Tue 12 Apr – A good selection of common early migrants

A sailing departing from Bideford at 9.00am and returning at 9.00pm gave the opportunity for those of us on board to enjoy a bit longer on the island than on a typical day-trip. Light winds, mainly from an easterly quarter, combined with some warm sunshine, a bank of sea-fog rolling over the island for a time in the early afternoon and a heavy thunderstorm that missed Lundy but rumbled across the North Cornish and North Devon mainland, were conducive to seeing a good variety of common migrants. There had clearly been an arrival of warblers, with Blackcaps and Willow Warblers (at least 30 of each) prominent in Millcombe and around Stoneycroft and Old Light (where 2 male Blackcaps were hopping about on close-cropped turf finding a ready supply of invertebrate food). A male Pied Flycatcher in Millcombe was the first of the spring, while other migrants included 5 Teal, a Red-throated Diver (flying north, seen from the boat about 15 minutes before landing), 25 Sand Martins, 20 Swallows, 10 Chiffchaffs, 2 Goldcrests, 1 Song Thrush, 15 Wheatears (none colour-ringed), 19 alba wagtails (of which one was definitely a White Wagtail) and 150 Meadow Pipits. Also seen were a female Sparrowhawk, a male Kestrel, 9 Woodpigeons, 20 Puffins (on the sea at Jenny's Cove), and 6 Long-tailed Tits in Millcombe. The sunshine brought out a Peacock and 8 Green-veined White butterflies and a male Emperor Moth.