Bird Sightings

This past week of decent island coverage has produced a notable increase in breeding behaviour and pulses of passage migrants.

Brief encounters of various wader species have been a highlight, including a Northern Lapwing spotted flying west while ringing Goldfinch in the Lodge Garden, a single Golden Plover on the 17th and 19th, sightings of single Whimbrel on the 17th, 18th, 20th and 21st, one Common Sandpiper in Landing Bay on the 19th, Common Snipe in small numbers around Pondsbury and Quarter Wall, and a stunning Dunlin nearly in full summer plumage on the 20th, seeming to hesitate at the North End before imminent departure northwards.

Some well-needed rain along with gusty winds buffeting along the western slopes provided the perfect conditions for some decent night time Manx Shearwater catches. We had two very good sessions, catching just under 100 birds in each, and gained incredible retrap data, such as birds ringed here on Lundy in 2009 and 2010! Other seabird news from the cliffs around the Island includes Guillemot piling endlessly onto their ledges, Puffin busily gathering up tufts of dry grass to nestle into their burrows, and observations of copulation in both Guillemot and Razorbill. Shag have also been hard at work, many seen transporting large piles of vegetation to their developing nests around the Island. Between the 17th and 19th, a run of summer plumage Cormorant have been sighted. A single Mediterranean Gull was seen on the 20th, far out from the North End amongst Kittiwake while a pod of c.50 Common Dolphin breached below.

In terms of raptors, an exciting find was a fleeting Hobby on the 19th. Dashing after passerines before moving north, this was the first for the year. Merlin have been seen again on both the 20th and 21st. We have also had some nice corvid sightings, with a Rook on the 20th being the first since the 5th, and a long-staying Hooded Crow being seen daily in the southern fields since the 16th, often pushed about by the resident groups of Carrion Crow.

Our biggest hirundine passage this year came about on the 17th, with 1082 birds (a mix of Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin) counted on the 17th. However, it is good to note that this is certainly an undercount, with a very useful 1hr count from 1230hrs conducted from the North End producing 634 birds within this time alone! Passage warblers have been appearing in small pulses. A steady Blackcap movement peaked at 42 ringed in Millcombe on the 17th, 3 Sedge Warbler were ringed on the 17th, 2 on the 20th and others heard singing in the valley, Grasshopper Warbler were heard reeling in Millcombe and St John's Valley on the 16th, 17th and 19th, along with small numbers ringed, single Lesser Whitethroat sightings on the 16th, 17th and 20th, and a predation event of a Common Whitethroat in Middle Park (presumed to be the work of a hungry Kestrel) coincided with a mini arrival of 7 around the Island on the 20th.

Grasshopper Warbler in the hand, 21 Apr. Paul Holt

There have been few other nice movements to note about the Island this week. The Pondsbury Teal count peaked at 2 pairs. Daily Stock Dove sightings, centralised around Barton's Field, were recorded, and a second individual added to this on the 20th. A single Collared Dove in the Village on the 16th. A maximum count of 32 Goldfinch, also in the Village, was wonderful to see, and ever-growing flocks of Linnet have been an enjoyable highlight of the sunny evenings as the migrants gather up in flocks for roost. Bullfinch in Millcombe peaked at 2 males and 1 female on the 17th and have been logged daily since. A single Goldcrest at St Helen's Copse on the 19th was the first since the 11th. After a busy early spring passage of Ring Ouzel sightings are now slowing, with the 3 logged on the 16th much lower than the 7 on the 12th. Interestingly, this higher number in fact equalled the highest spring count of the 21st Century, matching the count on the 8th April 2015; it did not quite however reach the heights of the 23 seen on the 7th April 1966! Singles were also seen on the 17th and 20th. One Spotted Flycatcher, the first  observation of the year, was seen on 16th at Quarter Wall Copse. A second for the year was female Whinchat along the Lower Eastside Path on the 20th. A female Common Redstart was spotted at the Quarries on the 19th, frustratingly inside the Heligoland trap but not caught! Single Tree Pipits were noted over the Lodge on the 18th and 19th. And finally, the Wheatear passage continues, with a few Greenland candidates appearing here and there.

A Hawfinch graced Millcombe on 12th, followed by a male and female Bullfinch the next day. Goldfinch passage resulted in 30 logged on 12th, supported by news of a recent North Devon ringing recovery. A Sedge Warbler ringed on 12th was quickly followed by the first Reed and Grasshopper Warbler records the following day. Blackcap continue to dominate on the passerine front, with 49 and 29 individuals logged respectively over the two days. Two Common Whitethroat were seen in Millcombe on the 12th, including a singing bird at the top of the valley. A small arrival of Ring Ouzel enjoyed up to seven birds across the east and west coasts while a Black Redstart frequented the North End on 13th and light hirundine passage trickling through day. 

The Stock Dove and Collared Dove continue there stay around St Helen's Field and the Village. A single Teal pair reside at Pondsbury while Jenny's Cove featured 148 Kittiwake on the sea and another on 65 ledges on 13th. The Ringed Plover was still present at South West Point on 12th, but no further sign since. East coast boasted a Common Sandpiper on 12th, followed by a Great Northern Diver off the Terrace and 5 Cormorant high across the Landing Bay on 13th.

Reeling Grashopper Warbler, 13 Apr. N Barnes

The second record of White Stork graced the island today, initially clocked over Pondsbury at 11.32hrs, the unringed bird was logged over the Church and North End in very quick succession (briefly seen attempted to depart north before aborting). Last seen tracking south at midday, the individual was photographed over Ilfracombe an hour later! See Devon Birds post to enjoy Martin Thorne's mainland photos. The only previous island record dates back on 20 Apr, 1992.

Other highlights include the first Green Sandpiper of the year at Rocket Pole at 17.53hrs and the Hoopoe still at Quarter Wall West and later on near the Castle. It appears that the Ringed Plover has relocated to Three Quarter Wall, after a 10-day residency at Kistvaen Pond (South West Field). A sterling ringing effort from Flo and Tony from 06.45 - 16.30hrs resulted in 42 Willow Warbler, 23 Chiffchaff, 44 Blackcap and a male Bullfinch ringed among the local residents and a few continental Robin. Other notables includes a female Bullfinch, single Redpoll, two Pied Flycatcher, three Common Redstart, a Stock Dove in Barton Field and three Ring Ouzel across Belle Vue Cottages and Quarter Wall West.

It's always a good day when there's a Hoopoe about! Singles have been recorded daily between 6-10th across Benjamin's Chair, Quarter Wall west, Airfield and the Castle. A Wryneck near Old School on 8th was an added thrill, along with a gently reeling Grasshopper Warbler in St John's Valley on 9th. The first Whitethroat featured on 7th, opening the doors to daily occurrence in small numbers ever since. Following the earliest ever Lundy Sedge Warbler back on 28th Mar, the next record did not arrive until 10th - a far more typical date. The 12th enjoyed a bumper Blackcap arrival involving 68 individuals, with similar numbers passing through the following two days. Light spring thrush passage between 2-4th involved peaks of 34 Redwing, 3 Fieldfare and 4 Ring Ouzel.

Common Redstart started to brighten up the island's fence lines from 4th, making the way for near daily sightings around Millcombe, Quarries and even North West Point on one occasion! The first Pied Flycatcher of the year put in an appearance on 7th, with four different individuals (three male and one female) passing through over the subsequent three days. The first Tree Pipit were logged on 8th, with two passage migrants picked up on call over the Airfield during census, a single was also recorded over the Church on 10th. A female Yellow Wagtail on 8th and Whinchat on 10th also made for welcome appearances.

There's been a pleasant passage of Hawfinch from 2nd, including a female ringed in Millcombe on 10th!  The finch fest continued that day with both a female Greenfinch and two Bullfinch (male and female) occurring in Millcombe, and a single Siskin logged the day prior. A male Brambling was located at Pondsbury on 2nd, lingering around the south coast until 6th. Records of a female and different male then followed on the 8th and 10th respectively.

Ringed Plover present from 1st, remained faithful to Kistvaen Pond (near Rocket Pole) throughout, with sporadic and brief expeditions to Pondsbury. Additional wader interest included a passage Curlew on 4th, a Redshank calling along the east coast on 6th, a Grey Plover over Ackland's Moor on 7th, five Common Sandpiper on 10th and Dunlin sporadically up to 7th, peaking at six on 1st. Black-headed Gull were recorded daily in the Landing Bay up to 9th, involving two adult and five first-summer birds. Puffin counts in recent days have reached 171 birds, many of which on land at Jenny's Cove and The Battery. A single Great Northern Diver was recorded off Jenny's Cove on 3rd and the ever-present offshore Gannet reached highs of 31 on 9th.

Hawfinch in the hand, 10 Apr