12th to 14th May – Short-toed Lark and Purple Sandpipers

The latest news from Lundy Warden Dean Jones:

"The obvious highlight for this period has to be the super Short-toed Lark which was found by Sam Bosanquet on the afternoon of the 13th, feeding along the Old Light track. Sam was fortunate enough to see this bird at least three times throughout the day from 15:20 – 19:25 as he passed to and from his accommodation at Old Light." See Sam's Twitter post here and record shot below:

Short-toed Lark, South West Field/Old Light track, 13 May © Sam Bosanquet

Notes from the LFS logbook 12th – 14th:

Whimbrel: 2 on 12th (South Light and west coast).
Dunlin: 1 was seen flying north on the 12th.
Purple Sandpiper: 4 at Brazen Ward on 14th, one of which was in full breeding plumage and allowed for superb prolonged close up views. (NB This is a notable record for what has never been a commonly reported species on Lundy, but sightings have been particularly few and far between in recent years.)
Collared Dove: 2 on 12th and 1 on 14th.
Swift: 1 on 12th & 14th and 2 on 13th.
Kestrel: A beautiful lone female was seen quartering the south end on 12th – the highlight of the island's second World Migratory Bird Day guided walk.
Swallow: 76 on the 12th, 200+ on 13th and 142 on 14th.
Sand Martin: 14 on 13th and 8 on 14th.
House Martin: 1 on 12th, 30+ on 13th and 11 on 14th.
Chiffchaff: 3 on 12th, 8 on 13th and 6 on 14th.
Willow Warbler: 1 bird on each day throughout this period.
Blackcap: Numbers have dropped dramatically compared to the start of the month. 1 on 12th, 2 on  13th and 3 on 14th.
Whitethroat: 1 on 12th & 13th and 4 on 14th.
Grasshopper Warbler: 1 flushed from the bracken alongside the track beyond Threequarter Wall on  13th.
Sedge Warbler: 4 on 12th, 1 on 13th and 2 on 14th.
Spotted Flycatcher: 2 late arriving birds on 12th were seen catching flies from the fence posts next to the Tavern.
White Wagtail: 1 male was seen feeding on the grass near Old Light in the evening of 12th (S Bosanquet).
Linnet: 5 on 12th, 21 on 13th and 22 on 14th.
Lesser Redpoll: One on 14th calling loudly whilst in flight above Millcombe.
Goldfinch: 14 on 12th, 11 on 13th and 14 on 14th.
Siskin: 2 beautiful birds (1 male & 1 female) were present in Millcombe on 14th.

"The weather is looking very exciting for the upcoming week! All the fingers and toes are crossed for something special."

7th to 11th May – A promising start but then migration stopped

Dean Jones, the warden, reports that the period started off very promising with a lovely diversity of long distant migrants arriving on the island throughout the morning of the 7th. Unfortunately this buzz of passage did not continue over the next few days and the birds that were already here quickly moved off before the wind picked up and the rains arrived. There was however a few super birds to continue the excitement of spring.

Highlights from the period include:

May 7th

• Whimbrel: 4
• Kestrel: 1 hovering over SW field in the afternoon.  
• Hirundines: 26 Sand Martin, 120+ Swallow and 7 House Martin.
• Swift: 5 over the south end of the island in the afternoon.
• Chiffchaff: 10 including a number of singing individuals in Millcombe and St Helen’s Copse.
• Willow Warbler: 7
• Blackcap: 7
• Garden Warbler: 1
• Whitethroat: 4 in the Millcombe/St John’s area.
• Sedge Warbler: 9 in the Millcombe/St John’s area.
• Whinchat: 1 female perched on a fence post at the top of Millcombe.
• Finches: 20 Linnet, 8 Goldfinch, 1 female Chaffinch and a lone male Lesser Redpoll singing his heart out on Government House roof.

May 8th

• Whimbrel: 2
• Dunlin: 2
• Collared Dove: 1
• Swift: 3
• Hirundines: 8 Sand Martin, 66 Swallow and 2 House Martin.
• Phylloscs: 8 Chiffchaff and 3 Willow Warbler.
• Blackcap: 7
• Sedge Warbler: 1
• Yellow Wagtail: A beautiful female was found feeding with the ponies in Barton’s Field, the first of the year.
• White Wagtail: 1 female in Barton’s Field.
• Finches: 37 Linnet, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Chaffinch, 20 Goldfinch, the female Bullfinch again and a stunning male Hawfinch was seen on the Laundry Garden wall in the afternoon (Z Barton).

May 9th (Someone has turned off the migrant tap)

• Whimbrel: 1
• Dunlin: 1
• Collared Dove: 1
• Hirundines: 1 Sand Martin, 15 Swallow and 3 House Martin.
• Phylloscs: 3 Chiffchaff and 1 Willow Warbler.
• Blackcap: 1
• Finches: 30 Linnet, 14 Goldfinch and the male Hawfinch again, this time from the top of Millcombe in the early morning and subsequently on Sue Waterfield’s feeders on a number of occasions up until the late afternoon.

May 10th (Another very quiet day)

• Whimbrel: 3
• Manx Shearwater: 23 past Rat Island in 5 minutes.
• Collared Dove: 1
• Hirundines: 3 Sand Martin, 44 Swallow and 3 House Martin.
• Chiffchaff: 2
• Willow Warbler: 1
• Blackcap: 2
• Sedge Warbler: 1
• Yellow Wagtail: 1 male & 1 female, both in Barton’s Field.
• Linnet: 35
• Goldfinch: 20

May 11th. Don’t the birds know that it is World Migratory Bird Day this weekend?

• Collared Dove: 1
• Chiffchaff: 2
• Willow Warbler: 1
• Blackcap: 1 female
• Spotted Flycatcher: 2 in the Sycamores near Bramble Villas. 

Hawfinch © Dean Jones

Yellow Wagtail © Dean Jones

Yellow Wagtail © Dean Jones

World Migratory Bird Day – Lundy events

This weekend Lundy will be helping celebrate World Migratory Bird Day – an event aimed at raising awareness into the plight of migratory birds around the globe.

To celebrate this important day the conservation team will be hosting two special bird related guided walks on Friday 11th May (10:30am from the Tavern) and Saturday 12th May (12:00pm from the Jetty). Additionally we will be hosting a special illustrated talk on Saturday evening in the wheelhouse (5:00pm) about bird migration and the fantastic work of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, who save thousands of birds each year from illegal hunting and trapping in Europe!

For more information on Migratory bird day and for information on other events around the country why not have a look at the event's official website. 

We hope to see you on the weekend!

4th to 6th May

The warden, Dean Jones reports "It’s been very warm and muggy on the island as of late, which has been great for insects who are now starting to emerge in good numbers, but not very good for migrants, as the warm air on the island coupled with a cool oceanic breeze has cloaked the island in a near continuous blanket of fog for the majority of this period. We were still luckily enough to get some beautiful sunny spells with next to no winds at parts, which allowed for a superb passage of Hirundines on the afternoon of the 4th. Here a very conservative estimate of 1200+ swallows, 200+ sand martins and 38 house martins passed over Lundy on route to their breeding grounds in the north."

Other avian highlights from the period include (excluding birds from Rob Duncan’s previous post):

• Whimbrel: 8 on the 5th & 1 on the 6th.
• Snipe: One flushed from a small patch of rush in SW field on the 6th.
• Swift: One over Millcombe on the 4th and 3 on the 6th.
• Goldcrest: One on the 4th & 5th.
• Swallow: 200+ on the 5th, & 80 on the 6th.
• Sand Martin: 10 on the 5th & 51 on the 6th.
• House Martin: 10 on the 5th & 7 on the 6th,
• Stonechat: One male near the Rocket Pole on the 4th and the 6th.
• Pied Wagtail: 2 on the 4th & 5th. One of which (a young male) was caught and ringed in Millcombe on the 5th. 5 on the 6th.
• Chiffchaff: 21 caught and ringed from the Millcombe area which included a highly probable Siberian bird (see photo).
• Willow Warbler: 14 birds caught and ringed on the 5th.
• Blackcap: 30 (21 females & 9 males) on the 5th.  
• Whitethroat: 1 caught in St John’s on the 5th.
• Sedge Warbler: 8 on the 5th - all caught and ringed from the Millcombe/St John’s area.
• Reed Warbler: 1 caught and ringed from St John’s Valley on the 5th.
• Chaffinch: 2 females on the 5th.
• Linnet: 33 on the 6th which included 4 females with nest material. 
• Bullfinch: One female in Millcombe on the 5th.

I was also lucky enough to join the guys from Obsession 2 charters for a round the island trip on the afternoon of the 6th. The beautiful calm sea state allowed for perfect conditions for counting some of the islands seabirds.

Totals include:

• Shag: 38
• Oystercatcher: 22
• Kittiwake: 192
• Great Black-backed Gull: 63
• Herring Gull: 479
• Lesser Black-backed Gull: 237

Possible Siberian Chiffchaff © Dean Jones

Swallow having a quick preen before departure © Dean Jones

Lesser Redpoll along the Beach Road © Dean Jones

Stonechat in Southwest Field © Dean Jones

4th May – Garden Warbler present and good hirundine passage

Rob Duncan reported that the morning had potential but was killed off by the thick fog so only 22 birds were ringed. A Garden Warbler was the best bird. Also saw Whimbrel and Great Northern Diver in the landing bay. A pretty big hirundine passage got under way around lunchtime - numbers to follow.

3rd May – Singing Wood Warbler

Rob Duncan reports a much better day on Thursday 3rd. The highlight was a singing Wood Warbler in Lower Millcombe first thing, but only very briefly. A total of 53 birds, mainly Willow Warblers, were ringed during the morning. Three Shelducks were seen on Pondsbury by Cyril Matthews' daughter. Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Garden Warblers and 2 Lesser Redpolls were also around Millcombe and a Whimbrel at the South End.

29th Apr to 2nd May – Slow!

Dean Jones reports: “It’s been a rather blustery period of late, with strong winds battering the island from all directions. Despite these unfavourable conditions some super migrants have braved the gales and joined us for a brief period. However, things are still very slow with regard to some of our migrant species. Still no Lesser Whitethroat or Yellow Wagtail and only a trickle of Whitethroat, Garden Warbler etc. We are hoping with the calm conditions forecast for the coming weekend that we will start seeing better numbers.”

Whimbrel: One heard calling in the Landing Bay on 29th and one on Lamentor on 30th (Rob & Sue Waterfield).
Sanderling: One feeding on the edge of the ‘Lundy Carwash’ (the big puddle on the track next to the Old Hospital) in the morning by (Pete Lambden).
Woodpigeon: Six in Millcombe on 30th – the highest count of the period.
Collared Dove: One seen coming in off the sea near Rat Island on 30th (Zoë Barton).
Willow Warbler: 20 on 29th, 25 on 30th and five on 1st.
Chiffchaff: Six on 29th, two on 30th & 1st.
Blackcap: 30 on 29th & 30th and 15 on 1st.
Garden Warbler: One at the top of Millcombe on 29th, and one caught and ringed on 30th.
Sedge Warbler: Four caught and ringed in Millcombe on 29th & 30th.
Whitethroat: Three on 29th and two on 30th.
Reed Warbler: The first of the year was caught and ringed in Millcombe on the afternoon of 30th.
Wheatear: 34 (composed of two gatherings of birds on SW Point and North end) on 29th and 48 on 30th.
Pied Flycatcher: One young male at the top of Millcombe on 29th.
Spotted Flycatcher: One on 29th and two on 30th. 
Redstart: A lone female was seen on the fence of Barton Field on 30th.
Swallow: 200+ on 29th, 82 on 30th and 10 on 1st.
House Martin: One on 29th and five on 30th.
Sand Martin: 10 on 29th and five on 30th.
Ring Ouzel: Three on 29th.
Goldfinch: 36 on 29th and 24 on 30th.
Linnet: 35 on 29th, 40 on 30th. 
Redpoll: A female was caught and ringed in Millcombe on 30th.

Dean also reports a Chaffinch “putting the finishing touches to a beautiful nest in Millcombe Valley, while the first of three pairs of Blackbirds with eggs has now started feeding their tiny chicks”.

Rob Duncan sent the following note on 2nd May: “A tough couple of days in which we ringed 17 birds on 1st May and 10 on 2nd – but looking good for the rest of the week. As well as watching  Puffins today, the best birds were Redpoll, Spotted Flycatcher and a Bullfinch in Millcombe.”

Mallard with ducklings, Quarters Pond, 29th Apr. © Dean Jones

Whimbrel, Lametor, 30th Apr. © Sue Waterfield

Pied Flycatcher, Millcombe, 29th Apr. © Dean Jones

Spotted Flycatcher, Millcombe, 29th Apr. © Dean Jones

Whitethroat, Millcombe, 30th Apr. © Sue Waterfield