Lundy breeding birds 2008 to 2023

Mallard

Breeding confirmed in every year.

Teal

Breeding confirmed for the first time in 2015 when a female and four ducklings were seen on Pondsbury in June & July. Breeding was confirmed annually during the period 2016 to 2018, with at least two broods seen in each of these years, and again from 2020 to 2023 inclusive (one or two broods each year).  It is thought likely that breeding was attempted in 2019 but no young were seen.

Cuckoo

Calling males heard every spring, and breeding confirmed in 2009, 2012 & 2018, when juveniles were seen in the company of their host parents – Meadow Pipits in all cases. A juvenile seen in early August 2008 may have been island-reared, but could equally have been a migrant from elsewhere. Fully-grown juveniles seen in August 2013, 2015, 2019 & 2021, and July 2020, were also thought to have been passage migrants.

Woodpigeon

Present throughout the breeding season in all years and nesting attempts have probably been made by one or two pairs annually. The years in which definite evidence of breeding was reported have been 2014 (independent juvenile seen on 1 June, and adult nest-building in upper Millcombe on 9 June); 2015 (fledged juvenile in Millcombe on 8 July); 2017 (a pair mating in Millcombe in Apr and a recently fledged juv there on 5 Jul); 2018 (fledgling in Millcombe in Jun and a juv in Aug); 2019 (fledglings in Millcombe in Jun & Sep); 2020 (fledglings in Millcombe in Jun); 2021 (fledgling in Millcombe in Jul); and 2022 (fledglings in Millcombe in Jun & Sep).

Collared Dove

Migrants occurred every spring, especially in May, and the classic territorial call was reported from the Village, Millcombe and/or elsewhere along the East Side in 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019 & 2021 (at least) but there was no evidence of breeding in these or other years.

Fulmar

Breeding confirmed in every year. Successive censuses have shown a gradually increasing population since rats were eradicated from the island, with 170 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.) in 2008, 209 a.o.n. in 2013, 227 a.o.n. in 2017, and a further increase (of 7%) to 243 a.o.n. in 2023 – the highest ever recorded for the island. In 2021, 16 chicks fledged from 34 active nests on the north face of Gannets' Rock, representing a productivity value of 0.47 (cf. 0.47 in 2020, 0.48 in 2019 and 0.39 in 2018).

Water Rail

Breeding confirmed in every year from 2007 to 2013 and again in 2015, but not in 2014 (though birds were recorded in all months except June). There was no evidence of breeding in 2016, and though birds held territory in both 2017 & 2018, no young were seen. Calling chicks were heard (but not seen) at Quarters Pond in 2019 – the first confirmation of breeding since 2015. In 2020, a calling chick was hear just NW of the intersection of Quarter Wall and 'Pointless Wall' (the incomplete wall running S from Quarter Wall towards the Airfiled). In 2021, an adult and chick were calling to each other near Quarter Wall. In 2022 ‘song’ was heard at Quarter Wall on 16 May and calls at Pondsbury on 13 Jun. However, no further indications of breeding were detected and the absence of records in Jul and Aug suggest that breeding did not occur that year. In 2023, breeding was confirmed at Pondsbury, with young heard calling in the early hours of 19 June and again on 27 July.

Oystercatcher

Breeding confirmed in every year. Both the 2008 and 2013 breeding seabird censuses recorded 18 territories. Oystercatchers were not covered by the 2017, 2021 or 2023 breeding seabird surveys.

Kittiwake

Breeding confirmed in every year. The 2008 breeding seabird census found 151 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.), decreasing to 127 a.o.n. in 2013. However, both the 2017 and 2021 census figures bucked the long-term downward trend, with increases to 238 a.o.n. and 284 a.o.n. respectively – the latter the highest total since 1996. Conversely, productivity in 2021 was the lowest yet recorded, at just 0.19 chicks fledged per active nest (cf o.66 in 2020, 0.59 in 2019, 0.46 in 2018 and 0.38 in 2017). Most nests failed at the chick-rearing stage and it was thought that adults were struggling to find sufficient food. In 2020, quite a number of nests sited lower down the cliffs were lost due to storm-swell during unseasonable periods of westerly gales in July.

The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer 2023 yielded a total of 339 apparently occupied nests, a further welcome increase on both the 2017 and 2021 totals, and more than double the first post-rat eradication estimate of 151 pairs in 2008. However, numbers are still far below those recorded historically, (e.g. 3,000 pairs estimated in 1939, 1,213 in 1973, and 407 in 1992), reflecting the long-term declines affecting many UK colonies, which are likely related to factors operating far beyond Lundy and its surrounding waters, such the impacts of global climate-change, as well as over-exploitation of marine resources. Avian influenza, though not yet detected in Lundy-breeding Kittiwakes, has badly affected colonies elsewhere.

Great Back-backed Gull

Breeding confirmed in every year. Successive census yielded broadly similar totals of 57 pairs in 2008, 50 pairs in 2013 and 51 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.) in 2018, followed by an apparent decline to just 21 a.o.n. in 2021 (though surveying was conducted late in the season that year). The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer of 2023 yielded a total of just 32 apparently occupied nests – confirming a significant decline on numbers recorded in 2018.

Herring Gull

Breeding confirmed in every year. Successive censuses have indicated a declining population, for reasons that are not fully understood, There were 534 apparently occupied territories (a.o.t.) recorded in 2008, 428 a.o.t. in 2013, 241 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.) in 2018, and 248 a.o.n. in 2021. The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer of 2023 yielded a total of 244 apparently occupied nests – a significant drop of 22% since 2022, and though very similar to numbers recorded in 2018 & 2021, represents a decline of approximately two-thirds (65.5%) from the 708 pairs estimated as relatively recently as 2004 (not to mention the considerably higher numbers present historically).

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Breeding confirmed in every year. Successive censuses have indicated a steadily declining population, for reasons that are not fully understood, There were 263 apparently occupied territories (a.o.t.) recorded in 2008, 242 a.o.t. in 2013 and 133 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.) in 2018. The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer of 2023 yielded a total of only 96 apparently occupied nests – a significant drop in the numbers recorded in 2022 and 2018, and a decline of more than three-quarters (78%) from the 444 pairs estimated in 2004 – the all-time peak of the island's population – reflecting the current parlous state of all three of Lundy's nesting large gull species.

Guillemot

Breeding confirmed in every year. Successive breeding seabird censuses have shown a significant long-term increase in Guillemot numbers post rat-eradication, with 3,302 birds individual birds counted at breeding sites in 2008, 4,114 birds in 2013; 6,198 birds in 2017; and 9,880 birds in 2021, the latter representing a 59% increase in just four years, an approximate trebling of the population since 2008, and by far the highest total since the regular seabird census commenced in 1981. In 2020, overall productivity was good at the St Mark's Stone study colony: 165 chicks ‘fledged’ from 217 active ‘nests’, representing 0.76 chicks per breeding pair (cf. 0.69 in 2019 and 0.65 in 2018). The average number of adults at this site has increased six-fold since 1981 – again likely due to the eradication of rats.

The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer of 2023 yielded a total of 9,912 individuals – only a tiny increase (of 0.3%) on the number recorded in 2021, indicating a slowing of the population increase and potentially suggesting that the island may be reaching carrying capacity under current ecological conditions (although evidence indicates that numbers were higher historically). However, this requires further investigation and it will be interesting to see if the next census shows continued stabilisation/'plateauing' of the population, a new increase, or even a decline, as climate change impacts, over-exploitation of marine resources and avian influenza affect seabirds in Britain and further afield.

Razorbill

Breeding confirmed in every year. As for Guilemot, there has been a notable increase post rat-eradication, from 1,045 individual birds counted at breeding sites during the 2008 census; to 1,324 individuals in 2013; 1,735 birds in 2017; and 3,533 birds in 2021, representing a doubling of numbers in just four years and the highest total since the regular seabird census commenced in 1981.

The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer of 2023 yielded a total of 3,785 individuals. This was just over 7% higher than the number recorded by the last census, just two years previously, in 2021, suggesting that the population continues to expand post-rat eradication, though perhaps at a slower rate than previously.

Puffin

Breeding confirmed in every year. The population has grown significantly since the eradication of rats; nest burrows have been located at the Battery, Jenny’s Cove (the principal colony), St Philip’s Stone, and Long Roost, while birds have been observed prospecting elsewhere. The RSPB-led breeding census, spread over several days in spring 2017, produced a total of 375 birds, representing a 369% increase over the total recorded using the same methodology in 2013, and was followed by a further large increase to 848 individuals in 2021. Productivity at Jenny's Cove in 2021 was 0.62 chicks fledged per active burrow (cf 0.51 in 2020).

The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in Jun 2023 resulted in a new record post-rat eradication population estimate of 1,335 individuals.

Storm Petrel

Breeding was confirmed for the first time in 2014 when a chick was found on the West Side on 5 October. An adult was heard 'singing' in the same area on the night of 15/16 July 2015. There was circumstantial evidence of breeding in 2016 and confirmed breeding occurred near North Light in 2017 and 2018. Birds were also seen at night at Brazen Ward during summer 2018. Several birds trapped at night near North Light in Aug 2019 and Aug 2020 had very full crops, suggesting they were feeding young in the vicinity. In 2021, breeding birds were again present at North Light and Brazen Ward, whilst two new sites were located – one along the East Side and another close to the Battery. The island's breeding population was conservatively estimated at a minimum of 50 pairs. The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds during the late spring and early summer of 2023 resulted in an estimate of 161 apparently occupied sites (burrows), a proxy for the number of breeding pairs, and equivalent to a population of well over 300 individuals.

Fulmar

Breeding confirmed in every year. Successive censuses have shown a gradually increasing population since rats were eradicated from the island, with 170 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.) in 2008, 209 a.o.n. in 2013, 227 a.o.n. in 2017, and a further increase (of 7%) to 243 a.o.n. in 2023 – the highest ever recorded for the island. In 2021, 16 chicks fledged from 34 active nests on the north face of Gannets' Rock, representing a productivity value of 0.47 (cf. 0.47 in 2020, 0.48 in 2019 and 0.39 in 2018).

Manx Shearwater

Breeding confirmed in every year. Burrow surveys in 2017 & 2018 resulted in a new population estimate of 5,504 pairs, a 55% increase on the 2013 estimate. The RSPB-led survey of nesting burrows conducted in Jun 2023 resulted in an estimate of 12,638 apparently occupied sites, a proxy for the number pairs and equivalent to a breeding population of more than 25,000 individuals. This set a new record for the island and more than doubled the previous estimate in 2018, showing that the population continues to expand rapidly, nearly two decades on from Lundy being declared 'rat free'.

Shag

Breeding confirmed in every year. The 2008 census found 63 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.); the 2013 census recorded an increase to 112 a.o.n., and though the 2017 census suggested a decline, with just 55 a.o.n., the 2021 total was back up to 96 a.o.n. The reasons for this apparent variation are unknown, but might reflect between-year differences in the timing of peak breeding activity linked to food availability. The RSPB-led survey of breeding seabirds in late spring and early summer of 2023 yielded a total of 110 apparently occupied nests, a further welcome recovery in numbers (+14.6% since 2021) and only just shy of the 112 nests found in 2013.

Kestrel

Ones and twos were present during the spring and summer months (though not necessarily continuously) in a number of years between 2007 and 2015. There was circumstantial evidence of breeding in 2016 and a displaying pair was present in May 2019. The presence of a territorial pair was confirmed in May 2020, and a nest-site was discovered along the East Side in Jun. Two chicks fledged on 6 Jul – the first confirmation of successful breeding since 2005. There was no evidence of breeding (not even a territorial pair) in 2021. In 2022, two chicks fledged from a nest along the West Side, being seen at the Battery on 30 Jun. In 2023, adults were taking food (including many Pygmy Shrews) to chicks at a nest along the East Side cliffs and two fledged young were seen around the Village in Jun

Peregrine

Breeding confirmed in every year.

Carrion Crow

Breeding confirmed in every year.

Raven

Breeding confirmed in every year.

Skylark

Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent complete census.

Swallow

Breeding confirmed in every year, with no more than a handful of pairs, all of which have been in buildings in and around the Village and Millcombe, except for a pair that occupied a semi-natural site beneath a granite overhang on the old quarry face above Quarry Pond from 2018 to 2020, inclusive.

Willow Warbler

Breeding confirmed in 2012 (one pair watched feeding young below Hanmers Copse; another pair nest-building in Millcombe). Singing males have held territory well into June in several other years, including one in Millcombe to the end of Jun 2020, but there is no additional evidence of any breeding attempt.

Chiffchaff

Though territory-holding males were present into June in all years, the only years in which breeding has been confirmed since publication of The Birds of Lundy were 2010 and 2018 to 2023, inclusive (all in Millcombe). In addition, adults were carrying nesting material in lower Millcombe in late May 2016.

Sedge Warbler

Territory-holding males have been present well into June in several years but the only confirmation of breeding since publication of The Birds of Lundy was in 2010 when a pair were feeding fledged young in St John’s Valley.

Blackcap

A juvenile was seen in Millcombe on 27 June 2009, but there had been no earlier reports of breeding behaviour, so it may have been an early-dispersing mainland-reared bird. Strong circumstantial evidence indicates that breeding was probably at least attempted in Millcombe in most years from 2011 to 2015, inclusive, but definitive proof remained elusive until Jun/Jul 2016, when breeding on the island was confirmed for the first time. Breeding was proven again from 2018 to 2023, inclusive, following a 'blank' year in 2017. Fledglings from broods reared by two different pairs were seen in Millcombe on 24 Jun and 9 Jul 2020, the first year in which more than one pair is known to have bred successfully.

Whitethroat

Territory-holding males have been present well into June in every year and a pair was nest-building in Millcombe in June 2012, but the first proof of breeding since publication of The Birds of Lundy (in fact the first proof of breeding since 1978!) did not come until 2019, when a pair successfully reared two brood in upper Millcombe. Breeding was again successful in 2020, when a pair fledged young along the east-coast sidelands; in 2021 – a pair feeding fledglings near the 'Steps of Doom'; in 2022 there were at least two successful pairs in Millcombe; and in 2023 when adults were carrying food to a nest site just north of the South Light compound on Lametor.

Goldcrest

Confirmed breeding in 2023. A pair bred successfully in the pines on the northern side of Millcombe, fledging three young on 14 Jul. This was the first confirmation of breeding on the island since 2000.

Wren

Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent census, though up to 100 singing males were estimated in May 2022 (the highest estimate on record).

Starling

Breeding confirmed in every year. Indications are that the breeding opoulation has increased substantially, perhaps as a consequence of rat eradication, with at least 40 pairs nesting successfully in 2018 – the highest total ever recorded for the island. This was eclipsed in 2019 by a total of 56 active nests located in the vicinity of the Village, Church & Old Light. Some 52 active nests were found in May 2020, whilst a number of replacement broods and probable second broods fledged at the end of Jun 2020. At least 53 active nests were located at the end of Apr 2021, followed by at least 60 active nests in May/Jun 2022, and 52 active nests on 24 May 2023.

Blackbird

Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent complete census.

Song Thrush

Breeding confirmed in 2008 (one pair) and 2009 (two pairs and evidence of both spring and summer broods). However, following a run of cold winters the small breeding population died out. Song was heard in 2010, but there was no evidence of successful breeding. In 2011, for the first time since the mid-1980s, there were no singing males; a situation that persisted up to and including 2020. A singing male held territory in Millcombe throughout the spring and early summer 2021, but there was no indication that he succeeded in attracting a mate. The UK breeding population has undergone long-term decline, but vegetation change on the island, including the clearance of rhododendron thickets and the impacts of feral grazers on the shrub layer in Millcombe, might have contributed at a local level. A lone male sang consistently in Millcombe throughout the breeding seasons of 2021, 2022 and 2023 – apparently without attracting a mate, as there was no other evidence of breeding.

Spotted Flycatcher

From 2007 to 2016, inclusive, there was no evidence of breeding, with the handful of birds recorded well into June in most years all considered to be late passage migrants. However, a pair bred at Quarter Wall Copse in 2017 – the first confirmed breeding record for the island since 1997. A pair nested in the Casbah (Millcombe) in 2020, hatching four eggs. Small nestlings were being fed on 6 Jul, but had sadly died by 10 Jul when cool, wet and very windy weather prevented the adults from finding sufficient insect food.

Robin

Breeding confirmed in every year. Perhaps three to six pairs nesting annually in Millcombe and along the East Side.

Stonechat

Following a succession of mild winters, a small breeding population had become established when The Birds of Lundy was published in 2007. Breeding by at least one pair was also confirmed in 2008 and probably occurred in 2009 (well-grown young seen on the Terrace in early August). Following a run of colder winters from 2009 to 2012, including several prolonged periods of severe weather, the breeding population died out and there was no evidence of breeding for 2010–2014 inclusive. A pair bred successfully in the gorsey heathland south of Pondsbury in 2015. There was no evidence of breeding in either 2016 or 2017, but breeding was confirmed by a pair north of St Helen's Copse in 2018 and at least four pairs bred in both 2019 & 2020. At least seven territories were located in 2021, with successful breeding confirmed for three of these. Up to 19 territories were found during May, including eight pairs feeding young (Stuart Cossey). This is by far the highest number of territories ever recorded for the island.

Wheatear

Breeding confirmed in every year. A colour-ringing study initiated in 2013 resulted in a (then) record-breaking population estimate of 115 pairs in 2014. As a species that typically nests underground, or in holes and crevices close to ground level, Wheatears are likely to have benefited significantly from the eradication of rats, a conclusion reinforced by further all-island estimates made in subsequent years: 2015 – 100 pairs; 2016 – 110 pairs; 2017 – 121 pairs, the latter another record high; 2018 – 114 pairs; and 2019 – 118 pairs. No all-island estimates could be produced in 2020 or 2021 because of the fieldwork limitations imposed by the Covid pandemic. In 2022, the breeding population within the RAS study area was estimated at 55 pairs, whereas the whole-island population was estimated at 129 breeding pairs – the highest ever recorded.

House Sparrow

Breeding confirmed in every year; 218 broods were recorded by researchers during the 2017 breeding season. 175 broods were recorded in 2018; 103 broods in 2019; and 115 broods in 2021. The smaller number of broods in 2019 was attributed to a late start to the season, most likely the result of a prolonged run of cold nights in May. No comparable figure can be given for 2020 due to the constraints on fieldwork imposed during the Covid pandemic. In 2022, just 70 broods were found and a total of 129 chicks hatched, with 88 ringed as nestlings. The low number of broods reflected a late start to the season, following cold weather in February.

Dunnock

Breeding confirmed in every year. The population fell to a low level, with no more than two to five territorial males for a time in the early to mid-2010s, but appears to have turned a corner in the last few years, with 12 breeding territories located in 2020. It seems possible that these changes reflect the loss of suitable nesting cover as a consequence of clearance of the former rhododendron thickets, followed by an expansion of native scrub, combined with efforts to reduce the impact of feral grazers on the shrubby understorey in Millcombe.

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent complete census.

Rock Pipit

Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent complete census.

Chaffinch

Breeding confirmed in every year, although the population is now extremely small, not exceeding three pairs. There was no proof of breeding at all in 2018 and just a single pair bred in Millcombe in 2019, but three pairs were present in the valley in 2020. In 2021, pairs bred successfully in Millcombe and probably also at St Helen's Copse.

Linnet

Goldfinch