Bird Sightings

By Greg Lee

It's beginning to feel more autumnal by the day on Lundy at the moment and today's census in the strong winds saw me donning my winter hat. Down in Millcombe, a lot of time was spent waiting for movement in the bushes as birds generally were keeping themselves on the down low. Two Pied Flycatchers were nice to see, one of them being a bird ringed yesterday but the another being an apparent new arrival. A couple of Firecrests and Goldcrests were sifting through the Sycamores, a classic October scene for these autumn sprites. A Spotted Flycatcher in the Secret Garden was a tad on the late side but seemed to enjoy basking in the sun. Birding in strong winds can always be tricky but if you can find a sheltered spot the rewards can be very good! 

Spotted Flycatcher by G.Lee

A Tree Pipit buzzing over St John's broke the monopoly of Meadow Pipits, whilst a couple more Firecrests were seen by others near the Terrace and three seen down in the copse below Hanmers. Interestingly, yesterday, I was treated to a rather exciting sighting of a male Vagrant Emperor dragonfly which appeared around the ringing bench in Millcombe, where it hawked quite passionately for around five minutes. I was able to take a video of this long-distance migrant, although my screenshots weren't the best, you could see the brown eyes, bronzy colouration and blue saddle. Clearly there had been an arrival of migrant invertebrates as today, as Thomas encountered our first Red-veined Darter on the island for a couple of months, which probably arrived on the southerly winds with the Vagrant Emperor! 

Red-veined Darter by T.Weston

By Thomas Weston

A good start to the month. Census counts were really nice, it was sunny but breezy from the SW, a good mix of migration was going on in the bushes, though not much was going on overhead. Even less was going on out to sea, and at one point I even got wet backs of my legs as it rained for a few minutes. Walking through Millcombe it was apparent there was a fall of Blackcaps with over 40 seen, and a good number caught in the nets too by the visiting ringing groups. A nice influx of Chiffchaffs to join our ever-present migrant Firecrest and Goldcrest were really nice to spot. In the bushes, Dunnock calls highlighted there may have been a small arrival of these, though the number of Robins have certainly dropped since last week's influx. There was the first Song Thrush of the autumn overhead, but out to sea not much was moving apart from some local Shags. From the Ugly, a flock of migrant Chaffinches alighted in the Pines, and a flock of roosting Oystercatchers were seen below Millcombe. There was at least one Water Rail calling in the bushes, and getting to the ringing table by the Gas Store led to the counts including a recently ringed Pied Flycatcher. A late Willow Warbler was noteworthy, and a few Goldfinches overhead was a nice charm to see. There was not much on the plauteau today, some passing Meadow Pipits were nice, as were the Skylarks overhead. There were a couple of Stonechats on the walls too, tacking away to each other. After the rain, a Golden Plover was heard, a Peregrine and Kestrel flew by, and a couple of Woodpigeons erupted out of Quarter Wall Copse. A Sparrowhawk and Spotted Flycatcher reported by others did not make it onto the counts today, with the usual Mallards and flocks of Starlings ending census. 

Whilst watching some winch training by the Pembrokeshire coastguards, check out the new Jenny's Cove Coordinated count post in the article section....

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By Kirsty Cox

Another blog day, another day of unexpected events on Lundy! 

It all started off as usual with some seal admin in the office. Tara and Simon are planning to put together a presentation about seal disturbance for a forthcoming meeting and so I spent time searching through footage taken during disturbance surveys to see what could be used as examples. I compiled some short clips for Tara and Simon to look at and then also completed some photo ID work before feeding the chickens and heading to recycling to do my weekly two hour stint.

That completed, I got ready to head out on the East Coast Survey. I was due to start at 1pm as we schedule the survey around low tide times, and, of course, the moment that I set out, it started to pelt it down with rain! With the wind too, it felt like quite a battering but by the time I made it to Landing Bay, the sun had come out.

One of the weaned and moulted pups, Asrai, was hauled out on the main jetty! We can only hope he won’t make a habit of it but he did look very content in the sunshine. And around Rat Island there were over 30 seals hauled out. It is wonderful to see how many more seals will haul out around that area when the beaches are closed and there are less people around.

Asrai on the Jetty

I continued along the Lower East Path, counting and photographing as I went. And when I got to Quarry Beach I was very pleased to discover that the mother of a pup there was a tagged seal! I hadn’t seen the tag previously but as soon as I did I had my suspicions as to which seal it was. I was excited to get back to the office to compare my records and see if my hunch was correct…

But that would have to wait, as when I reached Brazen Ward I had to turn around and run back to the village as I saw a visitor fall and hit their head. Although they said they were ok, I was concerned and didn’t think they should walk all the way back to the village. Normally when you walk the main track you pass lots of people, but of course today I didn’t and with no phone signal I had no option but to run all the way back to alert the first responder on duty to come out to see the visitor and to drive them back to the village! 

That done and the visitor safely with Tara, the first responder on duty, and heading back to the village, I continued on my survey. I reached the north end without any further incidents and then walked back along the main track to the office. I checked in with Tara to see how the injured visitor was and luckily they seemed to be fine. 

A quick look at my records confirmed that my hunch was right, and the tagged seal was indeed Gwynnvys, a seal who was rehabbed at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary and released in 2018, and who had previously pupped on Quarry Beach in 2024. I volunteered at the CSS last year and so it’s particularly special for me to be able to contact them to let them know that one of their rehabbed pups has now pupped successfully herself on Lundy for the second time.

Gwynnvys and her Pup

And in case you were wondering, the pup that we rescued on Saturday, is now settling into life at RSPCA West Hatch and has been renamed Bagpuss by the team there.

Bagpuss at RSPCA West Hatch Rehab

Elsewhere on the island there were sightings of a Lapland Bunting, a Garden Warbler, 38 Oystercatchers, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel, a Yellow Wagtail, a Pied Flycatcher and a Firecrest.

A strong easterly wind blew today all the way from Continental Europe, as a result, I expected those who commit to their birding on the East Coast of the UK to be upturning many oddities in such interesting conditions. Unfortunately, this far west, the only real effect was that for the first time in some months, it was a helicopter day for the arriving/departing guests on the island. 

It was census today for me, with a small number of Firecrests and Goldcrests squeaking in the bushes, occasionally one of the former appearing like a bright shining beacon in the leaves. Interestingly, an Oystercatcher flock has been building up on Miller's Cake over the past couple of days and today 20+ birds were loafing on the rock. Over the Airfield, two Golden Plovers were calling loudly, before seemingly finding a landing spot. A single Grey Wagtail flew over, the flight call being an almost daily occurrence at the moment. 

A few more descriptions were needing sorting in the office in the afternoon, but with a few birders on the island at the moment there were a few things uncovered including a Snipe in Barton Field, singles of Pied and Spotted Flycatcher at Quarter Wall Copse and the highlight of the day, a juvenile Hobby worrying the small collection of Swallows over the Castle and Millcombe.  The Sparrowhawk also made an appearance.

Snipe in Barton Field by J. Hair