Lundy breeding birds 2008 to 2021

This page summarises the recent status of Lundy’s breeding species – both landbirds and seabirds – including all those known to have bred successfully, as well as those that are thought to have bred, since The Birds of Lundy was published in 2007. A total of 43 species are known to have bred during the period 2008–2021, inclusive. Of these, 30 species were confirmed as breeding successfully every year. One other species that has bred previously on the island (Collared Dove) has occurred in suitable habitat in the breeding season during this period but is not known to have nested since 2007. One species (Song Thrush) has not bred since 2009, but a territory-holding male was present in 2021.

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 in 2020 & 2021 (one and two broods, respectively). It is thought likely that breeding was attempted in 2019 but no young were seen.
Mallard	Breeding confirmed in every year.
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 to 265 a.o.n. in 2021 – the highest ever recorded for the island. Also 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, showing the continued rapid growth of the colony since rat eradication.
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.
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.
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.
Peregrine	Breeding confirmed in every year.
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.
Oystercatcher	Breeding confirmed in every year. Both the 2008 and 2013 breeding seabird censuses recorded 18 territories. Oystercatchers were not covered by the 2017 or 2021 breeding seabird surveys.
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, 133 apparently occupied nests (a.o.n.) in 2018, and just 99 a.o.n. in 2021.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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); and 2021 (fledgling in Millcombe in Jul).
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.
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.
Skylark	Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent 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.
Meadow Pipit	Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent census.
Rock Pipit	Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent census.
Pied Wagtail	Breeding confirmed in every year. No more than a handful of pairs; most birds using either natural rock crevices or holes in dry-stone walls and buildings.
Wren	Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent census.
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.
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.
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.
Blackbird	Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent 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.
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 2021, 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 both 2020, when a pair fledged young along the east-coast sidelands, and in 2021 – a pair feeding fledglings near the 'Steps of Doom'.
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 2021, inclusive (all in Millcombe). In addition, adults were carrying nesting material in lower Millcombe in late May 2016.
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.
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.
Carrion Crow	Breeding confirmed in every year.
Raven	Breeding confirmed in every year.
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.
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.
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.
Goldfinch	Present during the breeding season in all years and at least one or two pairs likely to have bred annually. Juveniles were seen in July or August in 2009–2013, inclusive, though it was unknown whether these were definitely Lundy-reared birds. Breeding on the island has been confirmed in every subsequent year, i.e. 2014 to 2021, inclusive, with at least six pairs thought to have bred in Millcombe in 2019. In 2020, several pairs bred in Millcombe, with single pairs at Quarter Wall Copse and the Terrace. The colonisation of the island is one of the most notable changes of status for any of Lundy's breeding passerines.
Linnet	Breeding confirmed in every year. No recent census.

Water Rail by Mike Langman from The Birds of Lundy

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