It was good to meet Jenny and Judith fellow MARINElife surveyors who were conducting today’s monthly Lundy survey.
Today was my first trip to Lundy since last year, before leaving Bideford Quay at 07:30, I boarded MS Oldenburg along with an almost full ship of passengers and the 8 crew. I made my way to the bridge and checked in with Jason the Captain.
Out on the decks, I chatted to many of the passengers about our work and what we could possibly see during today’s sailings.
As the ship navigated the Torridge estuary, many common birds were observed. Once we were out into the Bristol Channel, I didn’t record many birds until about an hour into the crossing when I started to pick up some of the expected seabirds such as Manx Shearwater, Gannet, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar, Kittiwake and a few gulls.
Arriving at Lundy’s landing bay the passengers were eager to get off and happily made their way up to the top of the island. After exploring the Milcombe wooded area for birds, I then completed a circular walk around the eastern side of the island as this offered shelter from the wind.
As with the rest of the returning passengers, I made my way back to the jetty in time for boarding MS Oldenburg. Whilst waiting to board there were quite a few Grey Seals, some were very curious and that gave the passengers a chance to take a few photos.
The weather was not great for the return sailing with a stiff southwesterly breeze pushing up a bit of a sea, and sadly it rained until we reached Northern Burrows at the entrance to the river Torridge. However, before this, some of the passengers along with myself were treated to three Common Dolphin riding the wake from the ship. Also, of note was seeing a Great Skua passing over the stern.
The ship arrived back in Bideford and before I disembarked, I thanked Jason the Captain and his crew for supporting MARINElife and I look forward to my next trip at some point in 2027.
MARINElife WLA: Steve McAusland
Species recorded
Marine mammals
- Common Dolphin
Seabirds
- Black-headed gull
- Common Tern
- Cormorant
- Fulmar
- Gannet
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Great Skua
- Guillemot
- Herring Gull
- Manx Shearwater
- Razorbill
- Shag
River birds
- Canada goose
- Carrion Crow
- Curlew
- Grey Heron
- Jackdaw
- Kestrel
- Kingfisher
- Little Egret
- Mallard Duck
- Oystercatcher
- Peregrine
- Redshank
- Swallow
Wildlife on Lundy
Animals
- Mammals
- Feral Goat
- Grey Seal
- Highland Cattle
- Lundy Pony
- Sheep
- Sika Deer
Birds
- Blackbird
- Blue Tit
- Carrion Crow
- Chaffinch
- Gannet
- Goldcrest
- Goldfinch
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Guillemot
- Herring Gull
- House Martin
- House Sparrow
- Jackdaw
- Linnet
- Magpie
- Mallard Duck
- Manx Shearwater
- Meadow Pipit
- Oystercatcher
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pied Wagtail
- Raven
- Razorbill
- Shag
- Skylark
- Starling
- Swallow
- Water Rail (heard)
- Wood pigeon
- Wren
Insects
- Large White
- Painted Lady
- Red Admiral
- Clouded Yellow