbidge

A single Curlew was seen from South Light on 12th, and there were good counts of 26 Oystercatcher on 11th and 12th. A Grey Plover was also reported on 11th, a nice bird for Lundy. Ringed Plover continues to be recorded from single flyovers. Six Snipe were recorded on the 13th. More Herring Gull have been seen lingering with counts of 47 on 11th and 63 on 12th. Fairly typical autumn counts of certain species previal including 2 Sparrowhawk (male and female), a couple of Water Rail in Millcombe, single Teal at Pondsbury, three Kestrel, seven Peregrine, and a single Merlin.

A new Great Spotted Woodpecker, the third for the autumn was in Millcombe on 12th, in a fairly notable year for this species. It was heard in Millcombe in the morning of 13th but then sadly predated remains of a Great Spotted Woodpecker were found later in the day at Gannets Coombe. In a similarly notable run of records the third Treecreeper of the autumn (all of which have been ringed) was resighted on 11th and 13th. The Rosy Starling was resighted on 11th but hasn't been seen since. A single Grey Wagtail was recorded on 11th and 12th. A single Stock Dove was photographed at Stoneycroft on 13th.

A single Song Thrush was present on 11th with 15 on 13th. After a single vanguard Redwing first thing on 12th, the 13th saw 135 Redwing and 70 Fieldfare move through, matching a clear arrival across the rest of the UK. Chaffinch numbers have started to pick up also with 10 on 11th, 29 on 12th and 53 on 13th. A lovely male Brambling was also photographed in Quarters Allotments.

Fieldfare against a classic late autumn Lundy setting of bare Sycamores and the Bristol Channel - A. Croudace

Firecrest counts were at nine on 11th, four on 12th and nine on 13th. Goldcrest counts were around 30, Blackcap counts remain around 20, Goldfinch around 50 and Siskin around 20. Swallows are the only hirundines recorded in this period with 55 on 11th, 31 on 12th and 10 on 13th. A Garden Warbler was ringed on 11th. Three Reed Bunting on 11th included a male in Millcombe and two female types at Pondsbury, and a further single on 12th.

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.