Bird Sightings

By Thomas Weston

Fog and strong winds cloaked the island with frequent rain too.

Greg was on census after a late night in the Tavern, but alas did not see much on his travels apart from a Green Sandpiper in Quarter Wall Pond. The day for me was spent in the Tavern. The poor weather outside was reflected by the number of people inside the Tavern. On my break, I took a leisurely walk down to Millcombe to help the Houskeeping team hearing a Pied Flycatcher and a Goldcrest on the way down, plus more Robins too. The weather cleared for a few seconds, the sun shone, but was short lived and it went again. The rain descended and so spent the rest of the break at the house, doing a little garden birding. Starlings and House Sparrows joined the Mallards, plus our odd sounding Carrion Crow was still calling like an alarm, or someones phone! Whilst back in Tavern, Greg spotted a couple of Glossy Ibis flying passed Quarry Beach. These are only the 4th record for the island ever and it was nice to get this report on such a breezy, cloudy, foggy and at times damp day. Hopefully they are refound soon!

By Thomas Weston

It’s the start of the month, and with autumn moving quickly in the bird world, it is amazing to see what has already passed through, and what may be around the corner. September is a time for more migration, and a few more scarcities, and maybe the odd rarity too.

September is a time the weather changes. All it takes is one low pressure to come through to make you realise that autumn is well and truly here! With windier and wetter weather than anytime since April, it is certainly doing just that here. September also sees a change in the island, the Bracken starts to die back, and the leaves begin to change too. September is a time of more birders, bird ringers and more specialised guests. The summer holidays have come to an end now, and with only 7 weeks of boats left, this is the time to see Lundy fully wild and wonderful.

We think of the breeding season being over, for most that is true. Our resident species have well and truly done for the year, and the migration of our migratory species is in full swing, so they have also finished breeding too! A new Swallow brood found in one of the nests previously used this year with two eggs was a surprise, however, on inspection it seems like the two eggs present have been abandoned, maybe as a result of the change in weather. However, the end of the breeding season for the Manx Shearwaters has not yet come.  The majority of our adults, and fledglings have now left the island, however, this morning I checked the artificial boxes with Jessie, and weighed the final four chicks. Being Jessie’s last day on the island as a volunteer, before returning to the mainland, it was great to have them out and to see the chicks one last time.

The chicks were of very good size and weights. One was sleek and barely fluffy, another a little fluff around the vent, one with the stereotypical mohawk vibe with fluff on the side too, whereas the youngest of the box birds was relatively fluffy, though losing it quick. The two oldest could easily fledge, though with the moon very bright last night, it could be a race against the clock this evening. I am sure they will be off and have all my fingers crossed for a little more cloud cover and then they will be able to head on off on their journey to South America. It will be amazing to see who we find next time in the boxes, it seems like this may have been the last checks with birds present!

Storm Petrel chick at an undisclosed site by Thomas Weston

Our work with the seabirds is not over yet though, another species still breeding is our European Storm Petrels, a species who could be breeding until November! So, plenty more checks for me and the team to undertake in the meantime. Unfortunately, due to site sensitivities and disturbance, we have not been able to share our amazing work this year on this species just yet.  However, a cute chick pic above gives an indication of how well they are doing, even after a later breeding season start.  

After completing the Manx Shearwater box checks, I came on back and had a chilled morning ahead of my tavern shift. It will be interesting to hear what Greg has seen on census, a Grey Wagtail spotted by him was the first of the autumn, but we shall find out more later….

By Greg Lee

Today saw the start of some stronger winds from the west that are due to dominate the next week or so as enter into September, my favourite month of the year. After what has been quite the ending to August with a nice mix of scarcities being discovered across the island, it was a quieter end to the month. My census this morning was marked by Robins being the commonest migrant across the island, the noisy ticking from the bushes being quite the feature in Millcombe, with some birds even breaking out into song, as territorial as they are. Two Pied Flycatchers, a single Spotted Flycatcher and a Whinchat at Rocket Pole where also notable sightings, with another three of the latter being located at other areas of the island throughout the day. A noisy Yellow Wagtail was over the Village, having had a few birds moving through over the past couple of weeks and often landing in Barton field. A Sparrowhawk has been around the island for the past few days, though encounters are quite brief, today it zipped over lower Millcombe presumably looking for unwary and tired arrivals to take. Although I always take the time to gaze out to sea on census, I have been struggling to spot many seabirds as of late with very few Gannets moving offshore and Manx Shearwaters also becoming thin on the ground. Still, fortune favours the brave and perhaps a Skua or something else will pass through my binoculars one morning this autumn. Interestingly, a large influx of Painted Ladies seems to have occurred over the past couple of days, with many fresh-looking butterflies around the island. 

Later on, with the bank holiday, it was time for the second duck race of the year, this time with a rather extravagant course using water from Rocket Pole Pond built by Ian, Rich, Roger and Emma. After a decent performance in spring, I was hoping that I might achieve a similar finish. That wasn’t the case though with a final finish of seventh out of 13, though holding champion Emma saw a poor title defence coming ninth overall. A new champion was on the scene however, with Sarah and "librarian duck" taking the victory on its debut. A very impressive pedigree clearly.

By Thomas Weston

The day started very wet and windy, a much needed sigh of relief from the island as we have been in drought for so long!

Census

Waterproofs on and I was off on census. The sun came out and it was breezy but nice, not too strong, and seemed calmer than the night. Reaching Millcombe it was quite quiet with a few Goldfinches and Linnets heading around the top of the Valley. In the pines a single Goldcrest peeped, my first for a month or so. Walking to the Ugly, it was nice to see passing Manx Shearwaters, Gannets, and even a Whimbrel too! Very lovely as we thought most of our Manxies have headed off. Walking down through Millcombe, the wind direction meant that everything was hunkered low and there were some signs of migration. Flocks of Blackcap, Willow Warblers, a few Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatchers and even a Whitethroat were all seen in the bushes. Our now resident Water Rail in Smelly Gully was calling, like a juvenile Peregrine!!! An odd call compared to the normal squeels and pips. There was a Seal pup on the Landing Bay, and it remains closed to let the mum come and visit.

Looking towards SW Point by ThomasWeston

Walking up through the woods and out St Johns Valley, a few Swallows were seen flying around, and a couple of Stonechats were seen in the bushes. Near the Casbah, more Spotted Flycatchers were in the bushes, and a few Dunnocks were noted. Walking to Benjamin's Chair, a flock of Ravens circled over something that smelt dead, and a couple of Wheatears bounced along the walls. There was a squall about to burst, and so the waterproof coat hood came on. A flock of 5 nominate Yellow Wagtails were on the main track, and a juvenile Ringed Plover was walking around Rocket Pole Pond in the rain. A small group of Meadow Pipits flew around SW field, and a couple of Linnets were flocking too. Two of the three Whinchats were here and hopping from Bracken to Bracken.

In the Old Light and Airfield area, a small flock of grounded Lesser Black-backed Gulls were of note. The rain cleared and a small flock of Wheatears emerged on the fence posts. There were no waders on Quarter Wall Pond, however a White Wagtail, Kestrel, Peregrine, and a relatively large flock of Meadow Pipits were seen. Walking back to the Village, there was a Dunlin on Bartons Pond, and flocks of House Sparrows and Starlings in the Village itself. 

Pondsbury Adventure

Tara pulling Emma across Pondsbury ThomasWeston

Team Pondsbury on the island, on the island Tara

After a break and some toast, Tara, Roger, Emma, and I set off on a Pondsbury adventure to help make some of the island a bit more wader friendly. Equipped with a paddleboard, some loppers, some sturdy gloves, a rake, and most importantly some bailing twine and a climbing rope, we set out to get to the lake. On the main track a pair of Ringed Plover alighted before heading off SE. A reminder of why we were on this adventure. The islands are not far, but the depth of the water is deep. Not ideal when trying to cross. However, within no time, we made our way onto the islands, being on an island, on the island. We chose the sheltered north side of the island to cut back some of the rushes. It may not have seemed much after an hour or so of work, but we managed to clear roughly a 10m section. The area opened up some nice boggy, muddy fringes, and even a slightly raised section for roosting birds. Our idea was that it would be ready for Snipe, Jack Snipe, and maybe some other fun waders and waterfowl to drop in and rest. Watch this space and keep posted on the blog. We did not touch the islands themselves, as there may be some more unusual species up here and it was rather bouncy too. Only I got a welly full of mud, cow manure, and cold water - all for the cause though! On the way back, we saw the Channel Wagtail female in the Bracken, a flock of over 200 Linnets and passing through the gates saw a Dotterel flying high south.

Elsewhere 

After a lunch break, I searched SW Field for the Dotterel, with no luck. I then walked round to the Castle to see if the Ortolan Bunting was there, also with no luck and then went down through Millcombe to St Helens Copse to see the Wryneck that Greg had found earlier in the day. Also, with no luck. Having not found those, the 2 Dotterel further North found by a visitor were too far for today's bird day and so admin called!