Update 8 & 10 Oct – a first-winter bird was seen in Millcombe on both dates; apparent plumage differences and the lack of any sighting on 9th (in spite of thorough searching) suggested that two individuals could have been involved (C. Baillie, T. Davis, T. Jones et al.). Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 5 Nov – an adult male in Millcombe. Record accepted by DBRC.

Ringing control A Pied Flycatcher ringed as a pullus (nestling) at Llananno, Powys, on 11 Jun 2006 (ring no. T733340) was controlled as an adult male on Lundy on 8 May 2008, a distance of 162 km from the place of ringing – a further ringing movement suggesting that many of the Pied Flycatchers seen on Lundy in spring are from the Welsh breeding population.

Update 12 Nov to 27 Dec – eight arrived on 12 Nov, with sightings on a further six days up to and including 19 Nov, involving from three to seven individuals. In Dec, three were seen on 24th and two on 27th.

NB At least two remained into 2009, the first time the species has overwintered on Lundy, though there have been two previous one-day midwinter records, in Dec 1995 and Jan 1984.

Update 17 to 21 Oct – one was seen on 17 Oct, joined by a second bird on 18th & 19th, with a final sighting of a single bird on 21st. All records were from either Millcombe or Quarter Wall Copse.

Update 28 Apr to 5 May – one in Millcombe on the evening of 28 April (S. Wheatley) and caught and ringed the following day (C. McShane et al.) was found to be an immature male in a rather emaciated state. It was retrapped on 2 May and (presumably the same bird) was still present on 5 May, when seen in the field (J. Horton & P. Simpson). Between initial capture and retrapping, the bird's weight increased from a poor 54g to a rather more healthy 64g. A photograph of the bird in the hand is included in the 2008 LFS logbook. Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 22 May – An immature male was seen in Millcombe (M. Shakespeare). Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 18 Oct – a notable influx of 31 birds (the fourth-highest total ever recorded) occurred, together with 18 Rooks. The mixed flock arrived during the morning from the north and circled high over the South End. Most birds landed in the Tillage Field, but all had left by early afternoon.

Update 18 Oct – a notable influx of 18 occurred, together with 31 Jackdaws. The mixed flock arrived during the morning from the north and circled high over the South End. Most birds landed in the Tillage Field, but all had left by early afternoon.

Update 30 Apr – the highest spring count was 55.

Update 12 Nov – the highest autumn count was 47.

Update 28 Feb – the highest late-winter/early-spring count was 57.

Update 19 Oct – the highest autumn count was 54.

The population remains at a high level in comparison with preceding decades; from 1960 to 2006 counts of 50 or more had been made on only a handful of occasions.

Update 12 Sep – a juvenile was seen around the village (S. Barnes, A. Plant, A.M.Taylor et al.). Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 21 & 22 Oct – a juvenile was seen in Millcombe, associating with Fieldfares as well as with Starlings (J. Allen, R.A. Duncan, A.M. Taylor et al.). Record accepted by DBRC.

These constitute the 14th and 15th Lundy records, which have involved a total of at least 19 individuals. The most recent occurrence prior to 2007 was a juvenile on 5 & 6 Sep 2004.

Update The first chicks of the year fledged from a nestbox in the lambing shed on 16 May; to have four chicks surviving to fledging this early in the season was an unusual occurrence. The adult population was estimated to be between 80 and 100 individuals at most, with definite records of at least 44 different individuals (Ian Cleasby). A female was still feeding fledglings on 5 Sep.

Update Autumn migration peaked from 13-21 Oct, with maxima of 6,000 on 18th, 9,500 on 19th and 5,000 on 20th. This was one of the larger Chaffinch movements recorded on Lundy; numbers reached 5,000 or more on only a dozen occasions in previous years.

Update Autumn migration peaked from 17-25 Oct, with a maximum of 5,000 on 25 Oct.

Ringing recovery A Chaffinch ringed as a first-year female on Lundy on 7 Sep 2007 (ring no. T949551) was found dead (taken by cat) at Okehampton, Devon on 20 Apr 2008, a distance of 67 km from Lundy.

Ringing recovery A Chaffinch ringed as a first-year female on Lundy on 26 Oct 2007 (ring no. V935134) was found dead (hit window) at Le Chene, Saint-Colomban, Loire-Atlantique, France (47°00’N, 1°34’W) on 17 Feb 2008, a distance of 515 km from Lundy. This is the furthest south that any British-ringed Chaffinch is known to have moved and may give an indication of the onward direction followed by the very large numbers that passed through Lundy during October 2007.

Clarification p. 255, first paragraph, third to fifth lines: the bird found at Lee Mill, Plymouth on 8 June 1994 had been shot and was likely to have been reasonably fresh for the finder to know this. It is therefore most likely that this bird was in its breeding area when killed.

Ringing recovery A Goldfinch ringed as an adult male on Lundy (ring no. T949325) on 24 Oct 2006 was found dead (killed by a cat) at Tiverton, Devon, 89 km away, on 17 Jan 2007. This is the third known movement involving a Goldfinch ringed on Lundy during autumn migration. All three birds were found in mainland Devon or Cornwall during the months of Nov, Jan and Apr. This small sample suggests that south-west England may be an important wintering area for Goldfinches migrating through Lundy in autumn, though the Nov and early-Apr birds could equally have been staging en route to or from wintering grounds in continental Europe.

Update 6 Oct to 13 Nov – an unprecedented autumn for this species on Lundy, with a major movement occurring during Oct. Counts reached three figures daily from 11-23 Oct, peaking at 1,000 on 14 Oct and 800 on 18th. There were also 100 on 7 Nov. Flocks were feeding voraciously on yarrow seed on Castle Hill, on nettle seeds in Millcombe and St Helen's Combe, and were watched 'leaf gleaning' in St Helen's Copse. The onward movements of some of these birds are indicated by the following ringing controls and a recovery. All were found east of Lundy between late Jan and mid-Apr – perhaps beginning to move north-east through the UK and The Netherlands having spent the early part of the winter further south and west. Given the date, the bird in The Netherlands would probably still have been far from its breeding grounds and, overall, these movements do not provide any real evidence of where the 2007 Siskin invasion originated.

Ringing control A Siskin ringed as a first-year male on Lundy on 21 Oct 2007 (ring no. T949824) was controlled at Thetford, Norfolk, on 14 Apr 2008, a distance of 395 km from Lundy.

Ringing control A Siskin ringed as a first-year male on Lundy on 20 Oct 2007 (ring no. V487601) was controlled at Watchet, Somerset on 23 Mar 2008, a distance of 92 km from Lundy.

Ringing control A Siskin ringed as a first-year female on Lundy on 20 Oct 2007 (ring no. V487662) was controlled at Bratton, Somerset, on 20 Feb 2008, a distance of 81 km from Lundy.

Ringing recovery A Siskin ringed as a first-year male on Lundy on 27 Oct 2007 (ring no. V935175) was found dead (hit window) at Tielekenshoeven, Rosmalen, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands on 29 Jan 2008, a distance of 698 km from Lundy.

Update 29 Oct – a first-winter male was trapped and ringed (A.M. Taylor). This record has only recently come to light and now constitutes the first for the island, as well as the first for Devon. It was not available for the review by Diamond (2003), which gave 30 Sep 1988 as the first record for Lundy.

Update 30 Sep – the record of one trapped and ringed on this date now becomes the 2nd occurrence for Lundy (in the light of the recently discovered record for 1986 detailed above).

Update 8 Oct – one showing characteristics of the race C. f. islandica in Millcombe (A.L. Cooper, S.L. Cooper, R.M. Patient). This record came to light after publication of The Birds of Lundy and did not appear in the 2006 LFS logbook or 2006 LFS Annual Report but is listed as “pending” on p.158 of the 2006 Devon Bird Report. It constitutes the 5th record for the island.

Update 26 Oct – a first-winter female was caught and ringed in St John's Valley (A.M. Taylor et al.). Record accepted by DBRC. This constitutes the 6th Lundy record. Lundy currently accounts for all Common Redpoll records for the whole of Devon.

Update 6 & 9 May – eight birds seen on both dates equalled the previous highest spring count for the island.

Update 29 Sep – a count of 14 equalled the second-highest daily total recorded on Lundy (the highest was 25 on 9 Oct 1997).

Update 5 Sep to 29 Oct – recorded on seven dates, with a maximum of five on 28 Sep. The first of these was a juvenile that flew down the East Side calling before landing in pines on the southern side of Millcombe. It flew out from the island several times, but returned on each occasion, at one point perching on the ridge of the Church roof! (Tony Taylor, pers. comm.)

Update 20 Oct – a female or immature calling in flight as it headed south over Pondsbury with other finches (R.M. Patient). Record accepted by DBRC. The most recent autumn record prior to this was in Oct 2005.

Update 9 & 10 Jun – a first-summer male in Millcombe, close to Government House, on 9th and between Brambles and Millcombe House on 10th, when it was also heard singing (A. Jayne). This is the first spring record for Lundy since 4 Jun 1999, when one was heard singing in Millcombe. Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 26 Sep to 4 Oct – one was seen regularly in the Millcombe and St John’s area (R. Campey, B. Heasman, I. Lakin et al.).

Update 24 Oct – one seen briefly in Millcombe (I. Lakin, K. Rylands). The most recent autumn occurrence prior to 2008 was in Oct 2005. Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 18 Oct – at least seven were seen, including three together on the Airfield (T. Bedford, R. Campey, T. Davis et al.), constituting the highest daily count since six were recorded on 22 Oct 1994. Record accepted by DBRC. Recorded on 11 other dates between 7 and 29 Oct (multiple observers).

Update 25 Sep-22 Oct – occurrences at scattered locations on ten dates. Most records involved single birds, but two were reported on 27 & 28 Sep and 22 Oct (T. Bedford, R.J. Campey, A.L. Cooper et al.).

Update 16 Sep – a first-winter bird was seen in Millcombe (A. Williams), the first since Aug 2005. Record accepted by DBRC.

Update 1 Nov – one seen briefly in Millcombe (A. Jayne). Record accepted by DBRC. This constitutes the 14th Lundy record and the 16th individual. The most recent previous sighting was in October 2005.

Update 6 Feb – one; the first winter record for many years.

Update 20 Oct – one heard calling in flight over Castle Hill during a morning of strong southward passerine migration. Record subject to acceptance by DBRC. If accepted, this would constitute the 18th LFS record and the first since 1999.

Correction The bird trapped on 27 Oct was a first-winter female, not a first-winter male as stated. The entries in both the 1985 Devon Bird Report and 1985 BBRC report were mistaken and British Birds later published a correction to this effect (British Birds 81: 593).

Update 14 to 16 Oct – The BBRC has determined that the record submitted for a Blyth's Pipit on Castle Hill was ‘not proven’; it would have constituted the first for Lundy had the record been accepted. Source: BBRC website (www.bbrc.org.uk). At least three Richard's Pipits A. richardii were also present on the island in mid-October 2007. The possible Blyth's Pipit was a fourth large pipit.

Update 12 May – The BBRC has determined that the record submitted for a Collared Flycatcher on Castle Hill was ‘not proven’; it would have constituted the first for Lundy had the record been accepted. (One reported in October 1990 was not accepted by BBRC.)