Lundy Trip - Short Report
A wet start, but by the time the boat left Bideford quay, the rain had moved on, and the crossing to Lundy was troubled only by a slight swell. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the immature King Eider in the mouth of the estuary. 3 Harbour Porpoises were logged along with a few Manx Shearwater, and 2 or 3 Storm Petrels. On arrival, we did a clockwise circuit of the island for views of the cliffs and seabirds, and were fortunate to see a couple of Puffins as well as the more common Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes. A group of 10 or so Atlantic Grey Seals were hauled out on the rocks at the northeast tip of the island. At the top of the hill, it quickly became obvious that there were plenty of Chiffchaffs around, along with some Blackcaps. Near the pub a Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail was feeding with a Pied and a White Wagtail in amongst a flock of sheep. Good numbers of Wheatears were present. After the sea mist dispersed, many of us had great views of a 1st year female Ring Ouzel near the defunct heligoland trap on ¼ wall. It fed out in the open allowing prolonged views and good photo opportunities. The bird ringers were active during the day, and some were lucky enough to see the Turtle Dove that was ringed in the afternoon, along with some of the 7 Grasshopper Warblers ringed during the day. They also ringed a Lesser Whitethroat. Other birds seen during the day included Whinchat, Whitethroat, Sedge & Reed Warbler, Merlin, Peregrine, Tree Pipit, Sand & House Martin, and Swift.
We were all back on board soon after half past six, and the usual bread throwing antics off the stern attracted a big flock of Herring and Lesser Black-backs, and we were treated to excellent close-up views of a few Gannets. 2 Sandwich and a probable Arctic Tern were also seen, and we had the unusual pleasure of steaming up river in the dark, very slowly, as the tide was not a big one, giving us only a couple of metres clearance under the hull. As we drove home through Barnstaple, the rain returned, so we had been very lucky! Somewhere in the region of 60 species logged
Thanks to Tim Davis and Tim Jones for donating one of the new books The birds of Lundy as a raffle prize – it was the first to be claimed!