About this page...


You're now viewing the old Lundy Bird Observatory blogspot. Explore the new website for all your favourite island news and wildlife updates. If you have sightings to report, please consider sharing your observations or photographs with the Bird Obs team here.

Tuesday 27 October 2020

Moorhen & Manx Shearwater recorded at night


MS Oldenburg departs a sun-kissed Landing Bay with her final passengers of 2020, 23 Oct © Dean Jones
 
With the last passenger sailing of the year marking the turning of Lundy's seasons once more, Tim Jones looks back through night-time recordings he made of birds overflying the Castle a bit earlier in the month. There were some interesting results, although the buffeting easterly winds made it a challenge to pick out quieter calls, even in the relative shelter of those high Castle walls.

Night of 14th – 15th October (20.08–06.42 hrs)
 
Redwing 104 calls
Song Thrush 5 calls
Skylark 2 calls
Grey Heron 2 calls
Blackbird 1 call
Robin 1 call
Manx Shearwater 1 bout of calling at 23.36 hrs
Oystercatcher 1 call
 
Night of 15th – 16th October (20.29–06.43 hrs)
 
Redwing 62 calls
Song Thrush 2 calls
Blackbird 1 call
Sika Deer (this animal was probably not overflying the Castle, given that there were still more than two months to go before Christmas)
 
Night of 16th – 17th October (20.11–07.11 hrs)
 
Redwing 13 calls only (in line with the much-reduced numbers of Redwings seen by day on 17th)
Skylark 6 calls (just before first light at 06.55 hrs)
Blackbird 2 calls
Manx Shearwater 1 bout of calling at 01.30 hrs
MOORHEN 1 call at 21.40 hrs (see spectrogram below) – very much a Lundy rarity, being the first for the island since 2009! No doubt others fly through at night completely undetected...
Sika Deer (very vocal, giving their strange, wailing, diver-like call)

 

The distinctive spectrogram of a calling Moorhen, 16-17 Oct

No comments:

Post a Comment