Early morning fog and drizzle, enlivened by scattered downpours, gradually gave way to a sunny but sultry late morning and afternoon. The highlight of the day was long-awaited proof, for the first time ever, of a Blackcap breeding attempt on Lundy. A male and female (both carrying BTO rings) were watched for more more than an hour as they assiduously gathered spider webs (used to bind the nest together) from crevices in the slate walls of Millcombe gardens. The male was wing-shivering and giving short but intense bursts of song between foraging trips and both birds returned repeatedly to the presumed nest site. A Whitethroat was again singing near St Helen's Copse. The Oystercatcher family on Rat Island (see entry for 7th) was continuing to thrive.
A count of Puffins at Jenny's Cove at around 13.00 hrs yielded a minimum total of 95 (45 on land and 50 on the water), but part of the area used by Puffins, on the south side of the bay, was not visible from our vantage point near the Earthquake.
On the afternoon crossing to Ilfracombe two Sandwich Terns were seen about 40 minutes out from the island.
Update: See photos of Red-breasted Flycatcher (31 May) and Greenish Warbler (5 June) added to the relevant posts below, courtesy of Paul Holt and Rebecca & Richard Taylor. A few other photos also added.
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