Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 8th July 2010 (by Catriona - Discovery Centre)
Bass Rock: The oldest gannet chicks are beginning to lose their fluffy down now. Some birds are still incubating eggs.
Craigleith: There have been lots of puffins around over the last few days. A puffling was seen peeking out of a burrow yesterday.
Isle of May: Again, lots of puffins have been seen in the last couple of days. The cliffs are now nearly empty of guillemots and razorbills.
Fidra: A fulmar chick was spotted by Nora this afternoon
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 30th June 2010 (by Catriona - Discovery Centre)
Bass Rock: More chicks are appearing each day, and the bigger ones are now very easy to spot. Some gannets are still incubating eggs.
Craigleith: Puffins were quite scarce at the start of the week, but for the last couple of days large numbers of them have been seen hanging out on the rocks. Cormorant and shag chicks are beginning to wander away from their nests. A young grey seal was seen on Monday.
Dunbar: The kittiwakes appear to be doing quite well, several nests having two or even three chicks in them.
Fidra: Lots of puffins have been seen in the lastfew days. Guillemots and razorbills are beginning to leave the cliffs now.
Isle of May: The cliffs here are also looking a bit emptier, as the razorbills and guillemots head back out to sea. Again, lots of puffins have been seen towards the end of the week. The shag chicks in the nests just below the cliff camera are all looking very big and healthy, and some of them are beginning to leave the nests and wander around the rocks.
Wildlife Sightings week up to 25th June (by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Sorry just a brief update.
The Bass The gannets that nested right on our pathway to the chapel are now much more relaxed. They have defended the sites with ‘vigor’! Two have taken sites close to the elder bush, (loosing our valuable bag space). They too are more relaxed.
Photographers are given very clear guidelines as to how to pass these birds. I can’t wait to see them hatch. Several of the fringe birds have already hatched this week and are all being very attentive. I think what has made a difference this year, several of the patrolling herring gulls have been displaced. Unfortunately not the dive bombing chapel pair!! There is also a particularly nasty one that I think is giving lessons to the others on the pathway. I mentioned this one last year. It should win the ‘paintball medal’ for precision and coverage of its poo. Hat, hair, neck, and collar, nothing escapes. Nothing deters this one!! I cringe everytime I see it, just waiting!! It is lovely to see the way the chicks scuttle for cover, and freeze as the call comes out from the adult.
The orange billed guillemot has a chick this year. The head of this adult bird is mottled brown and the webs a pale orange yellow. The chick looks very near to fledging.
Craigleith The puffins are everywhere, and it is wonderful the feedback that is coming in from people who are marveling at the transformation of this island.
Food source. It is looking very good this year. Sprats, sandeels and for the gannets shoals of mackerel. I have seen photos taken this week at the Farne Islands, puffins flying in with bills filled with large sandeels!! This has not been seen for some time and it wonderful news for this year’s breeding season.
Dunbar Kittiwake numbers are up this year
A call came in from Holly in the Discovery Centre about a stranded dolphin on Gullane beach. She was concerned as it had been some time since a call for help went out, and no one had arrived. The Marine medics were called and along with SSPCA and local help made the white beaked dolphin more comfortable. Sadly, it was in too poor condition to be saved.
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 18th June (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May As we sailed into Kirkhaven last week, the harsh rasping of the terns that greets the visitor was sadly silent. The arctic tern colony that breeds on the shingle surround of Kirhaven is struggling. The wardens are puzzled. The terns had arrived as normal but have not really settled near the beacon, a few are on nests. As you walk along Holyman’s Road it's beautiful to watch as they fly overhead. The scarlet red bill and legs, the deeply forked tail that has earned them the sailors name of ‘sea swallow’.
Puffins are very active as they to and fro feeding their chicks with reasonable sized sprats. Guillemot, razorbill all carrying in sandeels and feeding the chicks. Before we know it, under the dusk of summer nights, their young chick will jump off the cliff ledges to join the male who will then tend to the chicks’ needs. The distinctive soft contact call of the eider as she gently herds her ducklings some distance across the island for safe water.
At the visitor centre Keith Brockie was patiently waiting for a shelduck to emerge from her burrow with her ducklings. We left him in peace to photograph and draw. I will find out if she did appear and how many were in her brood. We have been fairly sure there is a shelduck on Craigleith, but we never did see any young or indeed find the burrow she nested in.
Bass Wonderful views of the chicks now. We are suddenly seeing them everywhere.
I spotted an egg with quite a large hole in it. It was a new breeder and I wasn’t sure if it had just broken the egg. Keeping a watch during the day, much later I spotted the chick encased in just half the shell. A while later the egg was tilted and the chick slid out. Just wonderful, but what made this so special is it was an isolated first time breeder.
Loggers have now been attached to the back of seven breeding gannets by Dr Keith Hammer and team from Leeds University. Photographs of these will be displayed in the Discovery Centre very soon. A logger from two years ago has been retrieved and returned to Professor Bob Furness of Glasgow University. If this one has kept working it will return exciting data. Will keep you updated on all of the above
Elsewhere; Kittiwakes, delightful to watch the down covered chicks feeding. Shags, down beginning to vanish with the juvenile plumage appearing.
Two porpoises were seen from Fisher Lassie earlier in the week between the Bass and Craigleith
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 11th June (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Bass A chick approx 3wks old has been seen in the centre of the colony close to the chapel. Down spreading out from under the belly of the adult was unmistakable. It is the oldest one seen to date and a great spot by Agneiska in the Discovery Centre. With weather very wet this past week, the newly hatched, of which there are many, are being carefully brooded to keep them warm and dry.
A life saving moment on the Rock when an eider was spotted - it was obvious she had young as her wings were slightly held out. She was desperately trying to protect her ducklings as they ran the gauntlet through the herring gull colony. To the rescue!! - young Adam and Sam Dalrymple clapping hands and waving arms enough to distract the gull and allow the eider and her young to launch themselves off the rock into the relative safety of the sea. A heart stopping moment as we could only see one duckling. Had the gulls taken one? Then we spotted it swimming frantically to its mother for protection. No aunties were around to help protect. There has been one nesting on the edge of the gull colony, but I thought she had gone. Perhaps she had waited for that moment of distraction as we had stopped to look at 3 herring gull chicks that had hatched earlier in the day, it was heart warming to see them paddle away from the rock. Let’s hope they made it to the safety of the rocky coastline.
Dunbar The first kittiwake chicks were spotted on the 7th June. It’s so lovely to watch these down covered, but very active chicks in these precarious nests.
Craigleith It is infectious the sheer joy when visitors in the Centre see their first ever puffin, or from the boat, the shrieks of delight are continually heard usually followed by “look how small they are”. Photographs at times portray them as enormous birds and that’s without Tammie* wandering around!
Spending a little time on the island, I was almost overjoyed to find a mallow patch. On closer inspection I realised it was a major seed bank, where cutting had previously been piled but now decomposed. The carpet of small and some tiny seedlings was very obvious, so I sat down to weed. It was only after about 20 minutes that I suddenly spotted 2 eiders in the surrounding growth, hunkered down tightly on their nests a few feet apart, and only 2 feet from where I was sitting. I backed off very slowly. The females are just so beautiful and serene as they sit silently on their eggs, never moving and so well camouflaged. The tagged seal has been seen hauled out on the rocks. Again a mix of grey and common seals are being spotted
Isle of May The puffling has again been seen on the burrow cam.
Fidra A razorbill chick has been spotted and guillemot chicks are quite obvious on the cliff ledges now.
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 4th June (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Bass - Only 2 chicks spotted so far but there are more out there. A chick hunting weekend on camera for our visitors. It won’t be long before the first loggers are attached. Rachel Davies from Leeds University paid a quick visit earlier this week to organise her base up here. A trial test of a logger, carried in her bag, proved successful in tracking her journey from Leeds to North Berwick. The real intent was to determine battery life. It is important to recover these devices in a short time frame. Although very light they are quite large and unlike the previous loggers we have seen on the leg of the birds, these will be attached to the plumage with tape. It is hoped to have photographs of the loggers soon and tracking map of previous studies undertaken at other gannetries so we can understand what will be happening on the Bass.
The common seals at the Bass are such fun. They truly do come out to see us, bodies rising out the water as they peer at the strange yellow and blue people. A quick twist and splash as they shallow dive only to pop up at the other side of the boat and repeat the scenario. I am fairly sure we spotted a young common seal pup the other day. It was dark, very small and hauled out at a strange location at the back of the Bass.
May Isle - A puffling has been seen on the burrow cam. The shag nest, wonderful shots of the lone brown woolly shag chick. It is doubtful that the two eggs still in the nest will hatch. What will happen to them..keep watching .
Craigleith - Puffins have been observed carrying in fish! Eggs have hatched. As ever there is a very predatory Great Black backed gull out there as I found 5 puffins that had succumbed to their attack. Female eiders are gathering to form protective creches for the ducklings. The island has so many gulls they do have to run the gauntlet to reach the sea. Two Greylag were seen but no gosling. No rabbits spotted on my quick visit but even more exciting no mallow!! Don’t get excited it is still there but the grasses and other vegetation are taking a good hold in some areas. Just wonderful !!!
Fidra - Guillemot chicks spotted on 30th May, zoom into the cliff ledges to see them. Remember it is only a few short weeks where we see these down covered chicks on the tiny ledges
Dunbar - Can you see how many eggs are in a nest? The good news, eggs are being seen.
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 27th May (by Catriona - Discovery Centre)
The first gannet chick on the Bass Rock was seen by Maggie this morning. It is 2-3 days old and is in the area in front of the chapel. Cormorants and shags on most of the islands have chicks now, and herring gull chicks have been spotted on Fidra. Several groups of eider ducklings have been seen making their way down to the sea. Kittiwakes and fulmars now have eggs, and puffins were seen flying in with fish on the Isle of May.
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 20th May (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
A week of firsts
May Isle At last! The first tiny crack was spotted in one of the eggs of the very visible shag nest. Finally the first chick was seen there on the 15th May but as yet the other 2 eggs have not hatched. . The hidden nest now has two chicks. It’s wonderful to watch the whole feeding and rearing process. Breeding season is underway.
The first puffin chick has hatched on the 14th May. The egg must have been laid anytime from the end of March or the first few days in April, and the first eider ducklings were also seen at the end of last week. Fulmar, the first eggs has been spotted and Arctic terns are taking to sites on the island. Although able to defend sites with vengeance, great care will now be taken on walks to keep well away from these areas particularly as they are just settling in
Craigleith Cormorant chicks seen on the 18th May (left of the camera). Puffins every where! Look out for birds flying in carrying fish and indication of chick in the burrow. Talking of burrows, a few baby rabbits .have been spotted. Seals are hauled out on the lower rocks and we saw at least 8 on the North side from the boat.
Dunbar first kittiwake eggs spotted on the cliffs. The castle is a hub of activity, well worth stopping off to have a look if passing Dunbar
Fidra 5 eider ducklings have been seen on the top of the island. The peregrine has been seen on the lighthouse. Scan those cliffs, have guillemot chicks been spotted? Herring gull chicks will be due to hatch very soon
The Bass I thought I’d arrived at the new municipal dump as some rather impressive garbage collecting has been ongoing at potential nest sites Everything from colorful buckets & spades (not together!), fishing net, containers of different shape and size, plastic bags the list is endless . Several of the new breeders are extremely settled and are not at all phased by us passing near by. They have claimed the site and we have lost! .When will the first chick be seen? Not long now!
Wildlife Sightings – Week up to 13th May (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
May Isle - an air of the expectant ‘parents’ hangs over the Discovery Centre as the shag nest that is so visible on camera was expected to hatch a couple of days ago. Eagled eyes the female scans her eggs as she lifts and adjusts herself on the nest . Any sign of that first chipping crack in the egg? The excitement is passed onto visitors by the sheer enthusiasm of the Centre staff. The nest that is slightly hidden and sheltered, hatched the first visible chicks on the 8th May and they are being very carefully brooded, as they are naked, still quite wobbly, and vulnerable. The first shag chicks were seen were around 4th May on the island. Figures from last year show shags had a very good breeding season. Lets hope for the same again!
The first kittiwake eggs have been seen, although again not visible to us, but worth scanning those precarious cliff nests. Last Sunday as we walked around the island the noise and activity, they criss-crossed above us, at times swooping down to the fresh water loch, as intense nest building appeared to be the order of the day.
Terns, (mainly Arctic) are beginning to return, although not yet settled at sites. Before we know it they will be defending sites with vengeance. The terns had a very poor season last year. It is vital that care and protection is given to these breeding sites wherever possible .
Craigleith - sailing around the island, puffins particularly on the north side were everywhere. It is just wonderful to see so many, socialising, parading outside burrows, groups gathering on the rocks but most importantly we are seeing them! Eiders are still coming ashore and the rough count already gives over 200 nests. We had good sightings of goslings this time last year so rather ominous that we have seen none this year The first eider duckling had also been spotted by this time last year, but it will probably be a few weeks before hopefully we see creches appearing close to the Centre.
The Bass - the rock is just gleaming in the sun. Immature birds cover the helipad, the lower east promontory, every available space. The breeders are looking quite settled on nests as many incubate their single egg. The peregrine was seen on the lighthouse from the boat and as ever the inquisitive seals delight boat passengers.
Bass Research - as promised a very brief update on the exciting studies that are being undertaken on the Bass by Dr Keith Hammer and Rachel Davies from Leeds University.
Foraging range and patterns:GPS loggers are to be attached to a single adult of a number of sample pairs. This will allow precise information to be received on their foraging ranges, feeding locations and flight directions. Three of these loggers will also measure the temperature and depth reached when diving for prey. With this information, any patterns in foraging strategies will be looked for, i.e. returning to the same feeding location? If so, how many times before it moves to a new location?
Trip duration and parental attendance observations:With the use of the webcam, set in place prior to the breeding season, around 30 breeding pairs will be monitored in order to record arrivals and departures to and from the study nests. This will allow calculation of estimated foraging trip durations throughout the season. It will also be of interest to see if this may vary as the chicks’ age. Where possible, samples of diet will also be taken through various stages of the nestling period.
This is just a very brief description of the studies that will be undertaken, but research like this is so important to see the changes that are happening and compare with other gannetries.
Twitchers’ Alert
Sitting at the office window finishing off this report, I saw two people, rushing past the harbour toward the pier, tripod in hand. Somewhat puzzled as it was not one of these scarlet and purple skies that give that magical evening back drop to the islands, I watched. Indeed it was not camera', but telescopes. This was 'twitcher’ mode!
A few moments later another couple appeared, scopes in hand, and that intense panic look on faces? No question an alert had gone out, but for what? (technology allows a rare sighting to be spread nationwide in seconds) Well I couldn't just sit there, in the Seabird Centre, and not find out what rarity it was. So most un-bird like, without bins or scope, I ventured across the dinghy park. Even some from the Yacht Club were intrigued. Somewhat nonchalantly, I climbed over the railings to join the group as scopes and binoculars trained down on the rocky outcrop off the Plattock rocks. A Spotted Sandpiper!, a small wader, an American vagrant that was capturing the group’s attention. They kindly let me have a look and I must confess I'm not sure I would have identified it, but it was lovely to see. As I headed back to the Centre an enormous lens /camera rushed passed. I'm sure you could have taken a close up of a Bass gannet, but good photographs of rarities not only confirm the species but allow others to view and learn.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 7th May (by Maggie Sheddan)
The Bass - The chapel colony is growing with 8 apparent occupied sites, and finally it does appear that the herring gull may have lost its perch on top of the gable end. The last 2 years at times, a gannet has been sitting but it was always the dive-bombing herring gull that took the site (for that I will be relieved!). It is quite interesting the gulls are now being displaced by the extending colony and only 4 pairs are visible at the chapel zone. I watched a fulmar that had been sitting peacefully near a cliff edge. An immature gannet came and sat close by and was fairly oblivious to the fulmar’s attempts at spitting its lethal and foul smelling oil. The outcome... the gannet took the site and the fulmar moved to join 3 others close by in a fairly noisy chuckling and exchange. What is rather sad but now expected, were 3 cachets of predated eggs, the smallest appear to have about 10 broken gannets eggs with a largest, lower down the path with over 30 shells. Several herring gull nests each with 3 eggs line the path upwards. I have cleaned and polished the hard hats for another season. Only one eider nest spotted so far but there may be more among the mallow and many pairs are still offshore. No sign of the friendly seal awaiting our landing, but from the boat there are days its just wonderful as we sail close to the cave, the heads of common and grey pop up, all sizes and colours, in a mass observation of the yellow and blue people in the orange boat ! You are being watched!
Craigleith A shelduck was seen from the boat. It will be interesting to hear if the counters spotted it and if it is nesting? Yes, it was the puffin burrow count this week, so we wait to hear the results. The puffins vanished for a day earlier in the week, and en mass, on the same day they vanished off the May (it does make you wonder these 2 islands 10 miles apart? A thought to be explored, is it weather, or is there a pre-arranged meeting for a ‘pre chick rearing party out at sea’? Many eiders are on eggs and good sightings of seals on camera and from the boat. The lovely black one was among them.
May Isle The Angel and Pilgrim stacks are wonderful to zoom in on and see the hub of guillemot and razorbill. Scan the cliffs for kittiwake and fulmar, and on the cliff top, parading, performing, and socializing, the puffin. The shag nests are beaming the most wonderful images back at the Centre and it is expected the first chick may be seen within the next 2 weeks. Our first public landing was a joy for the passengers as we walked along Holyman’s Road - puffins everywhere!
I met Mike and Sarah, arms mud covered as they had been checking burrows. The general feeling is very positive and many puffins are on eggs. The walk goes very slowly past the puffins as people are delighted to see these comical wee birds so close. Time slips away very quickly on the island, and as we pass the Bird Observatory and up McLeod’s Path stopping at the Beacon and the magnificent lighthouse. I hadn’t built in a slight delay as we walked down Palpitation Brae with a female eider now leading us! We followed very slowly at a distance behind, until she reached her turn off. This was to be my excuse if we were late returning to the boat.
Fidra excellent views of the eider nests and guillemot and razorbill eggs have been seen. No eggs yet for kittiwake or fulmar.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 30 April (by Maggie Sheddan)
Bass Rock There have been wonderful views of gannets diving and swooping close to the centre this week. Many gathering seaweed for nests, beaks filled as they fly in lines back to the Bass in this social event. It is a busy time on the Rock as impressive nests are appearing. I witnessed a new and outstanding construction on the very fringe of the breeders a bird had started to dig. At first it appeared as if it was just taking the odd small stone or dried earth, but on returning 2 days later, a very impressive moat had been dug with a circular mound in the centre, a wonderful construction that will enable them to keep dry in these heavy summer squalls. It will be interesting to watch as the season progresses as this is truly at the edge of the extending colony.
Many are now on eggs, but that said mating is a frequent sight and territories are being defended. Immature birds are now being seen, occasionally covering the heli-pad. There are few places for them to sit. In the east side of the cave the guillemots are much more settled, and a bridled one was spotted on camera. The peregrine was seen plucking its prey. Pigeons nest in the curtain walls, and are easy targets as the peregrine sits on the lighthouse watching and waiting for lunch to pass by.
I had another encounter with the 'friendly grey seal'. This seal is most definitely not phased by humans. Coming in close with the boat it did not react at all. As it was a photographic group, I could not land the passengers if the seal stayed. I landed slowly and carefully just in case it became spooked, and the boat moved away. I could have sat beside it and had a cuppa and it wouldn't have bothered! Now a foot from it, gently clapping my hands and apologising to it? The photographers relishing this encounter, a very reluctant acceptance that it was time it moved, dawned. It took several more minutes before it slithered down and with a final look back at me, it slipped in to the sea. There are no tags, nothing to indicate that it may have been in captivity, but it is very unusual behaviour.
On Fidra, Craigleith and the Isle of May, several eiders are on eggs. From the boat many eiders are being seen still in pairs indicating that nesting is still ongoing. With the puffin count due next week great care must be taken to not disturb any that are not completely settled. There is no question that Craigleith is now a haven for the eiders.
We have not had any sightings of the goslings this year. Keep an eye out for them. On Craigleith two of the cormorant nests have four eggs, so exciting to wait for the hatching and just wonderful that we capture this on camera. Guillemots are certainly beginning to lay, with several being seen facing inward, but we are still early in the season. Kittiwakes are very vocal with many disputes resulting in locked bills as they tumble out of nest sites. Puffins are delighting visitors and on the Isle of May the new burrow cam beamed back superb images of a puffin inside the burrow.
On the Isle of May trip last weekend, whitethroat, willow warbler, black redstart, fieldfare, redwing were a few of the birds seen in the area of the Heligoland traps. Sandwich terns have been seen this last two weeks. Listen out for that harsh rasping call as they fly over, and swallows swoop over sea and sand.
Research There are some very exciting things ongoing and I will update you on these next week, but a couple of weeks ago Dan Turner from ‘Save the North Sea’ visited... (Dan with Dr Jan van Franeker performed the fulmar autopsies).
Somewhat shockingly, Dan collected along the shores of several East Lothian beaches, the small plastic pellets that many of the birds (in particular fulmars, and closer into shore, dabbling ducks ) ingest. These are now on their way to Japan for tests to show what pollutants may be attached to them. It really was quite horrifying to see the amount he collected. They have been on display at the Centre when the autopsies took place. It resembles very tiny colourful gravel and constantly found in the stomachs of seabirds
A call from the Marine Medics came through for the minke whale grounded near Grangemouth. It was successfully refloated at the next high tide. There was an unconfirmed sighting of several more minke seen from the Glen Golf Course. Worth scanning the seas!
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 22 April 2010 (by Catriona in the Discovery Centre)
Bass Rock: Many gannets are sitting on eggs now. The peregrine has been seen on the cliff, and there are lots of guillemots round the bottom of the cliffs.
Craigleith: Several of the cormorants in the colony have eggs, as do some shags nesting down by the shore. There have been up to 7 grey seals resting on the shore, and shelduck and nesting eiders have also been seen. Lots of puffins are around today.
May: A guillemot egg has been seen on the May, and there are kittiwakes on the cliffs, and fulmars and puffins on the clifftops.
Fidra: Lots of fulmars, shags, razorbills and guillemots (including a few bridled guillemots). Again, there are lots of puffins around today.
Dunbar: The kittiwake colony is filling up, and several of the birds have been building up their nests.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 16 April (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
I could virtually emulate last years sightings for this week for all the islands. It’s quite astonishing. The only thing that is missing is the first gannet egg being spotted. A year to this date the first gannet egg was seen.
The Bass Landing on the Bass yesterday it really interesting to see the areas that infilled much later in the season last year with young single birds, are now a hive of activity. Although many appear to still be alone and few are nest building, sites appear to being claimed, although easily disputed. Unfortunately time did not allow to sit and observe, but with a few very obvious immature plumage birds on the fringes of these young sites, there is no question already the Bass is full. On the right of Bass 2 cam you also have similar activity here. Mating and territorial disputes are happening all over. The season has begun!
It is full scale egg watching! I did note many very settled looking birds inside the railing from the chapel. Never enough time to sit and enjoy, but that is why we have cameras!! Get the visitors zooming in close to the bellies. Can you spot the webs wrapped around that egg? How are they sitting? Look for change overs. The excitement begins!
News Flash ….as I write the first 3 eggs have been spotted by who else, but Catriona ..She knows what to look for. She has been following the birds ..Well done!! They looked settled..but there will be more to find ..! Are they clean white, blood streaked, just laid…?
Very interesting this week that we have had up to 30 seals in and around the cave A mix of Grey and common. Bulls cows and young. Passengers were delighted as we approached the cave the odd seal popping its head up watching us. We could hear the wailing from the cave, and the next moment “the boulders in the distance came alive with frenzied slithering. We were treated to a mix of common and grey seals of all ages and size, heads popping up all over the place” (extract from last years bulletin, but exactly as this year) What is really interesting is we are seeing a seasonal pattern emerging with the seals. This will be passed on to the Fife seal group and the SMRU.
The delight of the day at the Bass was a young grey seal on the landing steps. We approached cautiously, not wanting to startle it. Occasionally we do find one on the steps and when they see the boat is coming in to land they move off. We will sit off until it makes it’s way down the steps and into the sea. Not this one! We met the ultimate lazy, teenage seal .. I may add this seal was on the same step the day before and seen from the boat at 2.30 pm ….19 hours later it is still there, sleeping! It eventually looked at us rolled over and ignored us (we were still on the boat ). Was it injured /sick ..I landed cautiously prepared that it may suddenly try to move down the steps. It looked at me, hung it’s head over the step scratched itself, and ignored me. So we now have 3 of us on the low step. This seal is not budging. Moving very slowly we scrambled up the slippy rock avoiding the steps and the seal. It was comical. As we now looked down on it, we had a chat to it … It just kept looking at us, with almost that ‘teenage look’ and then ignored us. After about 10 minutes it started to move down to the lower steps. We left it there and it was gone when our time came to leave the rock a few hours later. Wonderful !
Craigleith Again I could virtually copy last years sightings for this week. Last Saturday, if you could capture a moment of true triumph for SOS puffin. I think that was it. Puffins parading across the grass covered glen, standing to attention outside the now visible burrows, gathering on the rocks. On every vantage point as we sailed around, puffins were seen. It truly is a momentous achievement. It shows that with pure hard work and such dedication from, in particular our hard core of volunteers, but also every person that has chopped one plant, conservation projects can succeed. But none of this would have been achieved without the leadership and tireless effort from John Hunt who, on a weekly basis rallies and organizes, timetables and the logistics of landing the volunteers during winter … but we mustn’t be complacent. Seedlings will grow, hopefully rabbits will munch, and come mid August when visits resume the real mallow battle will be over and an ongoing maintenance programme can settle in. The predatory great black backed gulls have returned, taking puffins in mid air. Shellduck were seen this week and the hen pheasant is appearing to perhaps nest below the elder bush. All of these were seen this week last year. Eiders are pairing up and coming ashore. Look out for goslings, and the first mallards ducklings. Over all the islands kittiwakes, razorbill and guillemot are squabbling and tumbling off cliffs. Mating is apparent among all species. There is so much to observe and enjoy now.
GIVE IT A BREAK (By John Hunt, SOS Puffin Project Co-ordinator)
As the seabirds settle into another breeding season, the mallow volunteers hang up their loppers and shears for a well-earned rest. Since last August, 30 work parties have been to Craigleith and 16 to Fidra. Both islands are now as clear of tree mallow as we can manage and only plants on inaccessible cliffs have escaped the chop. The cold winter helped by killing some of the small seedlings but mostly it has been achieved by the hard work of 270 volunteers many of whom have come on repeat visits.
On our final visit to Craigleith on Wednesday we were accompanied by two reporters from Scotland on Sunday who came to see us in action and take photographs. After all the talk of the monster weed which had taken over the whole island, they were somewhat bemused to see us, like detectives at a crime scene, scouring the ground for the occasional tiny seedlings which are all that are left.
However we know that over the summer the tree mallow will stage an impressive recovery and there will be plenty to deal with when we start again in August. Nevertheless, for now it is nice to look at Craigleith from the shore and think that none of the green you can see on the island is tree mallow.
Our thanks go to our wonderful volunteers and to Colin, Dougie and the other boat skippers who have conveyed us safely to and from the islands
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 9 April (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Returning from the May, where although wild and wonderful to watch, little damage was done and we were warm and cosy. On past guided walks around the island visitors have asked about the wreckage of ‘The Islander’ that sits high above the waterline. On days like this you can understand how that came about. Sadly for the shags, as reported by Catriona, they did not fare well. Many nests with eggs were completely washed away, others although nests were still there, eggs were broken. Within 48 hours, they were returning to sites and nest building resumed. It is sad as the first eggs had been seen early in March (Francis Daunt CEH), therefore the first chicks would have been imminent. Prior to the storm, 2 black redstart were seen, wheatear, fieldfare, goldcrest, chaffinch, woodcock, ring ouzel, merlin, kestrel, sparrow hawk, and chiffchaff. I was lucky enough to see several of these in the hand, as ringers from the IOM Bird observatory were resident for a short time. An emaciated buzzard was found, and taken off the island, to be cared for by Middlebank SSPCA. After the storm, a fall of robins and meadow pipit were a delight to see as they darted around the island busy feeding and regaining weight, their spring song filling the air.
Puffins have taken a little longer to return. Fulmars have been mating, and it’s a joy to see the guillemots packed tightly on the ledges of the Angel stack .
Craigleith From the boat we can see the wing flicking of the cormorants as they display on the cliff tops, but it is from the camera that you can really zoom in and enjoy these displays of courtship. Guillemots are coming and going on the cliffs, kittiwakes and the odd skirmish being seen. But I think the sighting of last week has to be the hen pheasant seen from the boat on the island! A result of the storm? Common and grey seals have been seen daily from the camera and the boat, with one very dark, almost black young one delighting passengers. Eiders are pairing up and starting to be seen on the island. Pan around, check these piles of mallow cuttings as they provide wonderful camouflage for the nesting females.
The Bass The Rock looked a little pale earlier in the week, but this last few days you can see the difference as many more birds have returned. The first public boat landing of the season took place yesterday. It was really good to see some of the ‘fringe’ birds that successfully produced chicks for the first time last year are very settled at their sites. Remember the first eggs have always been seen around the 20th/21st of April. Not long now, so keep an eye out for those webs wrapped around an egg, and also the missing 8 loggers! Common seals were seen from the boat yesterday with several of them hauled out at the east landing and visible on camera.
Fidra: The peregrine is still being seen on the ledge, mallards are breeding on the island, and eiders are prospecting and pairing up.
After last week’s storm, it was wonderful to see a single swallow swooping over the Centre last Sunday. Sand martins and house martins have also been seen recently. If you have any nesting or you see any obvious sites over the next few months, please could you inform us/myself m.sheddan@virgin.net thank you. A bluethroat was seen at Skateraw and a hoopoe at Dunglass Mill, both on the 6th April.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 1 April (by Catriona in the Discovery Centre)
Bass Rock: The gannets are looking quite settled, and a lot of nest building has been going on. There have been a few fights too, some lasting up to half an hour. On Monday, seven seals were resting on the rocks by the helipad. The peregrine has been on the lighthouse and cliff occasionally.
Craigleith: Some days there are hundreds of puffins running around and clearing out their burrows, other days none at all. Cormorants are displaying in the colony, and guillemots, razorbills and fulmars are all coming and going on the cliffs. Lots of eiders have been around, along with a curlew and a pair of mallards. Seals are being seen quite frequently, with seven of them on the shore today.
Isle of May: Guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes had all returned to the cliffs, but the bad weather seems to have blown them all away again! A pair of shags laid two eggs this week – the first on the 27th and the second on the 30th – but both eggs were washed away and the nest destroyed. An egg was seen in another shag’s nest today. The puffins have not been seen for a few days.
Fidra: The peregrines have been seen on the lighthouse and the ledge. Fulmars, guillemots and razorbills are around sometimes, as are puffins.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – 23 MARCH 2010 (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
This week just a brief update as I'm off to the May Isle for a week. It's such a lovely time to visit. With the burrow cam being installed, we sailed across on Sunday morning. As we approached the island, hundreds of puffins could be seen on the land, with thousands more in large rafts on the sea. Dozens of grey seals were hauled out on the Maiden rocks, and at the entrance to Kirkhaven. On the return journey only a few puffins were seen mostly in isolated pairs and the majority of the seals had gone with the rising tide.
Craigleith It was a similar story here as we dropped the SOS Puffin Mallow Mashers off. Visitors in the Centre were delighted to see so many puffins on the cameras in the morning, but by the time the passenger trip sailed, only a few rafts were seen. A mallard pair were in the sea just off the island as were eiders, and a report from the mashers of a greylag nest with 7 eggs. Kittiwake numbers are looking good on the cliff sites and it’s wonderful to hear that very distinctive Kitti-wake Kitti-wake call as we sail around.
Bass Rock Every day it appears as if more gannets have returned and for the visitors on the viewing deck that ‘Wow factor!’ was a certainty, that they were indeed seeing the Rock through the telescopes. Our live cameras are amazing and we are so lucky to be able to enjoy watching the birds at such close quarters, but it really does add to the experience if a little time is enjoyed on the viewing deck. As we sailed around the island on Monday it was wonderful! For several days we had been seeing the odd guillemot on the cliffs and a lovely raft of razorbills one day, but nothing too settled. On Monday guillemots were tucked in beside the gannets on the low promontory, and as we approached the cave on the east side. It was like summer! Hundreds covered the sites at the entrance to the cave, kittiwakes were calling, shags were carrying in nesting material, gannets were displaying and we were treated to about 7 grey seals popping their heads above water, and the sun was shining … for a short while ... and then the squall came in!
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 18 MARCH (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Craigleith - Arriving home late on Wednesday evening, although sometimes a chore, e-mails are checked. It was just lovely at midnight to open an e mail headed ‘a sight to gladden your eyes’ It was from Nikki Macleod, one of our dedicated mallow team with 2 stills taken from the Craigleith webcam that morning. The first had 6 puffins gathering on the rock. Ten minutes later the same rock had 17 all grouped together. Just wonderful to see their return. Over 70 were visible on camera. Eiders are beginning to be seen on the island and certainly pairs are being seen on the sea. The mallards have been spotted a couple of times. They used to be hidden among the mallow. Perhaps a couple of very small areas should be left uncut to give them cover at breeding time, the greylags are around and …..seven rabbits including a very young one have been spotted this week.
Fidra - The mashers were given a treat with over 50 puffins counted on camera that morning on the island. They worked in an area away from the burrows until early afternoon when as fast as these colourful and comical birds arrived, they vanished, leaving the volunteers alone.
The Bass - Four years ago in early April, I remember sitting in the morning sunshine, my back on the gable wall of the chapel, watching 2 pairs of gannets nest building at the corner of the chapel. At that time you could almost walk around it. Today, mid March, that would now be impossible. On camera this week the pathway is filling up, birds that claimed sites at the gable end just two years ago and successfully bred last year, have already returned. The pathway becomes a sea of white and the promontory is remarkably full. It’s wonderful to see the rock coming alive with the intense early season behaviour.
This past week, carrying a couple of concrete cones (a tip from Bryan Nelson) we landed with Rachel Davis from Leeds University, to align the dedicated webcam. This will allow the continuation of studies. Last year the length of foraging times for breeding pairs were being recorded. It appeared that times away from the nest sites were shorter than expected. This year among other things, it is hoped to attach loggers that will be retrieved after a few weeks. This is all quite exciting as it will show the distance they are travelling and the location of their summer feeding. As the summer progresses, we’ll keep you updated on any new information that comes in. Last year proved to be a much better season than expected and the majority of gannetries around Britain had avery successful breeding season. Let’s hope this year fares as well.
The peregrine has been seen, and the common seals that we see quite regularly were as inquisitive as ever delighting passengers as the boat sat close to the cave.
Dunbar Sixty three Kittiwakes were counted at sites on the castle wall.
Isle of May – Again it was a year to the day that we saw this great influx of puffins. I was on the May Isle at that time and woke up to find over 20,000 whirring over head, parading in front of burrows, that soft growling filling the morning air, and within a few hours, the island fell silent. They had gone. The mass wheeling of the puffins (when in flight they form a close knit wheel ) can protect against predatory attack but for the lone puffin it is vulnerable, as we sadly witnessed this week when a great black backed gull was see taking a puffin in flight. Shags are sitting at nest sites longer, guillemots and razorbills all visible around the stacks and a young grey seal was seen on Pilgrims Haven.
Local sightings - last Saturday from the boat we saw around a dozen purple sandpiper at high tide, sheltering in the lee of the Bass Rock. Closer to the Centre turnstone, redshank and oystercatcher are still being seen.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 11 MARCH (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
What an exciting week! Where to begin? Kittiwakes have returned, puffins have been seen on land and sea, the sound of hundreds of guillemots echo from the cliffs, peregrines mating, cormorants displaying, the Bass Rock gleaming in the warmth of yesterday’s sun, and yes, Uri Geller did spend a night on the Lamb!
Dunbar - A year to the day (6th March ) the first kittiwakes were seen at their Castle sites. They are coming and going but Gordon reported today (Wednesday ) that quite a few are settling into their sites in the afternoon.
Fidra - Visitors were ecstatic to see a raft of over a dozen puffins on the sea off Fidra on the 9 March (ten days earlier than last year) but to see three grouped together on the island, was wonderful. From Fidra to Fife, Fowlsheugh and beyond, the network has been buzzing as news of sightings and locations are exchanged. All of these were within a forty-eight hour period. There is no doubt, the puffins are slowly returning. The Peregrine pair have been seen many days this past week, sometimes on the lighthouse, sometimes on the ledge and three greylag were spotted on the island, quite possibly from Craigleith.
Craigleith - Have puffins been spotted yet ? None on camera, but what is certain, a transformed island awaits their return. There were many sceptics in the early days, when we battled so hard, truly believing that this island could be brought back to its former beauty.
In 2003, when very much a novice, I landed with members of the Forth Seabird Group to fight through the jungle of tree mallow that towered over my head, the barren dried soil beneath my feet. Roll forward to 2006 when the opportunity came to show we had the passion, and commitment and this island could be transformed. Today as I walked over the slopes to the Glen, grass beneath my feet, I just stopped in amazement and wonder. Craigleith from the past is re-emerging. It truly looks wonderful! The frost without doubt has worked its magic, but the volunteers have done even more. Small mallow plants quickly vanished today, and we are all aware that spring will bring a flourish of growth, and come August, we know we will face a carpet, but it is wearing thin in places. It will be quickly knocked back. Cormorants returned this last few days and are displaying. The sound of guillemots filled the air as we worked near the camera, hundreds on cliffs and sea. The greylag were spotted near the ridge and on our very first boat trip of the season, a lone peregrine was spotted on the cliff.
The Bass - From a chalky white, to a gleaming rock, now filled with territorial displaying, bill fencing, sky pointing, nest building, but we could turn on the camera one morning, and they could have vanished. As with all the other seabirds, they are not completely settled yet. Two peregrines have been seen on the Rock this week. Isle of May – From the silent stacks of last week, we have been transported to seabird city this week. Guillemots crowd on the ledges of the Angel and Pilgrim stacks, a true spring spectacle but this week’s highlight was a peregrine mating, spotted on camera by one of our visitors. The Lamb - Uri Geller, very much aware that the Lamb not only is an important site for cormorants but is a haven for many other seabirds had contacted us prior to his overnight visit. For most of the cliff nesting birds, they would not be disturbed by the boat landing on the lower west side, away from their sites, but the cormorants are vulnerable to disturbance. A daily observation was carried out, and on the Saturday morning prior to Uri’s visit, the Seabird Seafari boat sailed around the island for a final check. A flock of eight turnstones were seen on the lower rocks as we landed Uri and friends. Guillemots flitted about as we sailed out to collect them early Sunday morning. All went according to plan until a cool box tumbled off the rock into the sea. Despite Dougie’s best efforts, with a slight swell and a falling tide we had no option but to return to the harbour for safety. We hoped to return later but our local RNLI came to our rescue. Sunday morning is training day and as they were on the water, they very kindly retrieved the box and contents that had caught on the rock. A very big thank you to them.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 4 MARCH (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
The Bass – The rain streaming down the Rock was relentless. For two days the thousands of gannets that have returned, sat tight, heads down, water flowing around their meagre sites. Nest building has not yet begun. Winter storms have washed away many of the substantial nests from last season, yet more birds kept returning. On Monday with blue skies and calm there was no mistaking a chalky white appearance of the Rock from the shore. Panning around on the camera, it is exciting. Many sit alone waiting for the return of their partner, the occasional one engaged in gentle territorial display. The pairs that have returned were fairly passive but it is worth spending a little time observing. Now is the time to really enjoy and study the colony, watch the nests being rebuilt with all manner of material, the displaying, the intense bill fencing and so much more to fascinate. Already the odd gannet has returned to the newly cleared pathway to reclaim its site. Just a few years ago, this pathway could be walked at the height of the season. By the time of our tenth birthday in May, if footage is available from the first year, you will see just how much the colony has extended during this first decade of the Centre’s remote viewing.
The peregrine was seen at its vantage point and guillemots returned to the cliffs after the storm.
The weekly plea - there are still some loggers to be retrieved from gannets, possibly a couple near the chapel area, but a few were on birds on the promontory beyond the chapel. So perhaps some of our younger visitors could enjoy zooming in on those legs. For every logger retrieved, the story of a winter journey will unfold.
Isle of May – The stormy seas saw the May fall silent. Guillemots were not seen for several days, the shags vanished, their lower nests under threat from the exceptionally high spring tides but the fulmars ever present at times appeared to just hang in the air, unaffected by the stormy days. Kittiwakes returned on the 6th March last year. Please do keep an eye out on the stacks and cliffs for their return and if spotted, check the legs for geolocators/loggers.
Craigleith - has also been quiet for a few days on the bird front, but that said eiders, greylags, curlews, turnstones and mallards have all been seen. The mallards are hopefully returning to their breeding sites. Like the greylags, they nest quite early on the island. Seals, which over these last few weeks have been moulting, delighted many visitors over the weekend. As many as fourteen were counted on one day with one young one venturing quite high up the slope, into rabbit territory!
Puffin newsflash (from Gordon Easingwood, Fisher Lassie) – Two puffins were seen on the sea yesterday in-between the Craig and the Lamb. So although not on land, their return is not far off! Do keep a check early morning and late afternoon. Gordon also reported two possible porpoise just off the Craig. They were certainly small cetaceans. It is worth having a scan around on the seas with the cameras and from the telescopes on the viewing deck.
Fidra – The peregrines - it is wonderful that we see them so regularly, but before long, sightings will become less as they too head off to breed.
Local sightings - Brent Geese at Torness. At Tyninghame, the green sandpiper was still being seen. Musselburgh: red-necked and slavonian grebe. Aberlady: a snow bunting and short-eared owl and large large numbers of not dunlin, sanderling, godwits and grey and ringed plover.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 25 FEBRUARY (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
The Bass – One day they are there and the next gone! For several days this week, the Rock has been silent. Unfortunately, a trip that was due to land last weekend was unable to due to the swell. Over a thousand gannets were seen further out in the Forth to the north of the island. However, the peregrine takes advantage of the empty Rock and has been seen several times not only from his regular viewpoints, but also just to the right off the path perched on a vantage point. Only for a short time will he enjoy that tranquillity as just yesterday around noon, a steady trickle of gannets returned - by late afternoon thousands had returned. Guillemots were seen in the mornings and a seal has been hauling out near the helipad. Checking on the webcam this morning thousands of gannets can be seen!
Isle of May – Guillemots and razorbills, as with the Bass, are coming and going, fulmars gliding along the cliffs, chuckling at their nest sites and the shags are being carefully watched. Thanks came from the CEH for the information that was passed on to them last week. The Discovery Centre observations had noted that both males are occupying the same nests as last year (darvick showed this) but both have taken new female partners. When will they really settle into their nest sites? We have been asked if we could keep a daily watch for returning kittiwakes. They have also had loggers attached, which, as with gannets and puffins, will give invaluable information regarding the locations of their winter foraging. And of course puffins!! Scan the sea, scan the horizons …spot that first returning puffin and do not forget to note all sightings down...thank you!
The tagged seal details seen recently on camera were sent to the Sea Mammal Research Unit and below is part of the reply received from William Patterson who has been involved with Isle of May seal studies Excellent logging from Rio and Agneiszka. “72137 was part of a long term study from last year’s field season conducted by the Sea Mammal Research Unit also on the Isle of May. This was a female pup tagged on 14/11/09 just above Kirkhaven beach who weaned at a healthy 40+kg. The female who gave birth to 72137 gives birth to pups on this same spot every year so it is very interesting to hear any reports of how her pup is getting on after any given breeding season”.
I mentioned about a seal meeting last week. Although in it’s embryo stage it is hoped that information will be collectively gathered about breeding, haul outs and general information about Firth of Forth seals. Another one spotted on Craigleith last week was photographed by Bill Bruce and relayed to SMRU. It is also a study male but we are waiting to hear more. The point, many of these seals we see have a history so keep watching for tags or markings and inform our visitors, after all they too are the eyes of the Centre.
Yet another new Sighting Book in the Windy Room for noting numbers and location of hauled out seals spotted on camera. It could eventually help build seasonal pictures particularly in quieter months when researchers are not on site and boat trips have not yet begun.
Craigleith – Shags coming and going with a couple of the males being spotted at the same sites as last year. Guillemots, fulmars, cormorants, curlews, grazing greylags and I am having concerns we may have a bully boy rabbit. There appeared to be a skirmish between a smaller rabbit and a larger one, complicated with the intervention of a gull. It is uncertain as to who was attacking who but sadly, the young rabbit did not survive. Rabbits do have territorial hierarchy. Or perhaps it was revenge of the gull from last week ?
Nine seals are hauled out on Craigleith at the time of writing this.
Fidra – Daily sightings of the peregrine and a couple of greylag were spotted.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 18 FEBRUARY (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
The Bass - On the 15th February, the first gannets were seen on the cliffs on camera, (a year to the day from last year). They will come and go and certainly hundreds are being seen on the sea off the Bass. This is the same as last year at this time and we are confident that there will be several hundred coming and going at nest sites on the north of the island. The peregrine has been seen and on the low rocks, a couple of seals have been hauling out at low tide. I could almost duplicate last years report for all the islands for this week but there are a few interesting differences.
Craigleith - I know I should flag up the bird activity first but with mallow munching rabbits being seen daily (and they are eating the mallow in places) we now have a report of fighting rabbits. To the amusement of those watching on camera, one was seen ‘attacking’ a great black backed gull with a mighty charge that resulted in the gull flying off. We know that the greylag nest quite early on Craigleith. It will be interesting to find out how many pairs are breeding on the island.
Curlew, finch flocks, eider, shags with crests are taking to nest sites, cormorant, white thigh patches are now obvious and the odd grey seal, including a young one. Guillemots, razorbills and fulmars on the cliffs all adding to this blossoming hub of spring activity.
Isle of May - Shags have been seen mating this week and to highlight the value of recording ring information, we now know that the same males have returned to the two nests that are so well observed on camera – but both have different female partners from last year! This information has been forwarded to the CEH (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) so thank you to everyone who is making these detailed observations. Also spotted and noted is a tagged seal. Having attended a ‘seal’ meeting this week, it is hoped that the Centre can also contribute with observations to SMRU (Sea Mammal Research Unit). It is also hoped that observations from the Seafari boat will be very useful to them particularly for Craigleith and the Bass as there are seasonal patterns emerging among the greys and common seals.
Fidra - The peregrines have been regular visitors to the lighthouse this week. Fulmars and guillemots are an every day occurrence now.
The Lamb - Although small, this island holds one of the very important cormorant colonies in the Forth. It is not vast but these undisturbed islands are havens for the birds. Shag numbers have increased and of course, with over two thousand guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars, all take advantage of the wonderful cliffs. Quite often, if passing in the boat and the shores are busy, waders can be seen on the lower rocks. It is viewed easily from the scope deck, and the cormorants with their white thigh patches are obvious on the top of the island.
Local sightings - Long-tailed duck and red-throated diver were seen off shore this week. Keep an eye out for returning lesser black backed gulls.
Thank you to Catriona for keeping us updated this last two weeks. I have been on my winter survey with the RAF where birds and blizzards were a challenge and then to the Dove Marine Laboratory helping Dan Turner (Save the North Sea) with fulmar autopsies. There have been some very useful recordings in the book. Please do keep them coming in. There is so much happening. Thank you!
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 11 FEBRUARY (by Catriona in the Discovery Centre)
Bass Rock: Still no sign of the first gannet landing on the Rock. Lots of fulmars have been flying about, and groups of guillemots have been seen on the lower cliffs most days. On the 7th, a fieldfare and a peregrine were seen (but not together!)
Craigleith: Two grey seals have been seen a couple of times this week, and rabbits are also being seen regularly – sometimes eating the mallow! Guillemots, fulmars, herring and great black-backed gulls, cormorants, lots of shags and the group of greylag geese are all around. On Monday a fieldfare, some turnstones and 3 seals were seen.
Fidra: The peregrines are being seen frequently on the lighthouse, and there are lots of fulmars about. Guillemots have been seen on the cliffs some mornings.
Isle of May: There have been large numbers of guillemots on the cliffs several mornings, although not in the last couple of days. Shags with crests are around; some have been investigating last years’ nests. Also cormorants on the rocks, great black-backed gulls on the beach and fulmars on the cliffs.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 28 January (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Bass They’re back! A small number of gannets were seen flying around the north west of the island on Sunday 24th Jan. Taking a little time out on the viewing deck is quite exciting at this time of year.
Fidra, Craigleith , Isle of May Turning on the camera on Monday 25th guillemots were seen first on Fidra, then on the May, and a quick visit to the viewing deck confirmed they were also on the cliffs of Craigleith. Numbers will fluctuate, but by the 27th over 200 were seen on the May and around 50 on Fidra. They have usually disappeared by noon. A few shags have been seen with their crests. All this in just 7 days! Prof Mike Harris was pleased to receive the information. Although, they haven’t yet had any sightings of auks in their area, they have been recorded. However, they have spotted many coloured ringed May Island shags along the Moray coast. It paints a picture of the wintering movement of these birds. Thank you to Rio and Agnieszka for their early morning observations, and to everyone who is adding sightings to the recording book. Please keep it going.
Staying with that subject, Sunday saw volunteers walking from the Forth Estuary to the English border counting everything from waders to ducks for the annual low tide Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). The principal aims are to determine trends in numbers and distribution. Although weather and disturbance can affect counts, I saw no ringed plover and only one dunlin in my section from the Centre to Canty Bay. Where we lack in waders hopefully is another area’s gain!
Other sightings this week include curlew, redshank, purple sandpiper, eider, mallard, red- breasted merganser, pied wagtail, stonechat at the far end of the east bay and fulmars. Regular sightings of at least 8 greylag on Craigleith along with a couple of adult grey seals and 4 rabbits! Lets hope they are munching, as the weather has prevented any mallow trips since last year.
A year ago this week .. An excited Maximus was released into the southern seas off Cornwall in an area where adult gannets were flying. If he survived, it’s possible he may have joined up with these adults. As to where he may settle, we may never know. Every year when chumming, we see two or three of last year fledglings coming into feed. These young birds have never made the journey south.
Cormorants returned to Craigleith this week and mallard were also spotted along with the greylags.
Local sightings, Musselburgh - A Lapland bunting was spotted with reed buntings, pochard, teal, velvets scoter and Slavonian grebe on the sea. Gosford - The firecrest is still being seen. Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News.
Arctic terns More fascinating research on the tracking of Arctic terns fitted with geolocators from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. “They have been able to track the birds during a full year of migration. The study reveals they fly down either the African or Brazilian coasts, but on their return rather than retracing their southward flight paths, the birds follow a gigantic "S" pattern up the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. They make a detour of several thousand km, but once we start comparing the route to the prevailing wind system, it makes perfect sense - moving in a counter-clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere, and clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. This is completely new knowledge” Mr Egevang told BBC News.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 14 January (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Fidra The peregrines are daily visitors. This time last year, their wonderful aerial displays were being seen along the coast. The male swooping down passing food to the female, showing he is a good provider for the forthcoming breeding season. Wrap up well and take yourself on to the viewing deck, as this is where much of the excitement can be observed at this time of year. Guillemots had also been seen on Fidra at this time last year. Have a look at the cliffs on the Lamb and of course a daily check on all the cameras.
Bass Again a year ago, this week the first gannets were spotted flying off the Bass. Just another reason to take yourself out to the viewing deck or pan around with the cameras. Dates and times please for the first sightings.
Craigleith The greylag are being spotted, as are fulmars. Weather permitting we hope to land with the mallow team and get down to some hard work this Saturday. With February fast approaching, we have limited time in the east of the island, as cormorants will start to return to reclaim nest sites. Shags at this time last year had begun to show their breeding crest and certainly I spotted herring gulls, their pristine white heads of their summer plumage returning.
Isle of May We did have a report of a young white pup being washed into the sea last week. There was nothing in the sighting book relating to a ‘Christmas pup’ or any sightings of it on Pilgrims Haven. However, looking at records, there was a moulting pup last year at this time. It really shows the importance of us noting all that we see. Please do not presume that someone else has logged a sighting. The Scottish Seabird Centre is providing a very useful link to researchers, particularly with out of season sightings but your help is needed.
Local sightings: Gosford Bay Black-necked, Red-necked and Slavonian Grebe all seen offshore and in Gosford estate Firecrest along with Goldcrest a Nuthatch in same area plus a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Long-tailed Tit.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP 14th January (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Craigleith The islands are fairly quiet at the moment, although the greylag has been seen again this week.
The highlight for Craigleith has to be the 'large rabbit’, and the 'small rabbit' seen, together on the 11th January. They have survived the ice and snow that has covered all of the islands this past week. There are still plenty of mallows for them to munch on, but if you've scanned around you will have noticed that the frost has caused some damage to the larger plants. Leaves can be seen wilting, but sadly these larger plants will survive. There is little doubt that it will have killed off seedlings. Even the plants beside the office have some damage to them. Underneath you can see the smaller seedlings have shrivelled, and this is more sheltered than the island. Fulmars are being seen on all the islands, if not at their sites, then gliding along the cliff edges
Fidra The Peregrines are being seen frequently.
Some interesting information has just been confirmed regarding ‘night hunting’ peregrines: “Derby Cathedral peregrine project team, claim to have caught the first ever film in Europe, and North America, showing conclusively, that Peregrine’s use urban floodlighting to catch prey during the night. Just before Christmas, a web cam installed on the tower of Derby cathedral, captured film of a woodcock being brought back late night. The bird had obviously just been caught in flight, and can be seen struggling to get free on the top of a stone gargoyle situated in front of one of the cameras. Peregrines store food to eat at a later date, so it was vital that scientists could see that the prey brought into camera view after dark was still alive and had only just been captured. Reports and articles have been published of this phenomenon, but until now there has been no filmed footage to prove it conclusively “(Report from Birdguides weekly update)
Bass Rock At this time of year it’s not what to see, it’s what to say! Just this evening I have received an exciting e-mail, regarding the Bass. When field studies are completed, it can take quite some time before information is processed; papers are submitted and finally accepted. Therefore much of what is written below is not yet formally documented, but is hot news!
Overall Gannetries around Britain (apart from Irish colonies) have recorded successful breeding for the 2009 season. Studies undertaken by Leeds University, for which the Bass Rock was a major site, have shown that foraging trips have been much shorter than expected, and correspondingly, the wardens at the various sites have recorded quite high reproductive success. The webcams have been invaluable to the Bass researchers, and hopefully the few technical problems due mainly to the wind moving the dedicated ‘study cam’ can be resolved this year to allow this work to continue.
From Glasgow University exciting wintering news on gannets. Geolocators attached to Bass Rock gannets in 2002/2003 have confirmed that gannets wintering further south return to the rock later in the spring. This paper with immense information can be accessed on http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v391/p257-265/. However, the loggers that were deployed in 2008 and recovered in 2009 are showing even more birds are wintering off the coast of West Africa. Information has been put in the windy room regarding the preliminary findings. Again this shows just how important ongoing research is to keep us updated on the changes we have witnessed in the last few years. Photographs of the geolocators attached to a gannet are beside the Bass cameras. We are only a few weeks off the first gannets being spotted.
Geolocators are providing a wealth of information and are being attached to many species, including puffins which we’ll update you on next week.
Close to the Centre Rafts of eiders are being seen now, a single red –breasted merganser and the regular waders: turnstone, redshank, oystercatcher, curlew, purple sandpiper have all been spotted
Local sightings, Mussleburgh a kingfisher at the river mouth. Twit with a linnet flock along sea wall. Feeding around scrapes - grey partridge, golden plover, and stock dove. An interesting find of an owl pellet thought to be a barn owl. The bairds sandpiper and water pipit are still present at White Sands and West Barns. Spotted locally at Gullane and North Berwick, bramblings.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 7 January (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Craigleith Within 24 hours of the last report on the 17th December a pup was born on Craigleith. This not only gave us a ‘Christmas pup’ but also is the latest one that we have recorded on the island to date. Unfortunately, with an occasional camera problem over the holiday we have not been able to monitor it on a daily basis. If all is well it should by now be almost fully moulted, and hopefully, a well fed 3 week old pup. Four adult seals are hauled out on the island as I write, and we know during the holiday period they did have the company of a moulted pup, but I think we can say the seal breeding season has now come to a close. What is exciting looking on the web cams, is the snow and heavy frost that is covering parts of the island. Unfortunately, the holiday mallow mash was cancelled due to heavy seas, but you can almost see the plants shrivelling with the chill. This will certainly destroy some of the smaller seedlings and hopefully have a detrimental effect on the larger plants. Do look out for rabbits climbing and munching the mature plants, as they too will suffer in the freezing weather. We live in hope! Someone has been panning around and recording, thank you. Shags, curlews, turnstones, eiders, linnets, 8 greylag geese, wagtails and 2 plovers (species not recorded) have also been seen on the island. It shows what can be seen on the islands if you really look. You never know what you may spot.
Isle of May: Stacks and cliffs are being checked daily for returning auks, so please, if you see any on any of the islands, record date, time, and location please. As with Craigleith, the seal-breeding season has ended, but a young moulted pup has been coming and going. Looking on the May webcam today there he is asleep and contented on Pilgrims Haven. If you are snowed in, you can keep up to date with the webcams. Fidra The peregrines are being seen. Fulmars are coming and going and common scoter were seen in the sea just off the island in late December, and are certainly being seen quite regularly offshore from Gullane to Musselburgh
Bass Rock No, the gannets have not returned, the white is snow! Just a little early to spot the first returning gannets, but it will not be long. The resident rock pipits can be seen flitting about.
Close to the Centre, turnstone, redshank, oystercatcher, curlew, heron, purple sandpiper, sanderling, eider, a lone golden plover and this morning a red–breasted merganser was spotted in the boating pond
Local sightings The Bairds sandpiper and water pipit are still present at White Sands and West Barns. The snowy weather saw large flocks of pinkfoot geese flying in late afternoon on to local fields just off the main road near the North Berwick garage. Woodcock are being seen in many places. Fieldfare and redwing have been stripping bushes of berries Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News.
With freezing temperatures, birds and wildlife will be struggling to find food and water. They will be using up a lot of energy and fat. If you are able to put something out for them, it could just save them from starving. The rewards, particularly with an icy white background, - you get to bird watch from the comfort of your home. You never know what rarity may appear. Various seeds, nuts, fruits and fats are good but so is anything that will help them survive this cold spell.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 16 DECEMBER (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Only 3 pups visible on Pilgrims Haven. It is looking unlikely that any new pups will be born, but you never know. Pups can be born late into January, so for our holiday visitors do get them to scan around, just in case! Remember to keep watching the stacks for guillemot and razorbill and note any sightings. Craigleith Landing on Sunday with the mallow mashers, the lone fat white pup was obvious. It was not completely alone as several moulted pups are still on the island. A total of 9 were counted. For Bill and I brush cutting on the west of the island, we spotted two, some distance from each other, both sound asleep. We did not go too close, but on awakening they were unperturbed by our presence, gave us a glance, and rolled over a fell asleep again. Several cows were around and a lone bull was seen.
Rabbits There are signs of rabbits digging out burrows, and a rather interesting observation from John, of several mallow plants where the “bark” of the plant has been stripped. Two dead rabbits were found and one rather healthy one was seen in the lower glen. That being said the island is very definitely not overrun by rabbits!
Fulmars are being seen off all the islands and if a lovely winter's day, its well worth spending a little time on the viewing deck. You may be lucky enough to see displaying peregrines. A report of mating eiders this week. There are winter ducks and possibly divers out there, you just have to spend a little time watching.
Local sightings a report earlier in the week of a second winter glaucous gull at Port Seton and at White Sands bairds sandpiper, is still being seen. A water pipit at Barns Ness and at Aberlady the lesser yellow legs is still present.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 10 DECEMBER (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Only five pups now seen on Pilgrims Haven. With calm seas forecast this weekend, you may spot moulted pups exploring close to shore. Do keep watching in case a late pup is born! Although the seal season is winding down, this last ten days have brought a returning bird to the cliffs. Yes, fulmars, swooping and gliding along the cliffs. It is always wonderful to see them at this time of year. You may well spot them sitting at their nesting sites. They have also been seen off Fidra (around twenty returned on the 5th December), from the Viewing Deck you can see them off Craigleith cliffs, and certainly, toward Canty Bay and Tantallon Castle they are very easily spotted.
Another returning group we often see are auks. Guillemots and razorbills quite often return to their breeding sites at this time of year and can be seen in the early morning. Please do note any sightings (date and time) on any of the islands as this information is very useful and will be passed on to the CEH (Centre of Ecology and Hydrology). An early morning camera check on the Isle of May is now quite important. From the Viewing Deck, the Lamb is another site to keep a watch on.
Craigleith - Unfortunately, with the cameras down, we are unable to bring you news, however the mashers hope to be out at the weekend and we will update you.
Fidra - the peregrine is a frequent visitor.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 3 DECEMBER (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: With only eighteen pups on the recent count, the season is slowly drawing to a close. If there is to be a Christmas pup, we would expect to see a new born over the next week or so. I received a call from Adam in the Discovery Centre one day - a visitor scanning around had spotted remains on the beach and there was uncertainty as to just what this partial carcass was in view of the camera. Logging on to the website and on to the Isle of May beach cam I was able to see what they were watching. The camera was moved all over the remains. Sometimes it can be difficult to gain a perspective on size but there was no question it was a seal (not a pup) the hind flippers were quite distinctive. It was just wonderful to be able to talk with Adam and solve the mystery from home.
Craigleith: The sun and rain these past few weeks have caused the mallow to flourish in places, in particular the Glen where pups are vanishing in the undergrowth. Out with the mashers on the beautiful sunny Saturday, it was good to see frost covering the plants on the northern side of the island. Unfortunately, several days of severe frost is required to have a detrimental effect on the mallow, in particular small seedlings, but it could help slow the growth. With uncertainty of weather, another pup count was undertaken. With the majority of the twenty-two now in full or partial moult only one new born was spotted. Several have taken to moving up the slopes and although a little difficult to spot, the flattened trails are easily followed. Yesterday only eleven were visible on camera with a very dark one quite obvious.
Rescues: A very busy few days! We are very lucky - or the pups are. Many from the local community have really taken on board the procedure should a pup be spotted and it is with grateful thanks to Sandy, Ellie, Neil, Bill, Susanne, who have given accurate descriptions of colour, whether in moult, size and location (very important). Watching the surf crashing along Craigleith on Sunday morning I was surprised not to have received a call, I spoke too soon. The first came around noon. Quickly followed by another two, thankfully about the same pup. I stood for an hour in horizontal rain and biting winds guarding what was a very small but partially moulted pup, until ‘alert’ signs arrived (thank you Adam). It had obviously hauled itself out during the night, as there was no visible trail. It was cocooned it an excellent spot tucked in a small dune protected from casual walkers. Unfortunately, this tale does not have the happy ending we all like to hear. The rescue services were hectic and a decision was taken to leave it until the morning. At first light, I headed down so pleased to find it still sleeping happily. A call to the SSPCA and they were en route. With the warning notice close by, I left it fairly confident that any passing person would understand. I am sorry to say that within half an hour I had a call informing me that a dog had attacked the pup and it was dead, could I come down.
I duly did and although sad to see, this was a different pup that had succumbed to the stormy seas of Sunday. However the ‘protected’ pup had gone and the tell tale footprints all around where it had safely lain for twenty-four hours showed that someone ignored the notice and just had to see the pup. The pup’s trail led to the sea which although not as stormy as Sunday was not a sea to send a pup back into. At Canty Bay, a quiet beach, again going back to check on a pup, the footprints all around showed it too had been scared back into the sea. If fat, moulted and sleeping, they have just hauled out not realizing that this is an ‘inhabited beach’. They are tired and can happily sleep for hours, and when rested, they head back to sea. People are surprised how far up the shore they reach. Just look at the ones on Craigleith. It is not unusual. They should not be chased back into the water and most importantly, again if it is a pup, please give it a wide berth and call us. If you want to see seal pups close up, come and look on the cameras, on the webcams. I am sure nobody intentionally wants to harm a pup but sadly this has happened the past few days.
Sightings: Having been running up and down the beach for several days I spotted purple sandpiper, turnstone and several redshanks, along with oystercatcher rock pipits and pied wagtails. On the other islands the peregrines are being seen, shags always there to watch and do keep an eye open for seaducks. It is a year to this week when Maximus was rescued from the Bass!
Local Sightings: At Whitesands (Dunbar) a Bairds Sandpiper and between Drem and Fenton Barns Whooper Swans.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 26 NOVEMBER (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Bass Rock - The last guga has left the Rock. The breeding season has now ended. It wasseen close to the nest site on 21st November.As to when it left the Rock, we are unsure. Scanning around on 22nd November there was no sign of it, but it could have been on a cliff edge, building up the courage to make that jump. Unfortunately, this week the weather has been less than perfect for a flightless birdat the mercy of the seas, hopefully it is out there and surviving.
Isle of May– Forty-six seal pups.
Craigleith - Eighteen pups.
Although numbers are decreasing on both islands, there are still heart stopping moments as pups explore the fringes of the sea only to be bowled over by the surf, the cows lying broadside desperately trying to stop them being washed out to sea.
The puzzlement as they sniffor nudgesome alien object on the shore as they explore and play. The fat contented pup that sleeps the day away. We watch, willing it to lift its head, but no, that rhythmic breathing of thegrowing blubberousbelly is all we see. There are still a few weeks of the season left. Please do note date and location of any newborn pups.
Fidra - Daily sightings of two peregrines on the lighthouse or the ledge.
Sightings - Margaret Ann Crawford (Volunteer) saw a Red Kite near the Peffer Burn Aberlady on the 23rd November and the Wilsons Phalarope is still being seen at Musselburgh.
IRD SIGHTINGS – Week up to 19 November 2009 (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: In one week, pup numbers have begun to fall. Earlier this week the count was 90 pups. Many were moulting or had completely moulted. On the 18th, that number had dropped to approximately 75. Pups have been increasing in weight by approx 2kg a day. The cow's milk, the consistency of mayonnaise and over 60% fat creates the thick layer of blubber that not only acts as insulation, but stores fat. This is vital for the pups as they head out to sea learning to fish, and braving heavy seas. It will be over the next few weeks that many will haul out to rest along shorelines. Only if they are injured, obviously underweight, or a ‘white ‘ pup should they be taken to the sanctuary, as lifting a healthy but tired pup causes distress and takes vital resources from those that really need help. Most will return to sea of their own accord. The more we can inform people of this, the better for the pups.
Craigleith: While mallow mashing last Sunday, a seal count was undertaken. Quite often a few tuck up in under the small cliff area, blind from the camera, and as last year there was a rather fat, contented pup tucked behind the elder bush close to a rocky overhang, with another two close by. I spotted one, maybe just a week old, with very obvious back eye patches. Twenty one pups were counted and at that time, three in various stages of moult. No sign of the ones higher up the slope, but breeding is not over, so do keep watching. If you spot a newborn, please can this be noted, as it will add to the count. Three bulls were hanging around off shore and later in the day one was seen mating just off the lower rocks.
Bass Rock: It’s still there! The parents have been returning, but not as regularly, and with very serious gales due out in the North Sea this weekend, I suspect not only will the parents not return, but for this guga it’s time will have arrived for it to leave. But keep watching! Sadly it will not be good weather for a flightless bird. At this time last year, there was one guga still being seen keeping Maximus company.
Fidra With regular sightings at this time of year, it’s an excellent time to really watch the peregrine. Curlew, oystercatchers, shags and eiders have all been seen. What else is there?
Advice Slightly puzzled at the international number flashing on my phone as it is too early for Bass photographers, I answered. On the other end a lady called Jackie, calling from Spain to ask advice on a guillemot that was now swimming around in her bath. A wonderful discussion ensued with questions and my limited advice given. Hopefully it just needs rest and food, but it does show just how far and wide the “ Scottish Seabird Centre ” extends.
The first call/e-mail is usually taken by the office, and then quite often passed over to me. It’s wonderful! I speak to these caring people in some weird and wonderful locations. A few weeks back, an e-mail and subsequently several days of delightful communication from “Arctic 4” (somewhere out there in the North Sea) I had to identify an injured bird and advise. It was a juv kittiwake they had named ‘chopper ‘. After several days of TLC it flew off with a very sentimental crew waving farewell.
We are very lucky to have organizations such as the SSPCA & BDMLR who, with one call are quickly in attendance, and of course locally Pat, who gives such care to the gannets.
Local sightings: Musselburgh Highlight of the week is a Wilson's Phalarope, seen certainly up until the 16th Nov from the hides. Also seen in the area Twite, Snow Bunting, a Marsh Harrier and a Mediterranean gull. Aberlady The lesser yellowlegs is still being seen. A greenshank was spotted at the edge of the Bay adjacent to Marl Loch.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 13 NOVEMBER (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Over one hundred and fifteen pups have been counted, slightly up on last year’s figure of this same week. That being said, weather conditions play a major part and at times, they can be hidden at the far end of the beach. It is wonderful just watching the behaviour. From the helpless newborns to the playful rounded two week olds that explore, annoy the odd cow as they all try to feed from one mother and the sheer playfulness as they test all manner of objects they find on the beach, whether it be eating seaweed, pebbles, or playing with a football or exploring a washed up lobsterpot, the latter always makes us hold our breath as we fear it may be caught in the netting. Many are moulting and bulls are swimming offshore. With all this activity, it is easy to miss an odd wader or passerine feeding. A curlew was spotted on the shore and certainly, turnstones are around.
Craigleith: Sixteen pups have been counted but do scan around as they spread out around the Glen and in previous years one has been spotted quite a distance up the slope, another under the larger elder tree. Again, if quiet, please try to do a count, as it is all useful information that we pass on to the Forth Seabird Group and the Sea Mammal Research. There are two already beginning to moult. Bulls have been spotted offshore.
Seal Rescue: The first call out came last week from a local man Peter Barnes out dog walking. With such a heavy swell running last week, it was almost inevitable that young could be washed off Craigleith. Peter gave me a very accurate account of location and the condition of the pup. He was surprised to find it at the fringe of the sand dunes, almost hidden, and had concern that it was now quite a distance from the sea. I explained with the extreme tides and hefty seas that week that it had probably been washed ashore through the night and would easily find its way to the sea once rested. I did have concern as it sounded like it had not moulted and therefore would still be needing fed from the mother, so as I walked along the beach regretting that I had not brought my binoculars to scan ahead, the reality of where the ninth hole is, dawned! As I approached Yellow Craigs, in the distance I thought I could see the tell tale trail over the great expanse of sand. Knowing full well that this was the trail leading back to the sea, I followed it to the now empty dunes. Someone had drawn arrows in the sand which again was superb, but I suspect dogs had disturbed it and it took to the seas. Let us hope it was big enough to survive. At least the seas calmed that day and for several more days, we had excellent weather.
Bass Rock: The parents of the lone chick have been returning daily to feed the now virtually down free guga. It is only a matter of days before it will leave and the breeding season will have ended for another year - unless there are any further up the slopes or down by the foghorn? Unfortunately, weather, time and boats have conspired to prevent a landing. At this time last year there was only one visible guga keeping Maximus company. Keep noting the times of returning adults and more importantly the date the guga departs.
Fidra: Regular sightings of the Peregrine, do pan around the seas, as this is a good area for wintering ducks such as common scoter, pintail, long - tailed duck, goldeneye not to mention eiders.
Local sightings: Sanderling were seen along with redshank and turnstone on the East Beach close to the Centre.
Aberlady: From John Harrison - 9,600 pinkfoot, 44 greylags, kingfisher, short-eared owl, pair of goldeneye. The lesser yellowlegs is still there. The lesser yellowlegs is a slim long-bodied wader with long bright yellow legs and a relatively short bill. This species is a regular vagrant to western Europe, and the odd bird has wintered in Britain.
Gosford Bay: Slavonian Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Velvet and Common Scoter, Eider, 100+ Golden Plover, Knot, Turnstone and Oystercatchers.
Wildlife Sightings up to w/e 5 November (by volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Thanks to Catriona Walker in our Discovery Centre for providing last week’s sightings. As I've been away on holiday, it's a brief update this week, but I have been keeping an eye on the webcams on the Centre's website - a wonderful way to keep informed and enjoy the wonderful images of seal pups.
The Isle of May: Looking very busy. I know there are over a hundred seal pups and inevitably, there have been deaths. It is over four weeks since the first pups were born therefore quite possibly the earlier pups will have already moulted and are now discovering the seas around. The bulls should be gathering waiting for that opportunity to mate and at these times, young pups are very vulnerable.
Craigleith: I believe there are over twelve pups. As with the May there have been a couple that have died. Dougie Ferguson, from local boat Braveheart, watched helplessly as a very young pup desperately tried to cling and clamber on to the steep rock that it had been washed off. The cow below tried everything to push the pup to safety but sadly did not succeed.
Which brings us to rescue time -
Seal Rescue: It is time now to mention that should you find a pup on the beach, it should be observed from a distance and children and dogs should be kept clear. Only if the pup looks injured, in distress or very obviously young and underweight, should it be reported to the SSPCA, the BDMLR (British Divers Marine Life Rescue) or bring it to the attention of the Seabird Centre (by calling 01620 890202). More often than not, the young seal is resting and will head out on the next tide. As a member of the BDMLR, I am also happy to check out any pups found locally or to give advice on 07709 505 133. A seal bite can be extremely serious as they carry several nasty diseases.
Bass Rock: The one remaining gannet chick on the Bass Rock appears to still have a little down. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks a tidy up visit could let us know if another ‘Maximus’ is on the Rock (see story of last year's record breaking gannet chick, Maximus, who we rescued and transported to the Bay of Biscay!!)
Talking of Maximus, on my annual Cornish bird survey/ holiday this week, I managed to escape for an afternoon and visit the wonderful Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital (who kindly looked after Maximus for a few days last year to build up his strength during his journey south). I was dropped off about a mile from this most beautiful of Cornish villages, as there was concern that the narrow hedge-lined lanes would not be suitable for our truck. (This was wise as two days later on a vertical hill, in mud, we indeed became jammed in a similar country lane!!).
Mousehole WBH is set high on the hill so I was rather glad that I came in to the village from the hill end. The rather narrow gateway and steep stairs belies just how much space the hospital has and it was at this point as I was about to peer in to the first pen containing a mallard, an extremely old cockerel, and several corvids, that I met Margaret CasC, chair of the hospital. We had such intense communication when Maximus was taken there it was like meeting an old friend. I was given a full tour and was shown Maximus’s pen where a young recently fledged juvenile and adult gannet were in residence. A cuppa in the office with views to die for and a quick visit to the small shop and I was pleased that I was walking down the steep hill for the three-mile walk to Penzance to meet up with the lads. The hospital was founded in 1928 by Dorothy and Phyllis Yglesias and became famous following the Torrey Canyon disaster. Miss Dorothy's book "The Cry of a Bird” documents the story of the sanctuary and her sister’s book ‘Pogs Diary‘ makes for delightful reading – at the moment still in my bag but happy to lend them out once read. Now Mousehole is run by a small-dedicated team and certainly worth a visit should you be down that way . www.mouseholebirdhospital.org.uk for more information.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 29 OCTOBER by CATRIONA - DISCOVERY CENTRE)
Isle of May - There are now almost a hundred seal pups on the beach. The oldest ones are nearly three weeks old and are beginning to moult.
Craigleith – Seven seal pups have been seen on the island. They can be quite tricky to spot amongst the grassy mounds! There are several pregnant females hanging around.
Bass Rock - Only four gannets are left now – two look ready to fledge but the others still have some white down and will probably be around for another couple of weeks. Some adults have been seen coming and going too.
Fidra - The peregrine pair are being seen quite regularly on the lighthouse and the ledge. Shags, eider ducks and oystercatchers are also around, and a guillemot was seen in the water.
Dunbar - Eider ducks and herring gulls in the harbour, along with occasional grey seals. Shags on the rocks.
WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 22 OCTOBER (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
May Isle - Captivating viewing that is delighting our holiday visitors, not to mention local members who regularly pop in to keep updated on the trial and tribulations already unfolding on Pilgrim's Haven, from the newborn to the adventurous, this past week has been just a joy to watch. You can see all the action unfolding on our webcams. Catriona in the Discovery Centre was disappointed to miss one of the first pups being born - and looking very helpless with the gulls vying for the afterbirth, the cow was very protective of her newborn. By lunchtime all was settled and calm, the pup had fed and was happily sleeping with its mother close by. Later in the week we watched as a slightly older pup, possibly the adventurous one from last week, played in the shallow calm waters. Oblivious to all, it rolled and spiralled, eyes closed just thoroughly enjoying itself. By Wednesday afternoon 47 pups had been counted and it’s not yet November.
There is still a small group of gannets with chicks on the Bass - we'll have to wait to see if we have another Maximus the Gannet Chick this year again. juvenile Heron was spotted on camera.
Craigleith – With obviously pregnant cows appearing around the island it was only a question of “when would that first pup appear”? They have been hauling out for several days now. On the morning of the 21st October the first pup was born. They can really spread out on the island, so do pan around. For Craigleith the season has begun.
Bass Rock - Two six to seven week old chicks are quite easy to spot, their down, gleaming against the now darkening rock. The odd guga wanders past on its journey to the cliff edge. They can be seen at times in small groups with an occasional younger one preening each other. The adults come and go now, although there are more on the lower promontories. One flightless guga was spotted on the sea. Look out for the peregrine on the cliff at the lighthouse. As with Fidra, the lighthouse is a favourite vantage point for the peregrine
Dunbar - Around sixty eiders were seen in the harbour. East Bay - Two red-throated divers were seen from the boat on Monday and a flock of golden plover flying over. They would have been visible from the viewing deck. On these calm days it is well worth spending a little time sea watching. Small rafts of guillemots and razorbills can be seen. You never know what you may spot!
Aberlady - 15,700 pink foot, 40 barnacle geese, lesser yellowleg gull, snow bunting
Lots of passerines flying over (siskins, redpolls, crossbills). First fieldfares on Sunday.
Thanks to all at Lothian bird News.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 15 OCTOBER(by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
May Isle – The season has begun on Pilgrims Haven. Visitors were delighted to see that first, fairly active pup slithering over the beach on Sun morning (11th Oct) almost a year to the day from last year. Whether or not it had been born the evening before or very early morning is unclear. The coat was dry (not that scraggly wet of a newborn) it had obviously been fed, and very noticeable was the lack of gull activity around the cow. The mother was very relaxed, as within the first half hour of birth, she repeatedly touches the pup with her nose, sniffing, learning the scent of her own pup, very important when the beach becomes crowded.
By Monday 12th Oct, three pups had been born. The first has been named ‘Shiny’ and I’m a little amused as to why one is called ‘Ginger’? With school holidays already underway, let’s see what wonderful names children can suggest. Today (15th) there are now 12 pups with a couple of adventurous ones taking to the sea. The flat calm of yesterday was very inviting, but they will soon learn that this is not always so. The trials and traumas of the grey seal season are just beginning!
A heron was also spotted on camera earlier this week. On a quick visit to the island last week several cows were around Kirk Haven, but as we entered the calm of the harbour a very large dark bull reared out the water, looking very intimidating. Perhaps he thought we were a threat. With their very thick scar ridden necks and immense size, the head is much larger, there is no mistaking the males.
Craigleith – Apologies, the first pup was the 18th October last year, just 3 days from now, so we are in that spell where the island should be left in peace. Cows can haul out to prospect up to a week before giving birth, but they may not settle until the day before they actually give birth. Keep a close watch. The Peregrine has been seen several times this week near to the cliff camera.
Bass Rock By the end of last week more gannets had returned, but this is temporary as the season is drawing to a close. Numbers are fluctuating on a daily basis. On landing, the odd guga was seen wandering around. With plenty space, they are not quite so open to attack as they make there way to cliff edges. Down on the east promontories there are still a couple to be seen with ‘the parliament goose’ plumage. On the upper slope, the younger chick is quite obvious.
As with the May, we also witnessed a large bull near the cave entrance, and the evocative wailing of the greys could be heard echoing out from breeding sites deep in the cave. A peregrine is a regular sighting on the lighthouse.
Fidra Shags and eiders all evident, as too the Peregrine, This time last year a pod of dolphins were seen off Fidra. Always worth scanning around!
Local Sightings – seen from the staffroom window, 2 ringed plover, curlew, turnstone and redshank.
Aberlady The Snow Goose is still there and standing out very clearly among the huge numbers of Pinkfeet. Musselburgh this week pomarine skua, arctic skua, little gull, great northern dive, pintail, gadwall, manx shearwater, red-necked grebe, long-tailed duck, common scoter, 2 sandwich tern, black-tailed godwit, stonechat, rock pipit, redpoll and sparrowhawk.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 9 OCTOBER (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
May Isle – With the pupping season on the brink, many weeks of captivating viewing lie ahead. Who will spot that first helpless white pup? Last year the first born on Pilgrims Haven was on 9 October and the previous year on 11 October, so we are in that window for an exciting weekend. Unfortunately, the weather is looking unkind and could have adverse affect if heavy seas pound the shore. Let visitors know so they can pan, and scan. Very important that we keep records and if anything interesting unfolds, hit the record button! We have the most exciting footage of a birth, recorded a couple of years ago, so keep a close watch!
Craigleith – Almost daily grey seals have been seen hauled out and certainly just off the sloping rocks of the island, seals have been obvious in the water. The first pup last year was on 16 October, although sadly still born. But again keep a watch! Depending on the seal activity over the next few days, as set out in the management plan, trips to the island will be suspended for a short while. Any disturbance could cause them to move elsewhere or even abort. Once settled, the mashers can move back providing they use the pathways that are out of sight . As with the May, keep a watchful eye on the Glen.
Bass Rock - Alerting the Discovery Centre that the gale force nine that was due to pound our landscape last Saturday, I had a feeling the Rock would empty. Scanning around on Sunday morning the thousands of gannets that had blanketed the rock just two days earlier, some recharging after breeding, others still displaying and establishing sites, all had gone. Panning around exposed a very bleak and the almost empty Rock. The odd solitary guga, hardy adults still with down covered young had braved the storm, but an occasional young one was spotted alone. On sailing around the Rock later that day it was very evident that several down covered chicks had been abandoned. The Discovery Centre staff kept a close eye and by Monday, a few adults had returned, but not as before. Winter is just around the corner. As the week has progressed, and with more settled weather many more have returned. When we landed last week, we spotted one young chick approximately five weeks old. Back at the Discovery Centre, we checked and it was visible on camera. Sadly, the young one near to the lighthouse has perished.
Several grey seals were spotted around the area of the Rock, but interestingly no common seals. There was quite a swell at the west cave entrance, where they are most often seen but I think at this time last year we saw a similar decrease in sightings of the common seal .
Local Sightings – A heron was spotted along the East Bay and offshore in the West Bay a mute swan was seen. Quite a few guillemots (now in winter plumage ) have been spotted out at sea.
The glossy Ibis One of the centre volunteers, Alison Mackintosh reported that she had seen it along the West Bay on Monday. She had been unsure of what it was but after reading last weeks Bulletin, she realised that this was what she had seen.
Aberlady Goose counts – over 32,000 pink-footed geese 600+ barnacle geese and the 1 snow goose is still being seen .The lesser yellowleg gull has been showing well.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 2 OCTOBER
May Isle - The first pup has been born on the north end of the island (Rhona). This past week there have been more sightings of seals offshore and the odd one hauling out. Breeding time is upon us, so let visitors know to keep a watch on Pilgrims Haven. Strings of gannets have been seen offshore.
Sightings from Catriona - Discovery Centre
Craigleith – Grey seals beginning to gather around the island, with two or three pregnant females lying on the beach on some days. Eider ducks and oystercatchers on the shore, along with herring and great black-backed gulls.
Fidra – Lots of shags on the rocks, and big groups of eider ducks have been seen. The peregrines have also been about. Most chicks have fledged by now, but there are a couple of young ones which are obvious. The peregrine was seen on the lighthouse on the 29 September.
Dunbar – Eiders and seals in the harbour.
Scope Deck – Turnstones, redshanks, oystercatchers, eider ducks, shags. A heron on the morning of the 28 September.
Updates from volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN
A rather exciting, but unconfirmed report to the Centre on Monday, 28 September from a woman walking the east bay early evening - four glossy Ibris. On checking various bird sites, and the BTO, there have indeed been other sightings around Britain. On 29 September, they were seen at two locations in Northumberland. Although not rare, this is a scarce sighting for Britain. Glossy Ibis, have reddish brown bodies and shiny bottle green wings, with a long down-curved bill. Non-breeders and juveniles have duller bodies, 55/65cm length with a wingspan of 88/105cm. It flies with neck outstretched and often flocks fly in lines. Breeds in Europe , Asia, Africa, Australia and North America.
Local Sightings - At Early Birds on Sunday, not many waders were seen apart from our normal sightings of which even turnstone and redshank are few. Only one ringed plover was seen. A small flock of around a dozen goldfinches flew in and perched on the wire at Anchor Green.
Aberlady Goose counts - 24,830 pink-footed geese 100+ barnacle geese 6 light-bellied Brent geese, 1 white phase snow goose seen leaving to south at 0815. Kingfisher, lesser yellowlegs and two stock doves also present.
Inchcolm Many juvenile dark speckled gannet are airborne now, perhaps not quite as proficient as the adults are and at times amusing to watch. Sailing out to Inchcolm this week, close to Hound Point I saw upwards of sixty juveniles all swooping and flying over the calmer seas. As I collected mallow seeds for studies (the reason for my visit) with the wailing of grey seals close by, my attention was drawn to a young gannet diving. As it surfaced, it took flight again, circled around about four metres above the sea and dived again. For ten minutes I watched this as it practiced and perfected its technique. Wonderful, this one will survive!
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 24 SEPTEMBER (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
Viewing Deck- With bottlenose dolphins being spotted twice this past week, gugas crash landing as they attempt to take flight, skeins of geese flying over now on a daily basis, grey seals popping up, rafts of eiders returning, in their resplendent plumage and waders and migrants to be spotted, the Telescope Deck is well worth spending a little time on.
Bass Rock - Among the sea of white that still confronts us, it is very easy to spot the decreasing number of young, their striking grey speckled plumage so obvious. There are still many immature birds on the lower rocks and by the helipad but with windier weather this last few days a few have begun to leave. For gugas on the sea and at the mercy of the tide and wind, with a shift to strong westerly, many will now be swept out into the North Sea.
Craigleith - Grey seals have been popping their heads up as we have sailed around. Many cormorants have left the island but shags still remain on the lower rocks. A peregrine was seen flying over the sea and across to the East Bay rocks putting up many of the waders and starlings.
Fidra - The peregrine has been on the lighthouse several days this week. Keep a watch on the sea for any interesting sea ducks.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 17 SEPTEMBER (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
Bass Rock - Panning around it is all very evident that many young have fledged this week. Although there is an obvious thinning in numbers, thousands of gannets can still be seen in territorial displays, bill fencing and sky pointing. I even saw a pair mating the other day. For the photographers that landed on the most beautiful of September mornings, they were surprised to see nesting material being carried in. New territories are still being established. Several down covered chicks are being seen, particularly on the lower rocky promontories where again a synchronicity is obvious among the young. The ‘chapel’ chicks, one has fledged and the two others are very close to leaving. It is wonderful to see the success of some of these first time breeders.
Again, many gugas were freed from the lighthouse area. I saw several take that first faltering flight. For some it is very short before they tumble into the rocks below, but many pick themselves up and continue their arduous journey to the water’s edge. For others, as they catch the wind the excitement builds as the wings twist and turn as they experience their first real flight heading out over the sea, before the inevitable splash of the crash landing.
Rescue Advice - This week with onshore winds, phone calls have been thick and fast with reports of gugas reported along the shoreline.
Live birds - Questions
Is it an adult gannet or a guga (ie white or brown)?
Is it injured? (eg broken wing, or is it weak and unable to move )
Answers - If the bird is injured, we will either collect it or report it to the SSPCA. Where possible the exact location, landmark, house number etc, helps us. If the bird is not injured unless in a busy location and likely to be disturbed by dogs etc, best advice is to leave it, as many of the young gugas (young gannet chicks) are merely resting and will eventually head back out to sea.
Dead birds Try to establish the species. Sadly many young gannets die at this time. Weather and tides will wash them up along our beaches and it can be quite disturbing to find so many dead birds. At any other time this could be showing perhaps something catastrophic happening out at sea (perhaps an oil spill or worse!). This would be the first warning.
Where possible we will try to species check as in the past there have been recorded ‘wrecks’ of guillemot, shags and fulmars. A ‘wreck’ is where significantly larger numbers of seabirds than would be expected for the time of year are found dead, washed ashore.
Craigleith - More grey seals have been spotted this week and certainly the Glen area where they haul out to breed is being transformed by our enthusiastic volunteers. Not only does it give clearance for the seals, but it will allow us wonderful shots of the pups. Two peregrines were seen, and oystercatchers, turnstone and eiders are all being seen by the lower rocks, as are shags and cormorants, and on camera and by the volunteers, a rabbit ! (only one so far!)
Dunbar - From Paul - Seen from Gordon Easingwood’s boat Fisher Lassie (Queen of Dunbar) an Arctic skua….thank you Paul! Late afternoon the odd kittiwake is returning.
Isle of May - A gannet was spotted sitting on the large rock by the beach. A few grey seals offshore from Pilgrims’ Haven. Eider ducks, occasional fulmars flying around (all fulmar chicks have gone).
Swallows and house martins are still flying around the Centre. Oystercatchers, turnstones and redshanks on the beach and an injured heron brought in on the 13th – the SSPCA were called to attend to it.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 10 SEPTEMBER (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
Bass Rock - Torrents of water cascaded down the rock, creating islands of the solid built nests, washing the not so well constructed away. Adults deserted sites leaving the young to face the relentless rain that swept over the area last week. Even from the shore the Rock ‘darkened’ that morning. By mid afternoon as the rain eased, panning around we could see many adults had returned to sites. Many of the young are on the brink of fledging and had weathered the storm. We know there are several five to six week old chicks on the lower ledges near the cave and it was good to see they too had survived.
Professors Sarah Wanless and Mike Harris popped in last weekend. They enjoyed their visit to the Centre and as far as the colony is faring, Sarah commented on the synchronicity of the young/gugas in the main breeding areas we see on camera and that all were looking extremely well fed. Obviously, fringe areas yield different results and it is important not to classify these as main breeding areas. We enjoyed a boat trip around the Bass and saw many fat, fit and feisty gugas on the sea. The Bass colony is looking good this year, as are many of the other gannetries around Britain. Although results are not through from this year’s studies it is certainly hoped that this will be ongoing and again the all-important records that we record are providing good information.
Paul and Catriona had the enviable task of releasing over a hundred gugas trapped around the lighthouse area. As you can imagine, with so much rain, mud and over a hundred gugas heading for the gate and ramps, wings flapping, Paul and Catriona were ever so slightly mud spattered when they returned to the Centre! Pat has the young chick in a separate pen. It is feeding well and looking good!
Isle of May - Although the puffins and guillemots have long gone, this breeding season has been the best for several years (something we are hearing from many seabird colonies). What is very interesting this year is that several puffin eggs were laid by the first week in April. Having seen many thousand puffins in March when I was there, it showed how quickly they reclaimed sites, settled and that they were in good condition to breed.
Dunbar - Only four kittiwakes were seen earlier this week.
Craigleith - The seals are pregnant and it will not be too long before we see them start to make their presence more obvious.
Viewing deck - Eiders, redshanks, turnstones, oystercatchers, sandwich terns, swallows, red-throated diver flying over. Any geese spotted yet? Keep watching!
Dolphins - Last Sunday and Monday a pod of around fifteen were again spotted. There is certainly one calf, possibly two. For our Seabird Seafari passengers on a tourist familiarization trip, they had a wonderful treat as they watched the pod move east across Canty Bay. Grey and common seal had been seen and we rescued a young gannet that had been knocked off the cliff. The dolphins completed what had already been a wonderful trip.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 3 SEPTEMBER (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
Bass Rock - The sea surface close by the Rock is covered in the white down of the moulting young. Fewer down covered chicks are visible now, although from the boat there are several clusters of five to six week olds, at the fringe of the lower promontories. This is lovely, as it will allow passengers on the boat the opportunity to see young until mid October. Gugas are being seen on the sea. Pan around on calmer days. Look for them in front of the lighthouse. It would appear some have not yet worked out how to use the ramp, but we have seen them using the open gateway. The flooding in front of the lighthouse does not encourage them to move. On the next landing it will be a wellie boot job to squelch through the calf deep ‘mud!‘ behind the lighthouse and free the inevitable trapped birds from there, not a job to relish but necessary. Pied wagtail rock pipit and the peregrine have all been seen this week. The shag chicks have fledged but still around.
Four common seal delighted passengers at the cave entrance and a couple of grey have been spotted around the area of the Rock .
The young chick handed into Pat last week is progressing well and one look over the fence at the others in her care are absolute testimony to her dedication and care . They look magnificent.
Isle of May - At the end of last week there were over fifty adult kittiwakes at nest sites on the cliffs, with a few young about too. Numbers have been decreasing daily. An adult gannet was spotted on Pilgrims Haven on Monday, just sitting, not sure, if it was a sickly one, but it was gone by the following day. A female wheatear was seen on the 28th. There are still a couple of young fulmars around and no sign of any Sea Eagles.
Dunbar - A few kittiwakes still being seen but as with all the colonies they too have begun to disperse.
Fidra - Earlier in the week a lot of activity, flapping, wing exercising from young fulmars, but they now appear to have fledged. Quite a few eiders, still in eclipse being seen on the water around the island.
Craigleith - On Monday, there were at least fifty shags (adults and juveniles) on the water and on the rocks. Cormorants were also still quite visible on the upper slopes, but on a trip yesterday, it was all too obvious that many have left the island. There were still some shags. Many are being seen along the rocks of the east bay, but the cliffs are falling silent, with herring and great black backed gulls their only occupants.
Viewing Deck - With migration under way and wintering birds returning it is well worth spending a little time just watching. Eiders, redshanks, turnstones, oystercatchers, red-breasted mergansers, not to mention the shags and cormorants have all been seen. Please do note any sightings in the book. On the decking early morning and late evening pied wagtail, starling and house sparrow are all gathering .
Thanks to Catriona for sightings and updates from the cameras.
Swifts,Swallows and House Martins
Over sixty swallows, effortless twisting and turning filled the early morning air around the Centre the other day. The second brood in the alley beside the police station have recently fledged. After breeding, they tend to form communal roosts and before long, they will vanish for yet another year. Mark Holling, Chairman of the SOC discussion group is hoping that next year a survey may be undertaken in North Berwick as to nest sights for all of the above birds. If you have been aware of any nest sites this year, it could really help in advance towards next year’s survey. If you know of any sites, please either note them in the sightings book or you could e-mail me at m.sheddan@virgin.net many thanks.
Kittiwakes - only a few now but please do keep a check and note down, if present or not , thank you.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 27th AUGUST (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
Bass Rock - Calmer seas this week have been a blessing to the gugas, now at the mercy of the weather and tides. The perfect scenario, calm seas, learn to fish, while loosing that excess fat that sustains them during this learning period, prior to their arduous journey to West Africa. Panning around on camera it is very obvious that within the next two to three weeks many young will have gone. I watched one young down free, vying relentlessly for food from an adult that had not long flown in, after three feeds, the expression “eating like a gannet“ came to mind. A photographer informed me of a young chick (approximately four weeks old) that had fallen out of a nest. Convinced he knew which nest it had fallen out of, I scrambled up the slope to try to ease it back into the location. It was a fringe bird, above the lower path, where breeding is sparse. Placing it fairly close to the ‘nest‘ he thought it had come from it soon became apparent that this was not the parent as very quickly it was catapulted out of the site, another try, with a similar result proved that the true location was unknown. Leaving it close to the known area, I returned several hours later to see it had not moved. It was a healthy young chick but it was now obvious that as it was nowhere near its nest site, it would die. It was taken into the expert care of Pat and is looking wonderful. Life and death is all part of the colony. Only if a bird is accessible and will obviously die will it be rescued. There have been several sightings of two peregrines sitting on the lighthouse this week. The shag chicks are just beginning to explore the surrounding rocks but still staying very close to the nest.
Craigleith, May and Fidra - A very healthy looking rabbit was spotted on camera on the north east of the island. Shags and cormorants are very visible. Fulmar chicks are still being seen, although one on the Bass that has a most sheltered and safe nest site has fledged this past week. Some learning to fly were seen on Craigleith. It is just over a year now since the second release of fifteen white tailed sea eagles on the east coast of Scotland. We had wonderful sightings of one on the May Isle. Perhaps not so wonderful, was the predation of young fulmars. Just a couple of weeks ago another fifteen sea eagles have been released. So start scanning. All the birds are fitted with turquoise wing tags with white letters/numbers this year and any sightings are gratefully received at: info@seabird.org or/and eastscotlandseaeagles@rspb.org.uk
Kittiwakes are still at all sites so please do keep a check and note down if present or not, thank you.
Local sightings - turnstone, redshank, oystercatcher, black headed gull.
BIRD SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 20th AUGUST (by volunteer MAGGIE SHEDDAN)
Craigleith – Puffins - from the dozens still being seen two weeks ago, numbers are now dwindling. We desperately try to spot them on the sea and right up until this past weekend we did spot them regularly. This ties in with the May Isle reports that although many leave indeed the puffin season is not over on the 1st August and certainly, this past week they too have spotted the odd puffling, hiding in the undergrowth, waiting for darkness and safety. This last few days, to the delight of our passengers we have spotted one, occasionally two, but now we know the puffin season is ending for yet another year. Wonderful views of juvenile cormorants with their pale bellies and below on the water’s edge the playful shags, many still being fed by the adults that attend close by.Although the cliffs are empty of guillemot and razorbill the very noisy and active kittiwake colony can still be heard as we approach the island. Grey and common seals have been seen hauled out at various sights around the island and very much depends on tide and weather.
Bass Rock - Their time is imminent. They stand erect and beautiful, their grey speckled plumage breaking the horizon among the sea of the adult white plumage. The down free heads turn and scan the surrounding area, for these guga’s, that treacherous departure from the nest to the cliff edge is fast approaching and their real journey will begin. The Rock is truly wonderful at this time. Scan with the cameras. How many different ages of chicks can you spot. From gugas to the parliament goose, through white down covered five to six weeks old and just occasionally that tiny bill of a very young exposed as the adult feeds it. As the cliff nesting young grow, heavy rain at times brings casualties and this past week Pat has received her first influx of birds. Whether it is a rescue from the sea or collecting a lone bird that has fallen on the Rock, we know that they receive exceptional care. Although the mackerel season is looking better than last year, the young eat a lot and this is only the beginning, so all donations of fish gratefully received. Vet bills too are expensive so the collection boxes are around the Centre. In the cave, the shag chicks are loosing their down, and a few kittiwakes remain. The peregrine has been seen on the lighthouse.
Craigleith - A purple sandpiper was spotted on the rocks at Craigleith and turnstones in summer plumage have been seen on the rocks by the pink wall at high tide.
Dolphins - Approximately five were seen in the East Bay heading toward Canty Bay on Tuesday, 18th August.
Dunbar - As with Craigleith the colony is still very active with many fledged kittiwake still returning to the nest. (A young kittiwake pre first moult is sometimes called a ‘tarrock’). Request please - just as important as recording the first returning bird, please can you note departure dates, also for all sites/islands visible on camera. This information is proving useful for researchers, and shows that cameras are not only providing such pleasure, but also are aiding researchers in early/late observations.
East Bay - Sawbills were seen last week in the East Bay.
WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS – WEEK UP TO 6 AUGUST (by Seabird Centre volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Dolphins - Visitors and staff at the Seabird Centre were glued to the windows, the telescope deck filled, café visitors made their way out to the decking as word spread through the Centre of a pod of approximately fifteen bottlenose dolphins playing in the East Bay at North Berwick!! However, for the passengers on the Seabird Seafari trip we had the most amazing display unfolding just feet from the boat. Returning after a regular run where puffin spotting is the order of the day, (and had been fulfilled), seals had been seen, and gannet chicks in all their glorious white down plumage, as we turned toward the Platcock Rocks, the ‘dolphins‘ call went out. Three came in so close to the boat riding alongside. Thinking this was the same three we had seen a few days earlier we virtually stopped and allowed the boat to gently turn. Within moments, it became very obvious this was a much larger pod. As we drifted along they just surrounded us, we had them leaping, back flipping, cutting in front of the boat, riding alongside, two or three just surfing along. We did not know where to look next. Some broke off and headed toward Daisy Island, but we saw them turn and head back, playing at that end of the bay. A group of about six or seven stayed with us giving us all just the most memorable and spectacular display. I explained about the possibilities of identifying individual ones by markings on the fins, flukes etc and perhaps some of the photographs may just do that. This could establish where they are from, as Moray Firth dolphins are well documented, each with their own name. The following day they were again seen from the boat although this time not playing as they had done previously. We know our day was very special. For several weeks now there have been regular sightings in the Forth with the largest being approximately thirty seen further up the Forth, but from Gullane point to Canty Bay this last seven days there have been many close inshore sightings. Keep watching and please do report any sightings to info@seabird.org, with photographs if possible.
Bass Rock - Yet another two day old chick spotted in the protected fringe zone and another egg. Although breeding is quite patchy there, it is good to see a spread of various ages along that stretch although most are less than six weeks. A couple of ten/eleven week old birds easily spotted now. Only a few kittiwakes left at sites. The later breeding shags in the cave (three) their chicks are at the woolly brown stage with one nest slightly older. Two guillemots are still on the cliffs, but very close to leaving. Grey and common seals have been seen this week.
Craigleith – Puffins been seen flying in with food, although not hundreds, there are still pufflings down burrows, and certainly several dozen being seen on the sea surrounding the island. Mallow mashing did take place on Craigleith this week. Recently fledged kittiwake chicks are gathering on the sea and quite visible on camera. Look for the dark collar and the ‘W’ markings when in flight.
Dunbar - Still quite a few kittiwakes to be seen with fledglings.
East Bay - Three goosanders were seen last week in the east bay.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 30 JULY (Maggie Sheddan)
Craigleith – Puffins - one-day dozens are spotted on camera or sea, and the next day none! This week has been very much in that vein. On one of our recent boat trips, the passengers were so excited at seeing their very first puffin; there was just no point in my trying to talk over the babbling excitement that overwhelmed all on the boat. It was just a joy to watch. So often, we also see and hear that excitement in front of the Craigleith and May Isle cameras. We take this so much for granted, it is sometimes easy to forget that for our visitors, it is the one bird that many want to see, and it is perhaps the first time they have ever seen a puffin. Whether it is on camera or on the sea. It always surprises people just how small they are. Very soon, that puffin hunt will begin! Although the mallow mash season resumes this week Craigleith will be undisturbed for another week, or longer, should evidence show that many are still there.
Earlier this week, overnight, all but two guillemots disappeared from the cliffs. Three fulmar chicks are quite visible on camera and the juvenile shags and cormorants are all very obvious.
Bass Rock - A sea of large down covered chicks meets the eye as you scan across with the cameras, but spot the odd nine to ten week old among them. Two more fringe birds have hatched and I spotted an egg two days ago again in one of the fringe areas. As with Craigleith, in the cave, several guillemot chicks were seen during this past week and then they were gone. Two young peregrines were again spotted on the lighthouse with an adult seen the day before. Passengers on the boat think I have amazing eyesight as I draw their attention to the peregrine ….I do confess I only know this as I have generally seen it on camera before we head out! In the thunderous rainstorm earlier this week, I did spot a new and very sheltered location near to the lighthouse. Unfortunately not visible on camera.
Dunbar - The very noisy kittiwake colony is still quite active, as are all the island colonies, but chicks are starting to fledge. Many taking first flights.
East Bay - Sandwich terns feeding, oystercatchers and three turnstones spotted from the scope deck on 26 July.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 23 JULY (Maggie Sheddan)
Dunbar - A thank you to Catriona who managed to do a rough count of kittiwake nests showing around one hundred and twenty visible on camera of which approximately eighty-six had chicks, some looking near to fledging. This is useful as next year we can compare figures. Certainly, at other sites, those that do have chicks are looking very good with none being left unattended at nests, as last year.
Bass Rock - Tucked away in a very sheltered corner, I spotted the first fulmar chick this week. Alone, it was looking contented and is quite capable of defending itself as, they too, can spit the foul smelling oil, although perhaps not quite as far as the parent. Gannets - Several fringe first time breeders have recently hatched. The chapel now has three chicks all various ages. In a week of yet more thunderous down pours, it is proving to be a very safe haven from the streams of water pouring down the Rock. Three more pairs are on the wall (no sign of eggs) with two individual birds on the gable end (visible on camera). These two come and go and have a nesting herring gull close by to contend with. The herring gull chicks are near to fledging. I witnessed one lower down on the path venturing into a neighbour’s territory only for it to be quite brutally attacked. It did manage to escape. During the dry sunny spells, the large down covered chicks are looking wonderful with many just beginning to loose the down with the first stages of the speckled plumage appearing. In the cave on the east side guillemot chicks have been quite visible along with the kittiwake chicks and two late breeding shags whose young have just begun to pop their heads above the nest delighting boat passengers.
Craigleith – As with the Bass, fulmar chicks have also been spotted, one just below the cormorant area. Puffins are everywhere particularly on the west side, but we know we are into the last stages of the breeding season.
Few razorbills have been seen this week and cliff ledges are becoming deserted as the guillemot season slowly ends. The high pitched chirruping call of the chicks are being heard and occasionally a very desperate call is heard and we know one is alone in the water separated from the adult and vulnerable to predation. It is a relief when the adult is seen. An excellent spot by Catriona of a starling site with two fledged young hidden in the vegetation and later a juvenile pied wagtail.
The Harbour - A pied wagtail has been nesting in the wall close to the boat Braveheart. Dougie spotted the adult flying in to feed the chicks just yesterday.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 16 JULY (Maggie Sheddan)
Craigleith – Two years ago, landing on the island at this time was soul destroying as waist high mallow-blanketed areas that had been previously cut. This year, the true success of SOS Puffin is all as evident as the eye and camera captures single birds, small groups, and large groups, gathering on rocky viewpoints, or parading outside burrows. Yes seedlings have grown but the puffins still have space, burrow entrances are still visible in some areas with eiders, mallard, greylag geese, all our seabirds and several passerines breeding here, not to mention perhaps the odd rabbit, the island is returning the wildlife haven it once was. Let us hope over the next few years we will see the return of many of the wild flowers too.
Juvenile cormorants are very visible now and young shags are ‘playing’ and gathering at the waters edge.
Isle of May – Many puffins have begun to leave. I hope that we will have a general update as to how the season has progressed but there is no question that the end of the auk-breeding season is in sight. However, there are still plenty of puffins to be seen on camera. Start to keep an eye on the fulmar sites.
Dunbar - The kittiwake chicks are progressing well. When will they leave? Keep watching and recording in the sightings book please.
Bass Rock - Heavy rain this week has at times made the colony look somewhat sad as the now six-week-old rather muddy chick hunker down trying to seek the impossible shelter under the parent. For smaller chicks, if nests are substantial they are well protected against the flowing water that poured down the rock. The lower areas and the helipad are at times covered with immature gannets all gathering and as with Craigleith, young shags are abundant at the waters edges. Common and grey seals have been seen most days around the cave area.
OILED BIRDS FROM COLIN SEDDON AT MIDDLEBANK RESCUE CENTRE
“The cormorant that came in yesterday was covered in what looked and smelt like a type of light cooking oil. I cleaned it today and it seems to have come up okay. We will try it on a pool tomorrow and if waterproof, we will release it as soon as possible. It is in really good condition so in case it has dependant young I want to release it as quickly as possible.”
In that same week, we had the two oiled dead shags and as reported before we had seen several oiled gannets. Thankfully, heavy seas last week will have broken this up and certainly, there have been no more sightings.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 9 JULY (Maggie Sheddan)
Bass Rock - Such good news! Two more of the fringe breeders have hatched. They were the most vulnerable to disturbance, being very close to the original path. The herring gulls patrol has been in vain this year for these particular birds. Hopefully they will be more settled next year on camera, just watch the behaviour, the interaction between gannet chick and parent, the feeding the preening, the play as they tweak seaweed from the nests. I watched one changeover as the parent trampled over the chick, only for it to emerge as if made of rubber, unharmed! Two sets ‘of twins’ have been spotted. The guillemot ‘napper’ has been seen again tucking a young chick under its belly, the parent looking on, helpless! Sadly, the gulls are predating on the guillemot chicks that are starting to fledge. Keep a watch on the lighthouse for peregrines as there are regular sightings and it looks to be a feeding station for them. Four common seals surrounded the boat the other day to the delight of passengers with one, its body extended out the water almost peering into the boat just a metre from us.
Craigleith – wonderful images captivated visitors the other day as a puffling was spotted. A short whirring flight took it above the burrow where it was gently preened by the adult. After a short while, it jumped back down and disappeared back into the undergrowth. Another was spotted stretching its wings as it viewed its surroundings. Kittiwake chicks are being seen in the nests, not all sites, and like the Bass, gaps are appearing on the cliffs as guillemot chicks depart.
Dunbar - it could be good for us to monitor a specific area which we could compare in years to come, which nests have chicks, how many, the return date of the adults, the first egg/chick etc, fledging date. Just to keep a record of a small area. With kittiwakes now on the ‘red’ list, it would be good for us to see how it progresses, or declines over the next few years.
May – Guillemots beginning to leave. Kittiwakes with chicks on the cliffs. The shags are leaving the nest and wandering around, but still coming back to be fed occasionally. Puffins everywhere!
Oiled Birds - again more sightings of gannets with possible ‘light oil?’ on the plumage and from the East Bay to Canty Bay three oiled shags have been found. Thank you to the public who have reported these. Either remember if any rings are seen take the number or do let us know, thank you Maggie.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 3 JULY (Maggie Sheddan)
Dunbar - The first kittiwake chicks were seen last week, just too late for the Bulletin. Two chicks are being seen in many of the nests, and the really good news is we are not seeing pipe fish, that resulted in many chicks dying two years ago. Just a delight to watch as they sit tightly in these precarious nests. Bass Rock - A sea of down covered chicks meets the eye as you scan across the colony. From newly hatched to four to five weeks old chicks and there are still eggs to be seen. There may be a serial guillemot chick-napper on the rock. The gannet that appeared to have adopted the guillemot chick this last two weeks was again seen tucking it under its belly, with the parents looking on! At one point, the parents flew in with a sand eel but appeared to be denied access to feed the chick. Just these last few days, the chick has gone. Certainly, that distinctive contact call is being heard around the colonies and several chicks have been seen on the water this week. However, Catriona thinks it could be the same gannet that has now moved and has been seen approaching another guillemot chick! Guillemots take care of their young! Another hatching on the chapel wall. I think this pair (new breeders last year) may have lost the egg last year but have been successful this year. There are another three new pairs on the wall but I think only one other may have an egg, Two peregrines, an adult and a juvenile, have been seen sitting on the lighthouse. The photographers had a pleasant surprise as the juvenile flew in from the gully, landed in front of them, paused, looked confused and took itself up to the safety of the lighthouse where we are seeing them regularly. A crossbill was spotted among the mallow. The day before there had been a lot passing through on the May Isle.
The first common seal pup was seen at the Bass on 29 June.
Craigleith – Puffins parading outside burrows, although already the mallow ‘seedlings’ have grown to a considerable height masking burrow entrances. It is so good to see them flying in with sand eels although not in huge quantity or size.
Spotting red darvick rings on the juvenile shags several of whom are now sitting on the lower rocks and taking their first dip in the sea. On the top of the cliffs, the white bellies of the cormorant juveniles are obvious.
Oiled Birds - This week several gannets, with something not quite right with their plumage, have been spotted sitting on the low rocks of Craigleith. The thought is that it may be a light oil (perhaps hydraulic?) We do not know. However, as mentioned last week, I had seen not only this, but had seen several with spots of dark oil on the plumage. Alarmingly we saw a badly oiled gannet on Monday and on the same trip found a dead one with oil around the head and neck. We are not talking of these dreadful images when there is a spill, but these birds had black oil on them. The coastguard has been informed and all the appropriate bodies notified. Unfortunately, thick mist prevented any real observation. The following day, two oiled herring gulls were reported to me and on Wednesday from the boat, another was seen nearer Dunbar. If you spot any dead birds along the shore, please can you let us know and they will be checked. Sadly, tankers are still known to flush out their tanks outwith the Forth. Newsflash - 3 July 2009 On route to the Bass today Maggie has had word that some light oil has been seen off shore from the Leithes and an oil-covered fulmar was seen in some distress. Please, please be aware now and report any obvious oiled birds.
Otter - A report of an otter near the Plattock Rocks this week. Their have been a few sightings this last few months from the Tyne to Daisy Island and now on our doorstep. Do keep an eye out and please report it if you see one.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 24 JUNE (Maggie)
Bass Rock - Having spent most of this week on the Bass, as we sail back to Dunbar, I know I have one of the best jobs even on the days the boat rolls, the spray soaks us all, or the wind has been so tiresome on the Rock that hats blow off and stoor fills the eyes, all for the photographer perfect weather for that shot of gannets hanging in the wind. Many passengers comment that I am so lucky being able to sit and watch the gannets all day. Sadly, no, I am there to watch the photographers! Only….. when I am happy that they are settled, can I have a quick check to free any trapped birds behind the lighthouse or caught in the mallow or a quick scrub at the steps to keep them safe. There are always questions to answer, and behaviour to explain, just as in the Discovery Centre. This week with two of our regular photographic groups and exemplary behaviour, I have had little time to really look into the colony. The area in front of the chapel where just four years ago people walked along the path and has now for two years been completely undisturbed is looking superb. In one area out of twenty-five nests, sixteen are on chicks, five still on eggs and four non-breeders, three of which are on the fringe. Looking further along, it appears to be a similar picture with either chick or egg at every nest. However, if I looked into an area that I know to be a young and not yet settled zone, it would give a very different story. It will be interesting to hear what scientific studies are showing this year. The chapel chick has hatched again, another two look very settled on the nests. Sadly, a gannet has been seen with a fishing line around its neck and entangled in its bill, I have been unable to reach it, and it keeps flying off. Another very worrying observation has been oil on a few gannets this week. Not major, but always of concern. A wonderful sighting from Catriona of a guillemot chick, which for a few days appears to have been “adopted” by a gannet! It keeps sitting on it and tucking it in, and not letting the adult guillemot near. However, it was not seen yesterday!
An adult and juvenile peregrine were seen on the cliff on the 21st, sitting next to each other in the usual place. There have been several sightings of peregrines in the area from the mainland cliffs to the islands.
The herring gulls - there is something very satisfying when dive-bombed and you hear the noise, but receive no pain. The hard hats are a very welcome addition to the Bass Rock kit. I have not yet worked out how to deter the swoop and poo gull!
Another eider was spotted sitting tight to the nest. Sadly, not many ducklings are making it to the safety of the sea. They have to run the gauntlet through the gull colony.
Isle of May – the shag chicks are leaving their nests now and moving around a lot more. Guillemot and razorbill chicks are on the cliffs. Puffins have been seen carrying in sand eels, which is good news.
Fidra – a puffling was seen peeping out of a burrow on the 21st.
Craigleith – Puffins everywhere! and herring gull chicks trying to fly (very funny to watch)! The cormorant and shag chicks are quite a size now and last weekend many were ringed.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 17 JUNE (Maggie)
Bass Rock - The white down of the 3 week old chicks is obvious, but it is really only now that we are seeing an odd one that may be a little older. Eggshells lying on the rim of the nest are a giveaway to a recently hatched chick. It was wonderful to see one of the well-protected fringe birds with its one-day-old chick. Being on the edge of the colony, it is vulnerable to any disturbance whether human, crash landings, or a territorial dispute that overspill as the colony desperately tries to grow. Photographers and visitors are given a very strict code of conduct to follow and it is paying off. Some of these birds are now breeding for a second year and you can see they are settled, not quite as nervous. The odd gap is being filled with new pairs, or single displaying males. These birds will always be 'the fringe breeders' as there really is no more space for the colony to expand.
Herring gull chicks too, are hatching all up and down the pathways. I am getting to know the parents quite intimately. There is the ‘ankle nipper’ that stands in the middle of the path; wings outspread, just daring you to pass by, hence its nickname! Then there is the 'paint ball experience' as one midway up the stairs has refined the art of swoop and poo to perfection! In one swoop the hat, face, hair, and jacket ...are covered with great precision, and then there is the ‘mean nasty chapel’ one, who swoops close overhead squawking. It does this several times, and as you move away thinking you are safe, it comes in for the 'kill' giving you an almighty whack over the head! They are obviously all just protecting their young. A single eider is still sitting tight on her nest. Guillemot chicks are now being seen and the yellow-billed guillemot is still being seen.
Fidra - The peregrine has been seen this week as well as guillemot and razorbill chicks.
Isle of May Guillemot chicks, lots of puffins and fulmars. Razorbills and kittiwakes on the cliffs. Shag chicks very big and furry!
Craigleith - The cormorant and shag chicks now large and fluffy. Many puffins around, some with sandeels. Herring and great black-backed gull chicks.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 11 JUNE (Catriona)
Bass Rock: Several chicks are around now, some are getting quite white and fluffy. Lots of immature gannets hanging out on the lower rocks, and two seals were on the helipad on Monday. Two guillemot chicks have been seen.
Craigleith: Lots of puffins around, some bringing in sandeels. Cormorant and shag chicks getting big now. The eider which was nesting near to the clifftop camera has returned, and appears to be incubating again. Herring gull and great black-backed gull chicks have been spotted.
Fidra: Guillemots and razorbills with eggs. Lots of fulmars looking very settled. Shags with quite large fluffy chicks. Loads and loads of puffins this morning!
Isle of May: Again, lots of puffins, some with sandeels to feed their chicks. Several big shag chicks. Lots of guillemots and razorbills on the cliffs, not seen any chicks yet though. Kittiwakes and fulmars also around, and the occasional grey seal swimming about.
Dunbar: Several kittiwakes on eggs, just waiting to see the first chick now…
Sandwich terns, oystercatchers, eiders, diving gannets from the scope deck.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 4 JUNE (Maggie)
Bass: First Gannets Chick Hatch The first three gannet chicks were seen on the morning of 2 June. One looked to be four to five days old, the others two to three days old.Two were, close to the path, just above the chapel, the third was further in. At times difficult to see as they are carefully brooding as the almost naked black chick needs to be kept warm and dry. The warmth of the sun perhaps made it easier to spot the largest of the three, as the adult was not always tight to the nest. Thankfully, it was not the very hot days we had earlier in the week when many adults were seen panting and exposing the gular strip (the bare throat skin). They also sit with their wings loosened allowing air to circulate.
Two days saw the Bass transformed as filming of an advert took place. Seabird Seafari, Fisher Lassie and Braveheart were all party to transporting the endless kit and crew, with days beginning at 4.30am for some. The lighthouse area was turned into the canteen with enough food to feed us for a week. Teas, coffee, soups, filled rolls, cake, fruit and a lunchtime delivery of hot food from lasagne to baked potatoes, all supplied locally. Chairs, portaloo, hard hats, canes to mark out sensitive no go areas for the breeding eiders, even a resident nurse. It had been asked if a vet was required for the care of the gannets! I assured them that as I was there, NO harm would come to the gannets!! Indeed, they soon learnt that near to the colony there was only one speed ..SLOW!! They took all of this on board and indeed, at lunchtime I found that I had many questions to answer about gannet behaviour. ‘Ralph’, our gannet from the Education Centre, was the star. He behaved impeccably. as any stuffed gannet should. Elliot and Rory from the Harbour Café came out to help one day and certainly, Elliot was quite overwhelmed when he saw the first herring gull chicks hatch. Convinced one had not made it out of the shell, he was learning the hard facts of nature. A delighted cry from him later in the day assured us that the third chick had hatched out safely. They were overjoyed to see the first eider duckling, but sadly, that was one of the hard lessons, as the many herring gulls seized that moment.
After two very long and intensive days, with a happy producer and director, the packing up began. Weather turning made the job quite difficult at times but the tired, but happy faces back in North Berwick, showed that it had been a huge success and with that, many jetted back to the States, having visited one of nature’s wonders. This is indeed how researchers found out about the Bass Rock. Landing on Saturday with a photographic trip, not a trace of this event was evident, except for the eider markers and the newly acquired hard hats and canes.
The first guillemot chick was seen on the Bass on the 1st of June
Craigleith: The first puffins have hatched. On the 30th May, a puffin was seen carrying sandeels, an indication that hatching has begun. Keep a watch out for other sightings as not only is it good to have dates noted but to see the prey they are carrying in. The cormorant young are growing rapidly as are shag chicks. Ringers were out last weekend and we should have figures later in the month. An oystercatcher has been breeding on the island and was heard defending it’s young the other day as we sailed past in the boat. Common seals are being seen quite regularly. It will not be long before they haul out to give birth. Will keep you updated on that one.
May Isle: as with Craigleith, the puffins have been seen carrying in sandeels. The shag chicks are now very obvious and developing their lovely woolly brown jumpers.
Dunbar: At last, the kittiwake eggs have been being spotted. We can only hope for a better season.
BIRD SIGHTINGS - WEEK UP TO 28 MAY (Catriona/Maggie)
Bass: Six weeks tomorrow (Thursday) since the first egg was seen. Not seen any chicks yet but we are looking! Lots of fresh seaweed is being brought into the nests and there are lots of rearranging of eggs going on too. Lots of guillemots with eggs round the bottom of the cliffs. Last week one got too close to a nesting gannet – the gannet put it’s beak around the guillemot’s neck, picked it up and moved it out the way! The peregrine was seen plucking a pigeon on the lighthouse on Monday, and there was a seal on the rocks today.
Craigleith: Lots of puffins have been around all week. Some shag chicks – possibly two - were seen in a nest on the south camera today (the first ones I have seen on Craigleith so far). The cormorant chicks are all looking quite big and healthy. The eider duck near to the cliff camera has gone and rabbits have been seen a couple of times, usually on nice sunny afternoons. A seal was seen on the shore today.
Isle of May: Shag chicks can be seen in a few nests now, the ones in the top nest, which hatched last week, are looking much bigger (and much cuter!) now. Lots of puffins around, guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes on the cliffs.
Dunbar: No eggs have actually been seen yet but several kittiwakes are looking like they could be incubating.
Fidra: Again, lots of puffins. Guillemots and razorbills have eggs, as do shags. Not seen any shag chicks out there yet though. Lots of fulmars around, not seen eggs. The herring gulls’ chicks up on the top are getting bigger by the day and are wandering around quite a lot – quite funny to watch when it is windy and they get blown over!! A group of adult eiders with ten ducklings were seen outside the Centre on Tuesday afternoon. I have seen sandwich terns most mornings when I have been putting out the telescopes. Three Razorbill chicks have been seen on Craigleith at the shore. They were seen today at 11.30 am!
We would like to thank one of our Seabird Seafari passengers for their kind donation yesterday for SOS Puffin, which will be used for the purchase of small items i.e. canes/gloves.
Bird Sightings - week up to 22 May (Maggie)
Yes, it is that time of year! The anticipation and excitement builds as the camera are switched on and scanning of the nest sites begins. Will that egg have hatched?
Craigleith: Cormorant chicks have been seen for the first time this week. Four nests with up to three chicks are visible and patience pays off to watch the feeding of them. The Greylag and goslings are still being seen. It is heart warming to see the puffins on the west of the island, as this was the last area to be cleared. As we sail around the island, for many passengers, it is the first time they have seen a puffin. Their excitement and delight is contagious. The first eider ducklings were spotted earlier this week. Accompanied by a male and female the three little down covered ducklings paddled for their lives to the safer rocky outcrops of the west shores.
The rabbit munches on!! And a report of a bluethroat seen on Craigleith on the evening of the 19th May
May Isle: We watched as the shag close to the camera became quite restless, there are now two quite healthy looking chicks in the nest. It is wonderful to catch a glimpse of the still fairly helpless naked black chicks at feeding time. Puffins are abundant!
The Bass: We are getting close to the first hatching. Alert the visitors, they are our eyes. Keep scanning those nests. The East Bay has been a hive of activity with gannets gathering seaweed for nests. I found a cachet of predated guillemot eggs behind the curtain wall, and in places, we walk on carpets of gannet shells. The gulls are busy! An interesting sighting this week, a guillemot with an orange bill! I will try to find time to post a photograph in the Windy Room and perhaps for the web site.
Fidra: A red darvick ringed shag was spotted on Fidra . I hope that we may receive some news back on the history of the bird and the first three herring gull chicks have been seen.
Dunbar: Still no sign of any kittiwake eggs yet but they are looking more settled.
From the viewing deck sandwich terns are being seen along with swallows swooping low over the water. On the decking last night as the sparrows were cleaning up the crumbs of the day, they were joined by a rather fat wood pigeon! Thanks for all your sightings.
Sightings: Musselburgh: A noticeable increase in sedge warblers. Skateraw: A Great Northern Diver, still in winter plumage. Tyninghame: Two 1st W little gulls at Inner Bay, and at Barns Ness on the 18th May European bee-eater sitting on the wires between lighthouse and campsite.
Dolphins: Heading to the Bass early on Tuesday a call came through from a fisherman saying a possible whale sighting. Alerted, we all scanned, but saw nothing. Later in the day a report of bottlenose dolphins (no count) being seen travelling west having passed close to the East Bay.
Bird Sightings - week up to 15 May (Maggie)
Craigleith: Greylag and growing goslings are being seen quite regularly in the Glen area. Puffins are much more visible now, gathering on rocks, daily rafts now being seen on the sea. It is worth spending a little time on the viewing deck scanning. Visitors love to find them on the sea.
News of the week has to be the first shag chicks have hatched. Two broods of three and one brood of two plus egg seen by Emily Barlow. Emily is studying shags and was excited to find a coloured ringed bird (white UZP) nesting by the inland rocks. The last time this bird was seen it was ringed as a chick on the May.There is a beautiful eider sitting serenely on her nest just below the north camera. In addition, the really good news - a lone rabbit was seen munching mallow seedlings!!!
May Isle: as with Craigleith, the first shag chicks have also hatched here. We are waiting for that moment; the first puncture appears in an egg at the site so visible on camera. Exciting viewing! So please do keep a close watch. Many guillemots are facing inward, an indication they may be brooding eggs.
The Bass: It is always fascinating to watch the gannets’ behaviour. As the season progresses you notice the difference. With many settled on eggs, there is the regular turning of the egg. As hatch dates approach foraging trips become shorter, and before we know it, the black naked chick will be carefully brooded under the belly of the adult. Still a little while yet!
Fidra: The shelduck has been seen again. Could be possible that they are breeding? Do keep watching and please inform us of any sightings.
Dunbar: No sign of any kittiwake eggs yet, although, mating and the odd fight has been observed.
Sightings: A brood of seven eider ducklings have been seen at the river mouth at Musselburgh. Last year a small brood had been seen by this date at Craigleith. Also at Musselburgh river mouth, a drake surf scoter, a first year little gull, and at the scrapes a blue-headed wagtail, a whimbrel, grasshopper warbler, sedge warbler and a garden warbler, wood sandpipers have also been reported. Swifts have been seen around the area and it is excellent news about the swift boxes now installed in Haddington.
Bird Sightings - week up to 8 May (Maggie)
The Bass - The strong winds this week give wonderful shots of the gannets hanging in the air as they come into land. Just watch how they move and twist adjusting wings and tail feathers as they land gently, but sometimes they do not and as the wind drops or changes direction they crash land into the colony creating moment of chaos. Fringe birds are still advertising for a mate with territorial behaviour very obvious. Mating is still a regular occurrence and of course, nest building is constant. It is the variety of items that are carried in. At one nest site last Saturday, I spotted a child’s plastic steering wheel beside a nest and lengthy sticks are fairly common sights but can be quite weighty should they be dropped on your head! On the chapel potentially five pairs are sitting although last year only two produced eggs with only one successfully fledging a chick.
Craigleith - It has been a busy week with puffin counts underway. You may have spotted on camera half a dozen volunteers walking in line the outer ones marking the lines with canes only to see them turn and walk back on a new line. This was repeated over all of the accessible areas on the island except for the cormorant area, which is very much out of bounds as disturbance now would be catastrophic to breeding. There were two groups on the island spending most of the day counting burrows. Data has to be examined, adjustments made, and when that is done we will let you know. It was wonderful to see many puffins flying out of burrows and having that space. Eider numbers are looking good and many are on eggs but it is thought that many more are still prospecting, with the long grasses giving good cover. Several greylag geese appear to have nested this year and goslings are being seen feeding. We think wren and blackbird are also breeding. The news you are all waiting for - yes two rabbit burrows were spotted. It could be they were part of the same run. One medium sized rabbit was spotted.
Fidra - A puffin count was also undertaken there and as with Craigleith, the information is still being processed. A shelduck was spotted near the garden.
Dunbar - Kittiwakes, when will the first eggs be spotted? Just an impression, but from the boat and from the cameras, I think numbers are down and certainly earlier this week many had vanished from sites although some had returned the following day .
Peregrines - We know that there are several pairs nesting in East Lothian, with one of the best known and well protected at Torness. Peregrines are schedule one birds and as such have full protection. It is for this reason that it is prudent, should locations of sites be known, that these are not divulged. It is sufficient to say that we know that we have nesting peregrines in the area but as to the actual locations, we are not sure, and explain to visitors that they have this protection. Occasionally as we know, we do see them at their viewpoints, and there is no harm in looking at these locations as we have had wonderful images in the past.
Torness News – New arrival – A peregrine chick has hatched on the breeding site on the Power Station roof and it appears to be doing well.The webcam is providing good images. However, it looks like it will be the only new arrival this year as the other egg has not hatched and it has been a number of days since it was laid. There is always plenty of wildlife on site; I have previously seen stoats emerging from a hole in the grassy area. I think they probably live off the marine trash that comes off the intake screens. We now have a sizeable population of breeding pairs of oystercatchers, which live in the Station car park on the pebbled area. They are territorial and do not half create quite a racket if you pass near their breeding sites.The area to the east of the Station has been deliberately planted out to encourage wildlife and it is proving to be very successful with skylarks and migrants.One of the Units is currently down for its biannual outage; a lobster seems to be quite happy at the moment living in the Out of Service culvert while maintenance work goes on nearby. It is living in about a foot of water.
Bird Sightings - week up to 1 May (Maggie)
The Bass - Many gannets now on eggs. Landing with the first photographic trip of the season, the pathway was littered with predated eggs, as was the roof of the lighthouse buildings. I saw one herring gull fly in with an egg and try to smash it open, as it did so the egg rolled over the cliff! Although the herring gulls are being pushed down to lower slopes, the four or five pairs around the chapel spread themselves like sentries on the fringes of the colony just waiting for that opportunity to strike. It may also be that there is a gull colony higher up on the Bass in the walled garden. As this area is no longer accessible during breeding season, it is difficult to confirm this. Perhaps the aerial count of gannets later this month could show what is happening in the garden area. Common seals are regular sightings around the cave entrance but there is one that really loves climbing the steps, not only had he climbed the landing steps, which are quite steep, but he had reached the pathway ones the other day.
Craigleith - Puffins are still coming and going this week but again the rabbit family are what we are keeping an eye on. Two young rabbits have been seen; now affectionately know as Marsh and Mallow.
Has anyone spotted any eider nests yet on camera?
Fidra - The first razorbill egg has been see.
Cetaceans - It has been an exciting week. No exact dates or numbers but in the East Bay close to shore a pod of porpoise were seen and from Fisher Lassie two whales (spouting) and on a different day several dolphins seen.
Bird Sightings - week up to 24 April (Maggie)
The Bass: A week of immense activity on the Rock. There has been a real influx of birds resulting in some intensive territorial fights. Fringe territories are quickly filling up to the point that if we do not land, the chapel space will be gone. Even the herring gulls appear to have been pushed lower down this week. Several dozen immature birds have also come in and are attaching onto the fringes of the lower breeding colonies. This year we have seen many more eggs prior to 21st April with the mature breeders of the chapel colony looking much more settled than in previous years.
Loggers: There have been some interesting findings this week. Professor Bob Furness (Glasgow University) and Dr Stefan Garth (Kiel University, Germany) returned this week to retrieve more loggers with great success. In total, twenty-two out of the original thirty have been recovered, all still working and recording. The work was carried out again with minimal disturbance to neighbouring birds. The initial findings are as “quoted” below and, as mentioned, more detailed information will eventually come through. Feather samples were taken for DNA and ultimately we will learn the sex of all these birds. Out of the first six loggers retrieved from an earlier visit five were male, one female.
“The likely winter regions are, (some uncertainty remains for the 'borders' between English Channel/Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay/Portugal; that will be solved later):
11 off West Africa
5 off Portugal/Gibraltar
3 Celtic Sea/Bay of Biscay
3 English Channel/North Sea.
In the latter case, it seems that the birds went into the Channel later in the winter period, but this will be analyzed in more detail at a later stage".
This small sample is showing that mature birds are wintering off the coast of West Africa, or, looking at it in another way; fewer birds are wintering in the North Sea. This is tying in with reduction of fishing in the North Sea that has been happening over these last few years and ultimately a reduction in discards from boats.
Occasionally I do have the mundane chores and as things were winding down with logger spotting, I took the opportunity to scrub the landing steps (safety for the photographic landings). After some intensive scrubbing, I had only cleaned five when something made me turn. There on the bottom step, upright, with two front flippers on the step, a common seal fascinated at this odd person engrossed in work …I chatted to it, as you do! It appeared as if it were going to join me, but slid back into the sea and now levelled with me on every step. I cleaned, just watching it diving under, and then extending its head and body out of the sea watching me again. At one point, it was only three feet away. It followed my every move for about ten minutes and then with a twist and a dive, was gone! Wonderful!
Craigleith: Camera sighting of the week has to go to Stephanie. Not some weird and wonderful bird, but a rabbit! Indeed droppings have been found these last few months on the island but never any sign other that a dead one last year. This one was not only very much alive but looked to be quite young. How it has there is a mystery and only time will tell if there are more and the effect it may have on the island if a colony were to grow. However, on the May Isle, rabbits and puffins live in complete harmony and indeed Scottish National Heritage does flag up the virtues of rabbits. Without them, the habitat would be very different and ultimately would be less likely to sustain the large puffin colony that the island has.
Puffins - some days they are there and other days they are still disappearing, as are the guillemots. Eiders are very definitely returning with a count of approximately one hundred and forty, (between sixty and seventy pairs). Are any nesting yet? Check out the mallow cuttings! Summer plumage turnstone are being seen along with two purple sandpipers. Seven greylag gosling just seen on camera in the Glen close to the elder bush.
Isle of May: The shag (HFZ) now has three eggs.
Fidra: News from the mallow mashers that there are many mallards nesting on the island (no count). One has a clutch of fifteen eggs and, as expected, several eiders are taking up nest sites. Cutting has now finished on Fidra for the duration of the breeding season.
The Lamb: Passing the island en route to Fidra, it has an impressive guillemot colony. Earlier in the day having been around Craigleith and the Bass although both have guillemots, their birds are still coming and going. However this last two days virtually every guillemot has vanished from every island with only a few being seen on the sea. Worth noting down these quiet days for each species if there is an obvious change.
Dunbar: The close up interaction, preening, mating, squabbling makes fascinating viewing of this most delicate gull, the kittiwake.
Local sightings: Sandwich terns have been seen and heard over the West Bay this week with the odd splash as they plunge dive, A heron flew off the tidal rocks and strings of gannets were observed coming close into shore plucking seaweed off the growing banks near to the Lamb and Fidra.
Bird Sightings - week up to 17 April (Maggie)
The Bass: The first gannet egg has been seen, excellent spot by Catriona!
On the afternoon of the 16th April, the first clean white egg has been spotted mid colony above the lighthouse. Settled birds have been carefully watched these last few days. In past years, it is not until the chicks reach about three to four weeks old that we realize there had been earlier hatchlings. This would give an earlier “first egg date” than 21st April that we have had this last two years. It is not easy to see them as they sit tightly to nests, webs carefully wrapped around the egg, but worth watching for that glimpse as they change position. Let us see how many more we can spot this week. As you are scanning, please do keep looking for the loggers. One has been seen this week, so please do note any seen. The Rock really has filled and from the boat, the first immature birds have been seen. Guillemots are more settled in the cave and, although it is not quite seabird city yet, that feeling is slowly returning.
Again we have seen greater numbers of seals than normal and on one of the weekend boat trips, sitting outwith the west cave listening to their haunting wail, the next moment the boulders in the distance came alive with frenzied slithering and we were treated to a mix of common and grey seals of all ages and size, heads popping up all over the place. There were at least eighteen including a grey bull, much to the delight of passengers.
Craigleith: Puffins were back in numbers in the early mornings over Easter. It is wonderful to see them sitting below the camera, gathering on rocks, socialising. By mid morning large rafts were on the sea but these last few days not so many have been seen.
There is definitely a predatory great black backed gull picking off puffins. Not only has this been witnessed several times on camera this week, we have also seen it from the boat. Shags have begun laying and although not always easy to see on camera one nest with three eggs was observed by the mallow mashers. A hen pheasant was also seen on the island this week and thought to be possibly nesting. Eiders were gathering on the lower slopes but disappeared last weekend, however today it is wonderful to see many pairs sitting ashore. We should have a count of those visible on camera later today. Last year was the highest breeding count on the island for several years and it looks as if many have returned this year. The large mallow piles proved to be excellent nest sites. Seven shellduck were also seen last week. Shellduck breed on the May. It would be good to think that perhaps with all this clearance on the island that it may be possible for them to nest on Craigleith in the future. Time will tell. Five turnstones have been seen regularly this week, as have grey and common seals. Mallow cutting has now finished, as the breeding season is well underway.
Lamb: A raven has been seen several times sitting on the top of the island.
Isle of May: The shag in the top nest (darvick HFZ) on Tuesday morning was seen with its first egg. Christie has just come through to let me know a second egg has just been seen.
Fidra: The peregrine was spotted plucking at its lunch.
Dunbar: Kittiwake – eighty-seven occupied were counted last weekend from the camera.
Local sightings: Sandwich terns have been seen recently. Swallows and sand martins too. At Gullane Point a coloured ringed sanderling was recorded. It had been ringed in Iceland. If you see any with colour rings please do let us know and that information is passed on.
Bird Sightings - week up to 10 April (Maggie)
Craigleith: For the first time in five years, puffins have space on the west side of the island to parade and socialise outside their burrows. It was wonderful to see from the boat the other day. Of course, they are still coming and going but it will not be long before we have daily sightings. If you cannot see any on camera, it is worth a wee trip to the scope deck and scan the sea around Craigleith. Cormorants and shags displaying, with many quite settled at nest sites now. A few eiders are also being seen on the island mainly on the lower rocks. Although a little early for them settling, it could be worth scanning around, particularly the large mallow piles. These proved excellent nest sites for them last year, warm with drainage and an inbuilt food source of insects. Purple sandpiper and turnstone have been seen daily from the boat. With more shoreline activities, the islands are havens for the waders. Common and grey seals have been seen at various haul out locations around the island and on the days when we do not have puffins they have been captivating passengers on the boat trips, in particular one little common seal that appears very curious about us. He pops his head up, watches us, and a quick dive disappears only to pop up the other side of the boat, watching!
The Bass: Nest building, territorial disputes, mating, it is all happening! In just one week, many more have returned. It will soon be time to egg spot. Two years in a row the first egg was spotted on the 21st April (John Muir’s Birthday!). Guillemots are being pushed out on one of the lower gannet nesting areas. From the boat yesterday, we watched three being seen off somewhat aggressively, as they tried to find a small area among this growing colony. That said, as we approached the cave several dozen were at their sites, it is the first time we have seen them in any great numbers.
As with Craigleith, we have some very inquisitive seals. The grey view us from more of a distance but the common pop up behind, in front, all over the place! As we always approach extremely slowly and fairly silently, the odd touch on the throttle, must send a vibraton through the water and they appear.
Fidra: Three shell duck were seen on the island and about fifteen whooper swans were seen flying over on last weekend’s mallow visit. As with the other islands, more guillemots and razorbills are being seen and the new camera is enhancing Fidra viewing.
Isle of May: Seals again - about fifty hauled out on Pilgrims Haven the other day. Certainly, when I was out in March I was seeing large numbers hauled out. They are coming near the end of moulting and certainly, they do appear to gather at this time. I am sure we had more activity at this time last year and then they will be gone.
Dunbar: As with all the kittiwake sites, they are now being seen daily. It is lovely just to watch the interaction, the bonding, preening. Let us hope this year will prove a better season for them.
Bird Sightings - week up to 3 April (Maggie)
Exciting times. In a week where we have seen kittiwakes return to nest sites, puffins cleaning out burrows, gannets looking more settled, peregrines mating, that spring feeling was cemented by the sighting of the first swallow flying along the West Bay on Tuesday.
The Bass The dread did not happen but there have been days where taken sites are vacated, but the next day they return. You can see the settled pairs as their nests are becoming more substantial.
Thank you for the loggers’ sightings. Early on Thursday morning, in perfect weather conditions and with absolute minimal disturbance six loggers were retrieved. As several of the birds were not on nests it was a very simple operation. These loggers are now en route to Germany where the data will be down loaded and studied. It was a very positive morning. To retrieve six went beyond expectation and it is thought, that these are North Sea wintering birds. It is hoped that we may eventually be able to have a logger on display but for the moment a fuller explanation of what they hope to discover will be posted in the Discovery Centre. Only 24 more to find!! Please do keep scanning.
The herring gull colony appears to be growing on the Bass and indeed was commented on. Every vacant viewpoint had a gull standing on it, their raucous calls filling the air. A count of over 150 on the lower slopes with another 50 or so flanking the pathway up to the chapel. Certainly, on camera it is being observed that the gulls are hanging around keeping a watchful eye on the gannets. A puffin was seen sharing the battlements with a fulmar. It is usually the shags that win the nesting battle in this sheltered site.
Fidra Wonderful images on the new camera of puffins popping in and out of burrows. Superb shots of the many fulmars pairs. Razorbills and guillemots have been staying longer on the cliffs ledges and shags can be seen on nests down on the rocks. One pair of lesser black-back gull have also been seen.
Craigleith Puffins everywhere billing and bonding, with the odd scrap resulting in locked bills and the tumbling down of slopes. The burrow cam is wonderful and certainly a new screen has been dedicated to this fixed camera giving delightful shots. A few having been staying for a great part of the day. Inevitably predation takes place and indeed a pair of great black backed gulls were observed taking a puffin. Kittiwakes came into the nest sites late afternoon last Sunday. They had been seen on the sea all day but it was not until the last boat trip that we saw them on the cliffs. On last night’s boat trip, we saw many more at their nests. Several seals have also been seen this week.
Isle of May Excellent images of guillemots and razorbills. They too have been staying longer on the cliffs. Superb shots of the shags on nests.
Dunbar Approximately fifty occupied sites have been counted in the kittiwake colony with many pairs looking more settled on nests.
Local Sightings The two lesser–black backed gulls at the yachting pond, three long-tailed ducks have been seen for several days now, gathering eiders, turnstone, purple sandpiper oystercatcher, redshank rock pipit and pied wagtail. (and of course the swallow).
Dolphins - Four, possibly five, bottlenose dolphin were seen from the Seabird Seafari boat last Sunday afternoon on our last trip of the day. Between the Bass and Tantallon castle they broke the surface several times much to the delight of the passengers.
Bird Sightings - week up to 20th March (Catriona)
Bass Rock – The area in view of the camera is really filling up with gannets now. A lot of bowing and territorial behaviour can be seen, along with some nest building. The peregrine was also spotted on the lighthouse during the week.
Craigleith – The first puffins of the year were seen on Craigleith on the morning of the 16th, this is about a fortnight earlier than last year. About ten were seen, flying around and popping in and out of burrows. They have been seen most mornings since then. Also on Craigleith, shags and cormorants are busy nest building and there are fulmars, eider ducks and lots of gulls around too.
Isle of May – Guillemots, razorbills, cormorants, shags and fulmars can all be seen on the cameras, along with an occasional sighting of Maggie on the beach! The shags have been very busy building nests, and there has been quite a lot of mating going on too.
Fidra – Lots of fulmars, shags and razorbills can be seen on the new camera, along with a few puffins in the mornings.
Dunbar – Five kittiwakes were seen on the castle wall on the afternoon of the 17th March and one on the 19th March.
Bird Sightings - week up to 13 March (Maggie/Catriona)
Bass Rock There are now thousands of gannets in view of the cameras. There has been quite a bit of nest building going on, along with a couple of nasty fights. One gannet with a data logger on its leg was seen near the chapel at the weekend, and another one on Wednesday in the same area.
Craigleith Cormorants have returned to the colony and a few have begun building nests and displaying. Razorbills and guillemots can be seen on the ledges just below this. A pair of shags were using lots of tree mallow branches to build their nest on Wednesday. Fulmars, eider ducks, herring gulls and great and lesser black-backed gulls are all around too.
Isle of May The guillemots have been coming and going from the cliffs all week – some mornings they are there, sometimes they are not. There have been lots of razorbills on the water, fulmars on the cliffs, and some shags have returned to nests, which were used last year.
Fidra Guillemots, razorbills, shags and fulmars have been seen from the new camera, along with lots of puffin burrows, which will hopefully be occupied soon!
Dunbar Kittiwakes still have not been seen from the camera, although it has been reported that there are some around in the harbour area.
Quick Updates Gordon, skipper of Fisher Lassie, called to say that about a dozen kittiwakes have been seen on Dunbar Castle, only for a short time. It is wonderful to see them but they will come and go for another few weeks.
Loggers Catriona (Discovery Centre) for spotting the first logger. When time allows please do look out for them and if possible to note locations.
Puffins News on Sunday, 8 March that a few have been spotted at Fowelsheugh (two to three on land and a few in the water). So, yes, when your not spotting loggers, or looking for kittiwakes, puffin watch please, and pan around on the sea of all the islands.
Fidra The new camera will be good. If possible, note down time and date please. It is all-important data to pass on to researchers. Thank you all, it is appreciated.
Bird Sightings - week up to 7 March (Maggie)
The Bass They come, they go, but, there is no mistake over 10,000 gannets that have returned to take up their nests on the Rock . Each day the return increases. It is interesting to see the spread of the sites. Just 2 weeks ago, only 2 were seen down by the fog horn. Now it is a sea of white, inaccessible, and looking quite settled. From the cliffs to skirting of the paths, the growing fringe of gleaming white is unmistakable, even with the naked eye. We see a small but exciting portion of this on camera. The colony extending to the chapel is filled with all the ritualized behaviour we expect. Intense bowing and head shaking, long bouts of bill fencing as bonds are renewed, the inevitable skirmishes, and even some mating. But ! Our mission over the next few weeks, …is, to spot loggers on the legs of returning gannets. Some of these birds were slightly later breeders and it may be that they will not return for a few weeks. As always, our eagled eye visitors’ help is required. 30 loggers were placed on gannets’ legs last season. The data that will be retrieved will give a wealth of information as to their wintering wanderings, and more. Ultimately that information will be passed back to us, enhancing our knowledge and perhaps showing what changes are occurring within the gannets’ wintering habits. A photograph of the loggers will be placed beside the cameras. Landing yesterday, a fresh peregrine kill was evident on the pathway. As we headed toward the chapel area, low flying jets spooked the herring gulls and 12 greylag geese that were obviously up in the bracken water of the walled garden.
Fidra The new camera is beaming back the most superb images of fulmars. To be able to focus in so closely will give us more understanding of these beautiful oceanic birds’ breeding habits. It is not uncommon to see a trio cackling, preening and generally socializing. The season is just beginning. The camera is located close to puffin burrows and, as an unseen side of the island (unless from a boat), it will be interesting and exciting to see just how that side of the puffin colony is faring. What else will we see from this new camera? - the peregrine on the lighthouse, and much more to be discovered!
Craigleith Cormorants (white thigh patches) are more active with signs of nest building and displaying, shags with crests pairing up too. The greylag geese have been spotted. Herring gulls, lots of grass pulling and confrontation taking place.
Isle of May Guillemot and razorbill shoulder to shoulder one day, gone the next. Weather permitting, I’m off to the May next week and hopefully will have some news to add to Catriona’s report next week. When will that first puffin be spotted?
Dunbar Kiittiwakes One was seen on the castle recently on a warm sunny afternoon, but was gone by evening, Records show that it has been mid March before they have returned.
Local sightings You know spring has arrived when we see the lesser –black backed gulls at the yachting pond! Also around - golden eye, eider, mallard, turnstone, purple sandpiper oystercatcher, rock pipit and pied wagtail. At Musselburgh drake gadwall, bar-tailed godwit, knot, dunlin, snipe, curlew, oystercatcher and wigeon. Still many reports of waxwings around.
Bird Sightings - week up to 27 February (Catriona)
The Bass Panning around with the cameras, there is no mistaking the gannets are back. On Saturday, there were 20+ gannets sitting in front of the lighthouse, but they left about lunchtime. Since then there has been more and more arriving (hundreds today!) and staying all day now. Some have been building nests, and there has been a bit of bowing and beak-fencing going on too. No sign of the peregrine and the guillemots have all disappeared too. There were 5 seals down by the steps last Saturday.
Craigleith Lots of herring gulls and fulmars around, but no guillemots or razorbills in the last few days. The geese are still around. A couple of them were seen yesterday. One cormorant was doing a little bit of nest-building in the colony, but they’re still mostly away during the day and just back in the afternoon. Quite a few shags hanging out on the rocks with nice crests, and a little bit of mating going on too!
Fidra One peregrine is sitting on the ledge at the moment; it has been a couple of days since they have been seen. Again, no guillemots on the cliffs for the last couple of days. A bridled guillemot was out there on the 20th. Fulmars have been around all week, along with oystercatchers and turnstones down on the rocks and a fair number of eiders too (but not close enough to see what they are eating…). Remember we are trying to record what the eiders are feeding on.
Isle of May No guillemots at all today or yesterday, apparently there were hundreds to be seen on Wednesday and Thursday. A few shags and cormorants have been seen.
Dunbar No sign of kittiwakes, yet.
Local sightings The black redstart was recorded again on Monday the 23rd just outside the centre.
Bird Sightings - week up to 20 February (Maggie)
The Bass On the 16th Feb the first Gannet seen on camera, landed on the cliffs. Sailing around the Rock this week 2-3dozen are sitting at cliff nest sites and 2 were near to the foghorn About 700+ were flying around, just north east of the Rock. Of course, they will come and go for the next few weeks, but with guillemots also taking up their sites on the cliffs and that wonderful ‘aahrrrr‘ echoing from the cave, it really felt like the awakening of the season. The peregrine has also been seen, and several rock pipits are flitting around. Shags and a single cormorant were down by the heli-pad and 2 grey seals have been hauled out, quite high above the tide line.
Craigleith is just filled with activity. We know the guillemots have been seen on the cliffs but just today, Catriona has spotted the first razorbills. Shags are pairing up and mating, cormorants returning to roost late afternoon, easily spotted with their white thigh patch. Greylags (10) are a regular sighting. Small flocks of fieldfare have been seen this week as has linnet and a wren. Three peregrine kills were found on the island close together, and as with all the islands, fulmar in abundance. No sign of a Kittiwake yet?
Fidra The Peregrine pair have been regular visitors to the lighthouse viewpoint this week but keep any eye on the ledge at times they can be seen there. Fulmars and guillemots are an every day occurrence now.
The Lamb We do not often mention the Lamb, but as it is very much a news item this week and with over 300 guillemots on the cliffs the other morning, I thought it should be mentioned. The Lamb guillemot colony numbers over 2,000 birds. It has a significant and very important cormorant colony. As with other islands, cormorant numbers dropped last year. Shags have substantial sites with over 90 nests, kittiwake over 100 sites, puffins are seen on the island and at low tide and busy times on the beaches, and it is a haven and sanctuary for waders. Approximately two dozen turnstone and three purple sandpipers were seen the other morning as we sailed around the island. Islands like these are true sanctuaries, with no real landing site - few people can, or do land. Certainly, it can be viewed easily from the scope deck, and the cormorants are easily seen.
Isle of May What a magnificent sight on the cameras, guillemots shoulder to shoulder on the Angel, and the Pilgrim stacks, off Pilgrims Haven. Although there have been early morning sightings of guillemots, it has only been this past week that they are staying until mid afternoon. Shags and cormorants are also being seen. Remember to note any darvick rings you can read.
Local sightings Many visitors have come to North Berwick these last few weeks just to see the black redstart, but from Lothian Bird News this week, a black redstart has been seen at Joppa. Could it be the same bird? If you do see it around the east beach, please tell staff and note it down. It is quite possible that the bird has moved along the coast. Oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, purple sandpiper, shags, cormorants, fulmars, guillemot, eiders, red-breasted merganser, rock pipit, pied wagtail and a sparrow hawk have all been seen in the east or west bay area. The sparrow hawk has a liking for the garden feeders along the west bay!
Bird Sightings - week up to 12th February (Catriona)
Craigleith Cormorants, shags, fulmars and gulls are all being seen regularly on Craigleith, along with turnstones, rock pipits, crows and a pair of mallards.
Isle of May A single seal pup, possibly Xena, has been coming and going on the May over the last week. Fulmars are returning to the cliffs, and shags and cormorants have been seen.
Bass The first gannets still have not landed, but a peregrine has been seen on the cliff and fulmars are flying around.
Fidra Fulmars, shags, eight plus greylag geese. The pair of peregrines has been seen sitting on the lighthouse - their ledges on the cliff have been taken over by fulmars!
Scope deck Gannets have been seen flying around and plunge diving, and the black redstart was spotted on the shore by a visitor. Also eiders, turnstones, redshanks, shags and cormorants.
Bird Sightings - week up to 6 February (Maggie)
Isle of May We think ‘Xena the pup’ made a couple of visits during this past week to Pilgrims Haven, Of course, now completely moulted we are not sure, but a young seal has hauled out and on both occasions stayed for a short while and left . The seas have been turbulent and it is probable that the pup has not really ventured too far from its birth island.
Fulmars and shags are now being seen regularly. Look out for darvic rings on the shags. These are large coloured rings with numbers and letters on. If you are able to read any, please note them down. This information is passed on to researchers from the CEH.
The Bass and Fidra Fulmars, guillemots and the peregrine have been spotted on both islands.
Craigleith Shags, cormorants, fulmars, great black backs and herring gull, oystercatchers and a female and a young seal hauled out.
Local Sightings The black redstart is still there, rock pipit, pied wagtail, purple sandpiper, oystercatchers, turnstone, redshank , black- headed gulls, pied eiders, shags, cormorants, fulmars and guillemot.
Aberlady An exciting week just a few miles away - a great white egret was seen earlier this week near to the Marl Loch along with a bittern and a water rail. A possible king eider has also been seen. Other sightings there, an immature peregrine, twite, buzzard, snipe and fieldfare.
Bird Sightings - week up to 30 January 2008 (Maggie)
News flash - Maximus
Maximus was returned to the wild at 13.00hrs on 27 January 2009, at 50 degrees 24 minutes north and 05 degrees 43 minutes west. The sea was moderate with foggy patches. He got very excited when he saw the ocean again, went straight in the water, and made several attempts to take off but we did not see him fly. There were plenty of other gannets and sea birds in the area. Thank you to Margaret from Mousehole Sanctuary and skipper Bob from the ‘Cornishman’ trawler that released him.
Isle of May The pup has gone. There was a misprint last week it should have read twenty-four days old, hence why we had not seen the cow around. He looked quite contented for several more days keeping visitors amused as he played with a large coil of rope, although we were nervous that he would he become entangled. He has been in and out of the sea, still showing a little bit of his white coat but today he has gone. The seal-breeding season has ended.
Craigleith
Over seventy fulmars have been counted, but what is exciting is seeing the return of the Cormorants. Over the next few weeks they will start to pair up, establish sites and before we know it the whole cycle begins again. The mallards and greylag geese that breed on the island have been seen. They breed much earlier and we have seen goslings in early April and mallards sitting on eggs by mid April but the most spectacular display this week has to be the peregrines. Obviously, we do not know if this is the Craigleith pair, but they were seen swooping over the east bay in spectacular fashion. A herring gull harried the male as he made a final swoop scattering the waders on the rocks.
The Bass
Last week on landing, fulmars were tucked in the battlements and cliff ledges their chuckling filling the air. The peregrine circled overhead for some time eyeing up the resident pigeons. Rock pipits flitted around all over the island. From the summit looking north, no gannets were seen despite it being a beautiful calm day. The cameras keep panning around out to sea, or spend ten minutes on the viewing deck. Guillemots were seen from the cameras yesterday on the lower cliffs. Gannets are coming and going but it may be a few weeks before they appear on the Rock itself.
Fidra
As with all the islands, fulmars are evident. These are such beautiful birds to watch as stiff winged they glide and swoop around the cliffs, over island and sea. The peregrine has not been seen so much this week and as we have already established, some are already paired and potentially looking at nest sites.
Local sightings
The black redstart is still there as are the wrens, rock pipit, pied wagtail, purple sandpiper, knot, oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, black-headed gulls, pied wagtail, eiders, mallard, long-tailed duck, goldeneye, shags and cormorants.
Eiders
We need help! If you are volunteering in the Discovery Centre, please could you keep an eye out for feeding eiders, in shallower waters offshore from the Isle of May and Fidra, or if you have time, upstairs with the camera on the east bay. Chris Waltho from the Scottish Ornithologists Club needs footage of feeding eiders. He is trying to establish what they are eating. This will be used for a conference presentation. If any reasonable footage could be recorded, he would be very grateful. Chris has a wealth of knowledge about eiders having studied them for many years now.
Bird Sightings - week up to 23rd January 2008 (Maggie)
Isle of May - Now twenty-days old, the young seal pup has begun to moult. We have not seen the cow come in recently. It could still be feeding, but care for the young pup ends abruptly. Suddenly it has to fend for itself. He looks quite robust and rounded for the moment and still fairly relaxed on the beach. Do keep a watch and if you see the cow come in, let us know. Catriona from the Discovery Centre was watching the other day when a mouse was spotted running over the boulders of the beach, unfortunately it was not only Catriona watching. A kestrel swooped down, and in a split second, the mouse was gone! The Bass - This past week gannets have been spotted flying off shore from the Bass, so definitely worth spending a little time on the viewing deck.
Craigleith - Good views on camera of the fulmars at nest sites.
Fidra - Yesterday guillemots were seen all day on the cliffs. They will come and go but you do get the feeling that the breeding season is awakening. Keep watching for the peregrines, sometimes it is more by their absence that we know that they are starting to nest or at least take to potential nest sites.
Local Sightings - Last Sunday saw the annual ‘rocky shore’ count take place. This is the WeBs survey for the BTO, which records all sightings around estuaries, and shorelines on that morning. These surveys are done all around Britain helping to give a picture of what changes may be happening in population of birds and the movement of wintering waders and sea ducks. Lesley and Jen from our Early Bird Group helped with my section. Below are a few of the sightings from the Centre to Canty Bay, including some West Bay sightings. The black redstart was seen along with a couple of wrens by the wall, rock pipit pied wagtail, stonechat, purple sandpiper, sanderling, knot, oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, ringed plover, black-headed gulls, pied wagtail, eiders, mallard, long-tailed duck, goldeneye, shags with crests cormorants and two gannets seen out near to the Bass.
Fulmar Autopsy
What an exciting day!! Not only from the schools that logged on to watch this live and ask questions via e-mail to Dr Jan van Franeker, but the evening talk and autopsy was full of surprises, and the expected plastics being found in the stomach. Fascinating talk and autopsy, I will update you on this next week when I hope to have more details sent through.
RSPB Garden Watch
As with the WeBs survey this too helps identify changes in populations and habitat. If you have a garden and an hour to enjoy, pour a cuppa and from the warmth of home record any birds that come into feed. If you do not have a garden, take yourself to the park and see what you can see. You can put your sightings in on-line or we do have recording forms at the Centre.
Middlebank Wildlife Centre (SSPCA)
How many times have we called the SSPCA for an injured seabird or seal? We pass them on in the knowledge that they will receive the expert care and attention required, sometimes without little thought of what happens next. The SSPCA ‘ambulance’ collects them and in the case of birds or seals, they are taken to the Middlebank Centre. Opened in 1986, Middlebank is the Society’s only centre for wild animals and the only oiled bird-cleaning centre in the country. It has one of the largest facilities for the care of seals. Although not open to the public, I was invited by Colin Seddon, the Centre Manager to join them recently. I spent an incredibly interesting morning there gaining a little more knowledge about seals and their care. I was shown around the aviaries, and the warmed treatment rooms for smaller birds and mammal. What a wonderful place!
My first stop was the seal sanctuary. Notices on entry warn not to make a noise. The first section of the building housed the waterproofs, gloves, hoses, brushes etc and I spotted dozens of large catering sized bottles of washing up liquid. Over the years, Middlebank has gained an international reputation for its work in saving stricken wildlife following oil spillage disasters. Let us hope they are never required, but it is there, ready should there ever be a major spill. A wipe board listed all the seals and birds being cared for along with their treatment and updates on care.
We passed through the next room where a large sink filled with water held an enormous amount of fish, medication and syringes. By now, I could hear the seals over the large gateway into the next area and I could see staff hosing and cleaning out enclosures. Making sure the gate was closed behind us; I walked the central path looking over each enclosure. There were (I think) six enclosures on each side with the names of each seal on the outside. They have a dry area to haul out on and a bathing pool at the end. All very luxurious. A very small common seal was first, then a much larger grey and that continued down the row. They appeared fatter and fatter and four (now tagged ) were due to be released that day. For me, I was reassured, that I have made the correct call for the size of pups that we have found on the beaches. On the other side, the obvious small pups needed to gain weight before release. A very small pup had to be hand fed and unless he takes food for himself, the outlook was not good.
A surprise as one of the pens held a mute swan that had been brought in stunned the day before. It had been monitored overnight and it was agreed that it could now be taken to the outside enclosure, with a pond, where again it would be watched to make sure it was feeding and would likely be released the following day.
My next stop was the bird hospital where the only residents that day were pigeons. Each housed in individual cages with their history and medication, food regime, etc. It was all fascinating. All different types of food and feeders depending on the size and needs of the bird. Spring obviously is their busy time, heat lamps can be switched on to keep very young chicks warm. The care is meticulous. From there to the small mammal section where the only residents were hedgehogs, as with the birds, the care and attention is just wonderful.
There is so much more to tell, but to see the dedication and care that the Middlebank team give to each ‘patient’ that arrives is just superb, and we must not forget too the ‘ambulance drivers‘ who arrive to collect the injured bird/seal are really the ‘paramedics‘ ready to give on the spot care and help. My grateful thanks to Colin and Fiona (who collected me) and all the lovely staff. It was indeed a very exciting and informative day.
Sightings - week up to 16th Jan 2009
Isle of May The drama unfolded on screen. Visitors were transfixed as the now fairly robust, but still very young pup fought desperately to stay on shore in the tumultuous seas that pounded Pilgrims Haven. With high spring tides and heavy onshore winds, the far end of the beach was awash. Unfortunately the young pup had headed up to that end earlier. Christened Zena the Last Seal pup by staff, there were heart stopping moments as she was carried out like a piece of flotsam on the pounding waves, only to battle in and try to make her way to a safer part of the beach. The mother was nowhere to be seen. Could she make it past the jutting rocks that divide the beach? At that point, I unfortunately had to leave! Returning 2hrs later I couldn’t wait to find out the outcome. Yes, she had made it to the safety of the larger beach, but a short while later headed down to the waters edge to play!! She is now starting to moult soon and within the next 7-10 days, the mother will leave her. From that day she will have to explore the seas and learn to fend for herself.
Craigleith The Peregrine was spotted by the mallow mashers the other day, along with approximately 20 Greylag geese. The geese have been resident for most of the winter, with regular sightings. Their droppings have been evident in particular areas all winter. Last year by the 2nd week in April, goslings were seen, so we know there is at least one breeding pair on the island. Fulmars are sitting in pairs at nest sights and just wonderful to watch as they soar and glide over the island
The Bass We know it’s all very quiet just now but it won’t be long before we have that first sighting of Gannets returning. Although they won’t land on the rock just now, it’s worth scanning out to sea.
Local sightings The black redstart was still around earlier in the week. Purple sandpiper, sanderling, oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, ringed plover, black-headed gulls, pied wagtail, rock pipit and eiders.
Fulmar Autopsy
We're delighted to be welcoming scientists from the Save the North Studies again to perform an autopsy on a fulmar. Last year's event showed that the fulmar was a young emaciated first year female, that had 9 pieces of plastic in the stomach. This is worrying. A first year bird is free and able to wander the seas. Fulmars have an acute sense of smell and are able to smell offal from some distance away. We know many seabirds are struggling during the winter months and hopefully research undertaken last year will show where particular species are wintering and the diet they are a feeding on.
The Save the North Sea studies have shown that fulmars are picking up more plastic in busy shipping lanes Dr Jan van Franker from (IMARES) has been studying this for several years now. Accompanied by Dan Turner he will give an evening talk on his work and perform an autopsy on Jan 21st at the centre. For details and booking, please contact the Seabird Centre on 01620 890202.
Maximus…The weather is not being kind. It’s been positively stormy off the west coast of Britain.
For the moment he is looking good and being wonderfully cared for at Mousehole sanctuary. A very large fishing boat from Newlyn is due to take him down to the Bay of Biscay as soon as the weather settles. This will give him the best chance for survival when he will then be released where with luck(& he has had that!!) he can learn to fish, and fly.
Bird Sightings - week up to 9th January 2009
Maximus - the final chapter
I think Maximus’ departure has been well documented. To have been flown by his namesake HMS Gannet was a dream that even a week ago we could not imagine would happen.
A plea had gone out to military, commercial & private flights with no luck. Almost 14 weeks old, and with such good care from Pat Macaulay, time was fast approaching for release. Unfortunately, with seasonal holidays, communications were virtually zero.
Watching the loony dook on New Year’s Morning with Abbie Marland, the suggestion came for HMS Gannet. Checking out their website, I realized that their Air Sea Rescue did not extend south, but undeterred I called them, and the rest is history.
Perhaps some of you are unaware that after Lynda & I had waved him off, in dire need of a cuppa (we had been up since 4am) stopped at the services on our return journey. A call came through. They were returning to base due to fog!! As we about turned, back to Prestwick ‘the office‘ car was a hub of rearranging and confirming that Maximus could spend the night there. We did return, fed him, and he was settled in to his very large pen/helicopter for the night.
I am pleased to say he arrived safely and is now in the wonderful care of Mousehole Wild Bird Sanctuary in Cornwall. He will stay there for several days, and when the weather settles, he will be taken out to sea and released. There are many adult gannets being seen flying around off the Lizard and Landsend.
Much has been commented on about Maximus’s calm behaviour, and certainly, a more passive gannet you will never find. Pat thinks ’he’ may be ‘Maximellia’ ?!. I wondered if perhaps being born so late on the ‘now silent rock ‘ with no squabbling and constant hub of the colony, and without even the parents in attendance, except when feeding, he had lived in a very silent world, alone, with no stimulation around him. The good news (and it is) he was slightly more feisty, when we returned to feed him. This is good, as he will need these instincts to survive.
He has coloured (red) rings on his leg, perhaps one day, we hope that we will see him return, or at least hear news of him. Whatever, Maximus has been one very lucky gannet, that at every twist and turn, things have just fallen into place. Let us hope this luck continues.
Isle of May NEWS Flash On the morning of the 30th Dec 2008 as the cameras were switched on, there on Pilgrims Haven was a newborn pup. This is the latest breeder we have seen on this beach since the cameras were installed. What an exciting way to start the new year particularly, for a while we were concerned as to whether the cow had returned to feed the pup …There have been some heavy seas and high tides but he’s gaining weight and is looking quite happy and content on the shore. If you are in early, please always have a look at the stacks for guillemots and razorbills and if seen. Fulmars are being seen gliding alongside the cliffs.
Craigleith The odd young seal is hauling out and apart from fulmars and the odd flock of linnets or rock pipits, is fairly quiet.
Fidra The peregrines are being seen and certainly, I have heard of a local pair displaying recently. So keep an eye out! Local sightings A black redstart has been around now for about 3 weeks, close to the pathway to the Centre, and can be spotted flitting around the seaweed areas and shoreline of the east beach. Purple sandpiper, oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, ringed plover, pied wagtail, rock pipit, stonechat, golden eye, long-tailed duck, common scoter, black throated diver, red-breasted merganser, eiders and guillemot.
Fulmar Autopsy
Dr Jan van Franker from (IMARES) the Netherlands accompanied by Dan Turner will give an evening talk on his work and perform another autopsy on Jan 21st at the Seabird Centre. For details and booking, please contact the Centre on 01620 890202.
Sightings - week up to 18th Dec 2008
Maximus Update There is good news and not so good news. Maximus is doing well. Earlier this week he swallowed for the first time, a whole fish. This is important, as he will not have the luxury of filleted fish when released. As the down has almost disappeared there has been a change in his behaviour. He has been much more vocal when being approached, and at times, is beginning to appear restless. His release day will not be far off now. Ideally he should weight at least 4000g. He is a very different bird to the chick we rescued just over 2 weeks ago .
The not so good news …..It had been hoped that Maximus would be ringed. After several days of fairly hectic communications, hopes were high, as a Darvick ring was available along with a metal BTO ring. Sadly at the last hurdle, the BTO have refused permission to ring him. It’s all fairly complicated. Basically, he is now deemed a captive bird. Several people have asked why we cannot put trackers or loggers on. All these options have been investigated. It takes at least 3 months to set this up, not to mention the cost is in excess of £3000.
Again thank you to everyone who has donated to Maximus 'fish fund'. As we accompanied santa in his carriage on Saturday, many people donated, all very interested in his progress. thank you
When and where will he be released.? We will keep you updated.
Isle of May By 18th December there was only one fluffy white pup and 2 darker pups seen. Earlier this week there were 5, so do scan around. All being well, we should have our ‘Christmas’ pup for visitors to find on Pilgrims Haven. Purple sandpiper were seen along the shoreline, and fulmars have also been gliding along the cliff edges. Do keep checking the stacks early morning for guillemot and razorbill!
Craigleith 7 pups (several moulted) were counted earlier in the week. That dropped to three as the week progressed, with one amusing visitors as it appeared to be taking a swimming lesson in one of the shallow rock pools. Twenty + shags some already showing the crests of their breeding plumage. Last week I heard of a pair at Inchkeith appearing to display and sitting at nest sites. A flock of linnet were also seen on the Craig.
Fidra 2 Slavonian Grebe were seen off shore earlier this week. The peregrine is been seen regularly and fulmars have been seen. Bass Rock pipits flitted around and the peregrine circled over head while on a quick visit for camera maintenance.
Local sightings purple sandpiper, knot, sanderling, redshank, oystercatcher, turnstone, pied wagtail, rock pipit, golden eye and eiders.
Other sightings Musselburgh: little grebe were seen on the Esk also dipper and long–tailed tits. Waxwing still abundant at many locations. Aberlady short-eared owls and an adult peregrine “devouring an unlucky lapwing in front of a crowd of nervous looking bar-tailed godwits“.
Freezer a freezer has been donated to the Centre by Northeast England Beached Bird Survey Group from a donation that they received from British Airways ('Best of British Airways Outstanding Community Volunteering Awards 2007'). This is to enable us to store specimens for collection for the Save the North Sea Campaign. Should you find any intact dead fulmars,auks, shearwaters or any unusual species, please do let me know. Fulmars in particular are of interest to the SNS studies. Gulls unless rare, cannot be collected. Last year an autopsy performed at the centre on a fulmar showed that this young female was not only starving but had 10 pieces of plastic in the stomach. Dr Jan van Franker from (IMARES) the Netherlands accompanied by Dan Turner will give a talk on his work and perform another autopsy in Jan 2009 at the Centre. For details/booking please contact the Centre on 01620 890202.
Bird Sightings - week up to 12 December 2008 (Maggie)
Maximus Update With so much interest, there will be a regular update on his progress until he is taken out into the Forth and released. Although the sex of the chick is undetermined, we will, for ease, call it a ‘male’.
For several days, we held our breath. After we left him in the care of Pat, we knew these first few days were crucial. Pat took him to the vet just to have him checked. Quite often, they can be dehydrated and a saline solution is given. Although thin, surprisingly he was not too bad, but did receive an injection. That first couple of days I found myself down at first light peeking over the wall. Quite often, he was asleep, or if slightly later and Pat had already fed him, the pen would be open to allow him to wander. He appeared to respond to all the new sights and sounds surrounding him. The bird song from the nearby bushes, passing traffic, workmen banging and building close by, the neck extended, the head turning side to side, the steely eyes watching. From there on, he has gone from strength to strength. One look at him yesterday and the weight gain is quite visible. He looks good!
Pat kindly agreed to be filmed feeding him yet another gourmet meal, and updating us on his temperament. There will be a link to this on the Centre website and we hope to do this weekly until his release. It is looking quite positive that he will be ringed.
Thank you to everyone who has donated to his ‘fish fund’ either in fish direct to Pat, or to donations to Pat and the ‘Maximus‘ collection box at the Centre. With two feeds a day, it has really helped. Thank you. His down is beginning to disappear, but we think it will be another couple of weeks before release, perhaps slightly sooner. We will update you.
Isle of May & Craigleith. Numbers are fluctuating with a count of five white pups on the May and only two on Craigleith yesterday, but they could be hiding. You really have to hunt them down. They are all over the place. One of the favourite spots is under the Elder bush where five were the other day, then there was another couple quite far up the slope and one with his head in a burrow, or at least that is what it looked like! Many have moulted now and it’s possible they are just coming and going. On the May, you cannot help but notice along the straddle line the number of very young pups that succumbed to heavy seas.
Seal counts and news since mid November On two separate dates, counts have been undertaken on several of the Forth Islands excluding the May. By adding the totals of two visits, estimated totals are reached. Inchkeith one hundred and ninety-seven pups, Inchcolm three, the Bass two (in the cave) and on Craigleith thirty-six (this could be slightly under as several have been out of sight but certainly no more than forty pups). The pup that was pictured in the local papers is doing well at Middlebank sanctuary. Sadly, one that was rescued this week was very sick and had sustained some nasty injuries. It was put to sleep. Another that had been close by was left to return to the sea, Fidra three greylag were seen landing on the island and the peregrine has been seen regularly at its ledge. Local sightings: six cormorants were seen on Craigleith, saderling, redshank, oystercatcher, turnstone, pied wagtail, rock pipit along our local beaches.
Other sightings: waxwing still abundant at many locations. Aberlady 4,574 pink-footed geese left roost on the morning of the 8th December also a kingfisher and short-eared owls.
Bird Sightings - week up to 4 December 2008 (Maggie)
Bass: The news of the week has to be Maximus! The decision was taken after constant monitoring from dawn to dusk. Several mornings I found myself in the Centre at 7.30 am waiting for the timer to switch on, to get that first view of him. Would an adult come in between 8.00 am and 10.00 am? At first light, he was always asleep, head tucked into the scapulars. Would he survive these freezing temperatures, the lack of food? It was always a relief to see him waken up, head turning as if waiting and watching. Thereafter the camera was locked on to him. By Saturday evening, no adult had been seen. Heavy seas were forecast for several days.
Charts were examined and Wednesday deemed possible for landing. As each day past, it was always a relief to see him still looking perky, preening and wing flapping but still no adult in attendance. The weather window exceeded expectation with blue skies and sunshine. The slight lift on the sea was no problem for Fisher Lassie and skipper Gordon, and we landed without incident. It was very quiet. No shags lined the landing like a welcoming party to greet us, as was the case a month ago, even gulls were scarce. A single pied wagtail flitted around as filming this momentous rescue began.
Reaching the bend before the chapel, Catriona and I planned our tactics. Frightened that he may head left to inaccessible areas, and ultimately to the edge of the Rock, we skirted around. Keeping low, we moved quietly in, and suddenly the yipping and wing flapping gave it away. We had been spotted. He offered little resistance and as I grabbed him, I could feel just how thin he was. Safely in the box, it was not long before he was being introduced to his new ‘nest‘ at Pat’s and enjoying a filleted sea bass. The fear was that his internal organs could be shutting down and that he would be dehydrated, but passing later, he was perched on a boulder looking very alert and enjoying his celebrity status. Pat will feed him up and if all goes well, it should be around Christmas week when he will be released. There are thoughts that he may be ringed with coloured rings making identity much easier from a distance, but for the moment, the next few days are crucial. We will keep you updated but have a quick look over Pat’s wall and you can see for yourself.
Isle of May: The season is drawing to a close with only nine pups counted yesterday .Several will be here for another couple of weeks. Will there be any more pups born?
A Christmas pup perhaps? Do let everyone know if a newborn is spotted. As one breeding season comes to a close it is always felt that between now and March, times are quiet. Not so. For the May if you are in early, check the stacks. Quite often, we start to see guillemots and razorbills sitting on the cliffs early morning. Again, please note it down as this information will be passed on to the CEH (Centre of Ecology and Hydrology). Turnstone were also spotted along the shoreline of Pilgrims Haven.
Craigleith: With a mallow mash last weekend, Bill Bruce and I crept around to do an accurate count for the records. We counted twenty-two pups plus three dead. Several of the pups are out of sight of the camera with six at various levels on the right hand slope, that being said, yesterday’s camera count gave only five visible pups, one with the hic-cups, wonderful!! What a lovely comment to add to the sightings book. Thank you ! Keep writing them in.
There is no question that the clearing of the Glen has enhanced viewing, but as soon as the breeding season is over, another cut will be undertaken as it is growing.
Pup Rescue: An early morning call from Sandy and Mike Forrest last Friday alerted me to a pup on the beach. Mike had been out dog walking as the dawn came up, and spotted it. He thought it was very small, and indeed, it was. I finished breakfast and headed down to collect the warning notices. This week Megan (on work experience) came with me. Again observed from a distance it was feisty and certainly growled as we approached. Judging by various dog prints, it had a few close encounters. It was very small but had no obvious injury. There was no sign of ‘seeping‘ blood (as written in this week’s Courier) or I would have examined it more closely. We watched it for a while and it settled. Where possible I take a photograph for records. Just as I took the photograph it lifted its head giving us a rather ‘helpless’ shot. The SSPCA were called, the notices put up, and indeed this one was taken to the sanctuary because of its size. I spoke later with them and it may have had a small injury to its flipper but nothing major. Thanks to Sandy and Mike for calling me, and for returning the notice boards to the Centre. We had hoped the article would have given mention of the notice boards as these are to alert the public to the seals and that publicity would have been beneficial.
Fidra: Shags were seen on the lower rocks, also two dunlin, oystercatchers and eiders offshore. The peregrine has been at its vantage point, as has the Bass peregrine.
Local sightings: ringed plover, sanderling, bar–tailed godwit, redshank, turnstone, oystercatcher, purple sandpiper, grey heron, pied wagtail, rock pipit eider duck, red-breasted merganser, and golden eye.
Bird Sightings - week up to 28 November 2008 (Maggie)
Bass: Has Maximus been abandoned? Last Saturday as forecast, the snow and icy northerly winds arrived. There was a concern that this may result in the adults abandoning the chick. We know the adult came in on Saturday, the day of the snow showers. Mid afternoon on Sunday, the camera went down! Stormy seas this week would have prevented any landings on the Bass. Thankfully, Paul was able to address the problem from Dunbar and with technical whiz it was resolved by Tuesday pm. Unfortunately this was the crucial 2 days. Monitoring resumed on Wed a.m but as yet we have been unable to establish if he has been fed…He’s looking good, quite alert and is preening. Keep watching!Isle of May: In one week, the seal count has dropped form 80+, down to approx 37. It’s difficult to count as some can be just out of sight of camera. Many pups left are in partial moult, but scan carefully and you will find a few newborn among them. With the junior tour guides filming their podcast this week, there was great excitement around the cameras. From fights among bulls, to playtime with footballs, to just the ‘awe' factor they loved every moment. We see these images every day and perhaps begin to take it for granted. For some visitors it is the first time they have seen such wonderful images and it’s lovely to share that excitement and interpret what’s happening on screen.
Craigleith: As with the Isle of May the junior tour guides were quick to spot any exciting events. One rather contented pup was seen lying on it’s back nibbling on mallow plants …Sadly not the solution for the mallow problem.
Pup update. A huge thank you to the Discovery Centre team, Catriona, Ian and Sam (on work experience), for their speedy response in making superb signage, warning the public not to approach the pup on the beach. We found the pup, partially moulted, a little small, although quite contented, asleep at the edge of the dunes on the East Bay. From a distance we observed. No sign of injury, but the fact it was slightly small and still moulting, we felt it should be checked out. The SSPCA arrived, but after advice, it was deemed that it was able to fend for itself although they were going to check on it the following day.
The notices worked well. I found myself on the beach as dawn broke, in a light blizzard, checking to see if it was still there. With high tides and stormy seas the tide had reached the dune and the pup had gone. I collected the signs and as I headed back to the Centre to call the SSPCA, I could only hope that this young seal would survive in the stormy seas.
Fidra The Peregrine has been seen most days at its normal viewpoint or on the lighthouse, and several Common Scoter (f.) were seen off Fidra. On the Bass the peregrine was seen and heard.
Local sightings ringed plover, sanderling, dunlin, redshank, oystercatcher, purple sandpiper, pied wagtail and rock pipit .
And from Lothian Bird News certainly no shortage of waxwing sightings again this week and as last week in many locations from Edinburgh, Musselburgh to Longniddry. Torness re the Peregrine.. quote “Apparently the in house intranet has shown unexpected courting/territorial behaviour recently ie a female shaping the nest cup and a male "throwing" prey offerings at her!!” Musselburgh Black-Tailed Godwit still present on scrapes, Merganser on boating pond Goldeneye, Long-Tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter close in off seawall & Slavonian Grebe.
Bird Sightings - week up to 21 November 2008 (Maggie)
Bass: Maximus…Yes the lone chick has been named and is capturing the attention and hearts of visitors. Alone on the Rock with only an occasional herring gull for company, it braves whatever the weather throws at it while it waits, and waits, for that next feed. Records are showing that a pattern is beginning to develop in the feeding regime. A parent is returning mid morning to feed, and returns again around the 3.00pm mark, when, on occasion, both adults have been seen.
What is of concern is this weekend’s weather report. Strong northerly winds bringing snow down the North Sea and Coast could present a problem. We know last year the lone chick on the north of the Rock survived into early December but appeared to have been abandoned. A very icy windy snap had preceded this. We have the advantage this year. The Discovery Centre staff are doing a brilliant job of keeping an eye on Maximus, but they need help please. For visitors and volunteers - Parent Watch! Will they return? Please report any sighting of the adults, with time of arrival and perhaps how long they stay. Should we then notice an adult has not returned, particularly over this icy spell, we may consider a visit to the Bass but we will have to be sure that the chick has been abandoned. Meanwhile, Maximus spends many long, dark hours alone.
Fidra: A Peregrine was seen on Fidra this week and two were seen on the Bass, one on the cliff face and one on the east side of the lighthouse. With the Rock empty, it has a choice of view points and certainly last winter we saw it at this same spot.
Isle of May: Approaching the end of November, as young seals start to leave the beach, Pilgrims Haven becomes less crowded and tense .With a count of eighty-two pups this week, this marks the end of seal breeding time. We know from records that we have had pups right up until Boxing Day therefore keep looking for these new borns. There are still plenty of exciting times ahead and sometimes as the beach empties, it makes it easier to keep watch on a particular pup. Catching everyone’s attention this week is a very dark pup . It has found a safe spot further up the slope. It has moulted but the beautiful, very dark coat is eye-catching and the dark face with white encircled eyes is captivating.
Craigleith: The count this week is twenty-six pups. I have just had a call about a ‘pup’ on the east beach. Strong winds this week could have washed a pup off but I suspect it could be that it has just hauled out for a rest. It appears to have found safety up in the dunes of the east beach. Unfortunately, dogs also like the dunes. I will update you on it next week.
I repeat the notice from last week. Over the next few weeks, particularly when heavy winds prevail, we will have the odd report of ‘pups‘ on the beaches. It is time now to start reminding visitors should they find a ‘pup‘ on the beach to observe from a distance, keep children and dogs clear and only if the pup looks injured or in distress to report it to the SSPCA (on 0870 73 77722) or bring it to our attention if within sight of the Centre and we will check it out. More often than not, the young seal is resting and will head out on the next tide.
A seal bite can be extremely serious as they carry several nasty diseases.
Bird Sightings - week up to 5 November 2008 (Maggie)
Isle of May: Pilgrims Haven has ninety-six seal pups this week. Many have begun to moult. Remember pups have been increasing in weight by approximately 2kg a day. The thick layer of blubber not only acts as insulation, but stores fat for the weeks to come. Many a time we see on camera young pups ‘testing‘ everything from grasses, seaweed to pebbles, and indeed all of these have been found in the stomach of the young seal . As it heads out to sea alone, it soon learns fish and crustaceans are a much better choice.
Over the next few weeks, particularly when heavy winds prevail, we will have the odd report of ‘pups‘on the beaches. It is time now to start reminding visitors should they find a ‘pup‘ on the beach to observe from a distance, keep children and dogs clear, and only if the pup looks injured, or in distress to report it to the SSPCA or bring it to our attention if within sight of the Centre and we will check it out. The BDMLR (Marine Medics) will attend. In East Lothian, several of the Rangers and me have been trained for a first call out. More often than not, the young seal is resting and will head out on the next tide. A seal bite can be extremely serious as they carry several nasty diseases.
Craigleith: The count this week is twenty-seven pups with three dead. One has been seen half way up the slope tucked up under a large boulder, Most appear to be feeding and sleeping, all very contented.
Bass: The lone chick is still there. For a few hours, it was seen huddled beside a guga. We have seen on camera that quite often at this time when the rock is virtually empty they seem to seek solace with each other. A while later the guga had gone. It would appear that the young chick is virtually alone on the Bass now. The parent has been returning to feed it. Please do keep noting down the date and times of the adult visits. A rather forlorn looking guga was reported among the sand dunes of the east beach. Picking it up it certainly felt a little underweight but had no obvious injuries. It was taken into the care of the Marr’s. I am sure after a few days of rest and some large mackerel; it will be taken out to sea and released.
Local Sightings: West of Fenton Barns - 124 Whoopers, Aberlady - Spotted Redshank, Waxwing were seen near to the Marl Loch, Fieldfare feeding on Buckthorn around the sewage plant and 2 Short-Eared Owls, Kilspindie - Tree Sparrows. The Pallas Warbler was last seen on the 10th November in Dunbar and behind the Smokehouse at West Barns Waxwings have been feeding.
Bird Sightings - week up to 5 November 2008 (Maggie)
Thanks to Catriona for last week’s sightings and for updating me this week on the seals.
Isle of May: On Pilgrims Haven, ninety-two seal pups have been counted this week. It is six weeks since the first pup was born, so inevitably some have already started to leave. Bulls have come ashore this week with a particularly distressing sight of one tossing and mauling a young pup. Hormones and tensions run high as males fight for dominance of the colony that sadly occasionally results in incidents like this. For the majority of many now well-rounded pups, their contentment is obvious.
Craigleith: The count for Craigleith is twelve pups. The joy of having the cameras mean we do not have to land for the annual seal counts, which begin next week. Please do keep an eye out as in previous years there has been the odd mountaineering one that likes the solitude and safety of the higher slopes, and do not forget to report anything unusual, dramatic, or amusing. This helps build a picture of life in the colony.
Bass: The young down-covered chick of approximately six to seven weeks old is wonderful to watch. An adult has been seen coming back in to feed it. Please if you see this, can you note down the date and times. This is important. If this young chick survives into December and we can record the adult returning to feed, this will be the latest breeding record. If all goes well this would give a fledging date, around the third week in December. Last year there was a chick of the same age on the north side of the island. Plumage showed that it did survive into December but with heavy storms early in December, it appeared then to be abandoned. I hope that we can follow the progress of this one. I counted another seventeen young on the island, many very close to fledging with only two around the ten-week age, and the younger one already mentioned. Two gugas were seen on the sea, also several guillemots, fifteen shags were counted close to the landing site, herring gulls, rock pipits, a lone blackbird and a peregrine were also seen. Close to the cave on the west side, a common seal and several grey seals were seen.
Local Sightings: Waxwings have been seen at several locations around East Lothian and Edinburgh. At Torness, a Pallas Warbler was last seen on the 5th November. At Musselburgh, a Grey Phalarope was seen offshore on the 1st November and the latest Goose count for Aberlady is approximately 13,000.
Bird Sightings - week up to 29 October 2008 (Discovery Centre)
Bass Rock: Only a handful of gannets are still on the Bass Rock.
Isle of May: There were about seventy-five pups at the last count. The oldest ones are now looking very fat and are starting to moult. Some males are hanging around just offshore.
Craigleith: There are now four pups in view of the cameras, and several more females lying on the rocks. There should be more pups soon!
Bird Sightings - week up to 22 October 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Captivating viewing! Extreme night tides at the end of last week along with quite a swell resulted in several new born pups not surviving overnight, but those that have are enthralling the visitors, and staff! The quiet of Pilgrims haven has been transformed, with over 30 pups on the beach now. Early on Sat morning along the straddle line many contented well-fed pups slept as the cows moved down toward the sea. Later that morning, 3 pups were all over each other as they tried desperately to feed from one cow. Two eventually succeeded with the 3rd just nuzzling in beside them. With both cameras, now it really makes for interesting viewing.
Craigleith The first pup has been born, we think during the evening of Saturday 18th, sadly, for whatever reason it didn’t survive … By the time the Centre opened on Sunday morning, nature was taking it’s course and the gulls were having a nutritious meal. A cow lay down by the shoreline but disappeared later. This was much earlier than previous years, perhaps it was a first time breeder. During next week we should see more hauling out and hopefully by next week there will be more to report
Bass: Last week I mentioned about many of the young gannets wandering around. My thanks to Bryan Nelson for his speedy response regarding this:
“Late in the season, when many adults are absent, well-grown chicks have always tended to wander. This habit is much more highly developed in Australasian gannets, where chicks wander extensively and gather at the edge of the colony.”
Certainly, we have seen adults returning to feed and the younger chicks are staying relatively close to their nest sites. Landing briefly on Tuesday morning, only 2 adults were seen in attendance. The Rock is all but empty now. Remember there are still at least seven younger ones to be seen. Keep panning around.
Bird Sightings - week up to 16 October 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
What an exciting week the first seal pups have been seen, gannets are leaving & dolphins were filmed from the Fidra camera, and a rabbit was found on Craigleith!
Isle of May: The first pup was seen on Pilgrims Haven on Tuesday the 14th October. We think it had been born the day before, as the coat was dry. It was obvious that it had fed. The gulls had dispersed, although they were definitely hanging around, as they do when an easy meal is expected. There had been two born on the 13th October slightly later than last year. Footage shows one on the straddle line. Whether the sea had taken it, or perhaps it had not managed to feed. Immediately after the birth, the cow will sniff her pup, touching it with her nose, repeating this several times in the first half hour. It is so important that she learns the pups scent. It is also very important that the pup soon learns to feed. The fat rich milk of the cow (60% fat) has the consistency of mayonnaise. At first, feeding may be a fumbling affair, but after a couple of days as the pup becomes more proficient and the cows’ milk flow increases, you can almost see this little bundle grow in front of your eyes. By the end of the first week, it has almost doubled its weight!
You cannot help but be captivated by the footage and with both cameras now independent it is going to make watching even more exciting. The count up to 15th October is seven pups with about twenty-five adults hauled out. The season is just beginning!
Bass: As the gannet season ends, the Rock felt very empty upon landing the other day. The chapel chick has fledged, few gugas are being seen on the water, the deafening noise, the smell, all fading for another year and then you hear a yipping and you spot a large fluffy six to seven week old tucked in on a nest somewhere and you cannot help but smile.
There has been a marked difference in a week. The timing is virtually the same as last year for the mass departure. What is being observed is identical to what we witnessed last year. Many gannets are now leaving their young unattended. There is no question that they do come back to feed them. We are keeping a watch on camera and when possible, noting arrival and departure of adults.
There are at least fifteen under ten weeks including at least seven under seven weeks old. Not all visible on camera but if you pan around you will spot several. At least another thirty between ten weeks and thirteen weeks are seen popping up all over the place. Without that white marker of the adult, you would really have to look for them.
In general, they appear to be staying fairly close to their nest sites but a few are wandering around and disturbance at the time could displace many. We were extremely careful not to disturb any. Up until now young healthy unattended gannets have had no predators (except perhaps their own breed) but there is some thought that if a sea eagle passed over would it take a guga/chick?
Surprisingly no gugas were found on the roof and only a couple around the lighthouse area. The ramps have been very successful, and hopefully we can persuade John to make a couple more for next year? The odd grey seal popped its head up and a common seal was snoozing close by the east landing, visible on camera.
Craigleith: With a couple of cows hauling out today a great feeling of relief as the Glen has had that all important cut. Not only does it mean we can see the expected activity of the seals, but with a cut now, and the odd frosty morning kicking in, it would be hoped that growth will slow down. By January, a quick maintenance cut will take another seedling layer out before that final cut in early April. At this time, cows can haul out to prospect up to a week before giving birth, but they may not settle until the day before giving birth. They were certainly watching us the other day and with a new path cut, we should be out of sight when landing. The cameras are not only enjoyable but we are able to monitor and judge whether we should pull back for a couple of weeks to let them settle into breeding.
The mysterious rabbit! Yes, a fresh dead wild rabbit was found on the island. The consensus appears to favour a predator carrying it in. There is certainly no sign of any others. We live in hope!
Fidra: Pods of ten to twelve dolphins were seen earlier in the week in East Bay. Being alerted to this, the viewing deck was the place to be. Eagle eyed Discovery Centre staff not only saw them close to Fidra but managed to record yet more excellent footage to add to the growing library of exciting sightings.
Sightings: Musselburgh: Little Gulls 117 plus on the sea and heading west off Musselburgh seawall:
John Muir CP: Single Snow Bunting with Linnets on salt marsh, first of winter?
Tyninghame: Crossbill, Heron, Curlew, Redshank, Grey Plover, Turnstone, Dunlin, Knot, Godwit, Mute Swan, Widgeon, Teal, Blackheaded Gull and a female Goldeneye.
Birding curtailed by two dogs running wild across the salt marsh !
Bird Sightings - week up to 9 October 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
It is a waiting game - when will the Bass empty? When will the first pups be seen on camera?
Bass: In the last two weeks, it has become obvious even with the naked eye the difference in the colour of the rock. Although there are many thousands of gannets still around there is no question that departure is well underway. From the boat last Sunday, we thought a mass exodus had begun. Gannets streamed off the rock, until it was realized, somewhat alarmingly, that a microlite had flown rather close over the top of the rock putting thousands of gannets up. The ‘Seawatch’ group enjoying their practical in the afternoon sun also witnessed this from the shore. By the time we were mid way to Tantallon, thankfully many circled around and had returned. There are still 25 young to be seen on camera so the season is not completely at a close!
Peregrines have been seen on the Bass and Fidra and two were spotted on Craigleith last weekend.
Craigleith: No sign yet of pups but more cows are being seen close into the island. Unfortunately, time is running out to cut the glen area before the cows haul out. You may remember last year that one female went off to explore, giving birth to her pup near the top of the island, a very safe area. Another checked out the solar panels. They had the clearance to do this. Unless we can manage trips this week and concentrate on this area, we may not have the pleasure of such antics this year - let us hope for good weather!
Fidra: Large rafts of eiders being seen offshore. A good time to study the plumage and watch their behaviour.
Sightings: ..Aberlady - from John Harrison’s ranger , “32,861 Pinks left the reserve this morning. Also, 61 Barnacle Geese, 4 Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Merlin, 14 Redwing (first of autumn), 13 Whooper swans, 2 Ruff, a Kingfisher and a Peregrine” also Grey Plovers, Ringed Plovers, Ruff and a Reeve.
Musselburgh – Curlew Sandpiper still present on scrapes with 1 Black-Tailed Godwit, Golden Plover Bar-tailed godwit, Dunlin Knot, Little Gull and Med Gull. Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News.
Seawatch: Another very enjoyable day learning the finer points of sea watching. The Discovery Centre is an ideal location for the first lesson of the morning making full use of the theatre and then out to the cliff displays and screens. This is superb to show size and plumage of our seabirds. Despite the beautiful sunny morning, the winter chill had set in for our early outing. It did serve as a reminder that warm clothes are almost as essential as your optics! Although no rarities were seen, we did enjoy everything from eiders to gugas in flight, spotting the difference between shags and cormorants, guillemots in winter plumage on the sea and of course the mass exodus of the Gannets, Waders, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Turnstone, Knot, along with a Heron were all seen on the east bay rocks. Everyone who has attended these sessions has, for some, enjoyed the opening up of an untouched world to their eyes and have enjoyed the day immensely. Again, our thanks go to Chris Waltho from the SOC for this excellent day
Bird Sightings - week up to 2th October 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May - The first seal pups were born on the 29th Sept. Three pups have been born on the Isle of May this week, unfortunately not on Pilgrims Haven. The main breeding colony on the north west of the island is called Rhona. We are moving into exciting times. The first pup born on Pilgrims Haven last year was on the 9th October, and the previous year around the 11th. I hope that by next Friday’s bulletin we may have the first pups on camera, just in time for the school holidays. Keep watching! The cows will come in and prospect. They come and go hence why at this time, it is vital that the colonies of the Isle of May and, in a couple of weeks Craigleith are left in peace.
Craigleith: Breeding is slightly later, but by mid October, the first of the breeding cows may well haul out. We are already seeing more cows around the island; November is the main time for the Craigleith pups. Once breeding has begun and they are more settled, visits are not so intrusive providing they are quiet and out of sight of the colony. I hope that the new path cut on Craigleith will offer that protection or mallow cutting will be suspended for a few weeks, with Fidra as the only location for cutting. Disturbance at this time could affect the cows. It could be that they will not come ashore, and leave for undisturbed locations or even worse, stress could cause the pup to be aborted.
Bass: On a beautiful sunny calm day, a ‘busman’s’ holiday saw me enjoying a trip on the Maid of the Forth. I sea-watched from the boat as it sailed under the Forth Bridge, and once landed spent a very enjoyable hour watching from Inchcolm. It was heart-warming to see dozens of gugas in flight. After the traumatic few weeks of our stormy seas, those that have survived are exploring. I suspect the one hundred and fifty plus that I counted had been at the mercy of these harsh easterly winds and have been enjoying the shelter and obviously good fishing of the seas around Hound Point and South Queensferry. I did laugh as the very audible yipping of a still flightless guga, challenged ‘The Maid‘ as it sailed past. Such a distinctive call!
Just yesterday, an e-mail arrived asking for help in identifying of a strange beautiful large bird found just three miles from Halifax. Yes, it was indeed a guga! Now being cared for in a sanctuary but it looked healthy from the photograph and thanks to Janet who contacted us and more importantly, who cared.
Peregrines have been seen on the Bass and Fidra
Viewing Deck - Beautiful sunny day? Why not spend some time on the viewing deck. Pink foot have been coming over in their thousands this week. gugas are flying, waders are returning, at high tide, the well-known sites are wonderful to see the redshank purple sandpiper and turnstone, at low tide, more of a challenge scanning the rocks. Find the curlew, oystercatcher, eider, heron, and perhaps some that you do not know? The books and computer ID is a great help, and fun.
Remember too that we now have the telescope for use for anyone who cannot use the viewing deck. If you need help with this, please just come and ask. It can be taken outside the Centre for use on the grassy area near to the decking or further along the pathway.
A local report from Mark Holling of 43 Barnacle gees flying over North Berwick the other morning.
Sightings: Aberlady over 24,000, pink foot counted on 2nd October. Definitely a sight and sound to be enjoyed this month. 500 plus Barnacle Geese, 1 Canada Goose, a juvenile Greenshank Grey Plovers, Ringed Plovers, Ruff and a Reeve. The spotted Redshank is still around, 2 short-eared Owls are hunting over long grass, Musselburgh little gull, black-tailed godwit, golden plover & knot.
Can you help? Are you bird watching in any of these areas or even locally? Below are extracts from a plea for help that was one of the topics at the SOC discussion group this week. Any help you can give please e-mail Tom (address below) Or if you do not have an e-mail, let me know and I will forward it.
Information is required to help understand movements locally and support evidence for movements near proposed wind farms at Auchencorth Moss & Spurlens Rig. Any counts until the end of October gratefully received by Tom.
“I am trying to compile as detailed a record as possible of the arrival of Pink-footed Geese in the Lothian’s and surrounding area this year - in particular between Aberlady, West Water and Gladhouse. The recent records reported on the newsgroup are a useful additional source of information, and it would be helpful and appreciated if observers would post all relevant sightings, giving location, time and date, number of birds and direction of flight”. Tom Delaney. tom@langstrath.orangehome.co.uk.
Seawatch on the 5th October - for those that have already booked, wrap up warm and let us hope for some exciting sightings.
Bird Sightings - week up to 25th September 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Bass: Calmer seas this week have given respite to the gugas. Very few call outs for injured birds although there were three the other morning, sadly all in very poor condition. Three days in a row, passengers were delighted as we watched spectacular plunge diving from the gannets. It became obvious, dense shoals of fish were passing through. The good news is that Pat‘s freezer is full! Thank you to all that have helped with this crisis. Several of the nurtured birds are ready for release with a healthy weight to sustain their first few days back on the seas. This is the time to spend panning with cameras out to sea or 10-15 mins from the viewing deck. You never know what you may spot.
The slow departure has begun …On one side of the cave the cliffs above were empty the other day with only a lone parent and an approx 7wk old chick left. Arriving the following day having recounted this to the passengers, surprise as many had returned. Their chicks have fledged .but they were back at their sites. But for how long? With no photographic landings this month, a high speed landing this week as ‘Coast ‘filmed the aerial shots of the boat revealed that dozens of gugas were trapped all around the lighthouse area. An unexpected opportunity to land a couple of days later allowed many young birds to be released from certain death - behind the lighthouse in the thick putrid mud, the building rooftop and trapped in dense mallow. They were everywhere! Looking, and most definitely smelling the worse for wear on the return journey, I sat alone…and I was quickly banished from the shop until washed and changed. The reward was to see many of these trapped young take their first tentative flight.
I am pleased to say, that the ‘chapel chick' is ready to fledge! I took a little time out to see how the colony was fairing. It always surprises me that there are not more takers for the photographic trips at this time of year. The colony is so alive! Still nest building, skirmishes, the odd younger chick (yes there are at least a dozen in sight of the camera!) the running the gauntlet for the guga that has to reach the cliff edge. The adults have lost that beautiful golden head but this discerns the time of year, all exciting and all worth recording.
The peregrines have been seen throughout the day
Elsewhere, patience and pleasure from panning and scanning. Pink foot are returning. Many guillemot being seen, divers, grebes, skuas they are out there.
With “Seawatch” on the 5thOctober, any exciting sightings will be welcomed. It was a very enjoyable session last time and with divers and ducks appearing now, we hope we will have a few good spots. Spaces are limited. Booking at the Seabird Centre or phone 01620 890202 for more information.
Aberlady from John Harrison….”187 pink feet at the roost this morning. Numbers slowly building but many birds have been flying high over the reserve from the east and continuing on. By Wednesday, just under 4000 were roosting. Also seen kingfisher, spotted redshank, black–tailed godwit, greenshank, ruff, goldfinch. Dunbar juv long-tailed skua, bonxies and arctic skua.
Musselburgh little gull black-tailed godwit, whooper & golden plover still on scrapes
pochard & Tufted Duck on boating pond. St Abbs a red –breasted flycatcher.
Bird Sightings - week up to 18th September 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Bass: Several days of stormy weather this last two weeks, has taken its toll on gugas on the sea.
Locally: Over four to five days we have had calls in from Dunbar and beyond, to Musselburgh about hungry, exhausted birds being washed ashore. A slightly pecked gentleman, carrying a young one into the Centre was quite relieved as I placed my hand around its throat (gently of course) and took it to safety! This one was fine, a little underweight but being harassed by dogs and humans, and needed to be taken to safety. It was kind of him to bring it in. As soon as we got one, another call would come in. Pat’s sanctuary has filled this last two weeks with an average of two birds a day being taken there. For the first time she has had to buy in fish to feed them. Where have all the mackerel gone this year? A similar story is being heard on Fife side with an Eilie resident contacting us after she too found several along the shore. The SSPCA has had a busy fortnight. Out by the Bass, we have seen many looking weak and in the huge swell of last weekend, they truly are at the mercy of the sea. Remember mortality in the first year is at least 60% possibly 70% with many dying of starvation in heavy seas.
On a brighter note, from the camera and the boat, we see the ramps and opened gate is working. On several occasions, I have seen gugas standing on the edge of the ramp and it is like a gathering at the gateway by the lighthouse. They have freedom in sight.
Craigleith: No sign of the albino shag. Keep panning around, check Fidra, you never know, it could be around. Eight grey seals were hauled out on Wednesday and as we worked away on the island, they kept popping their heads up keeping a watchful eye on us.
Local sightings: Black- throated diver flying east, guillemot, eider black headed gull, sandwich tern, purple sandpiper knot oystercatcher turnstone, redshank, curlew, pied wagtailandswallows. Musselburgh river mouth, seawall and lagoons: Ringed plover, juvenile curlew sandpipers, spotted redshank, juvenile grey plover slavonian grebe, red-necked grebe, ret-throated diver, shoveler, gadwall, little gull, and widgeon and arctic skua. Dunbar Golf Course: Merlin and peregrine, yellow wagtail, arctic skua and whimbrel.Torness: A wryneck near the sewage tanks and redstart in the area
Bird Sightings - week up to 12th September 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Craigleith: Sighting of the week has to be the albino shag seen on Craigleith. To the great delight of Seafari passengers, it was seen on every trip, but unfortunately, it was just off our camera sight. This pure white bird stood out dramatically among the juvenile plumaged birds of the island. The shag was one in a clutch of three ringed earlier this year on Inchkeith. It was seen on Sunday at Musselburgh and by Monday on the Craig, (the other two chicks had normal plumage). I have sent a photo to the Discovery Centre sent by Emily Barlow taken at the nest. No sightings of it since. Let us know if you see it. Thanks to Jean Lumbard who also saw the shag and e-mailed me with the news and a rather amusing sighting of “two terns, east of the Craig who had "hitched" a lift on a tyre and were thoroughly enjoying the ride in the swell!”
Isle of May: The sea eagle is still around and with fulmar chicks depleted, it is now predating on the immature gulls. Perhaps a couple of these flying over the cities and towns would resolve the urban gull issue! However, keep scanning it is out there!! Interestingly a member of the public mentioned one being seen near to Torness yesterday. The May bird was in its usual place, so could this be another one? I am sure the cliffs of St Abb’s and surrounding area would prove fruitful.
Bass: Gugas everywhere. It is worth a sea watch with the cameras to find them. At the mercy of the tides, they ebb and flow. I watched one the other day lifting off the sea, was it now embarking on its long and arduous journey? Short lived, it faltered and splashed down rather unceremoniously. From North Berwick to Dunbar and beyond many were helpless in heavy easterly gales last weekend resulting in several being washed ashore exhausted.
From the boat, I was in full flow of the life and times of the gannet and rather appropriately having just explained the dangers of that first leap off the rock, there was an almighty thud just a few feet from the boat!! A rather stunned guga squawked at us and slightly ruffled, swam off. I was silently relieved that it had not landed on my head that would have been an interesting accident report! The common seals have been seen again, and the wailing of the grey seals could be heard echoing from the cave.
Local sightings: black headed gull, guillemot, eider, goosander, sandwich tern, purple sandpiper, oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, curlew, heron, pied, wagtail and swallows
Musselburgh: ruff, juvenile curlew sandpipers, spotted redshank, slavonian grebe in summer plumage, gadwall, little gull and wigeon
Dunbar: Seawatch, sooty shearwater, manx shearwater, great skua
Bird Sightings - week up to 4 September 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Visitors to the island have been enjoying wonderful sightings of the sea eagle. Unfortunately, with it having devoured the fulmar chicks around Pilgrims Haven it appears to have moved out of sight of the camera, but it is worth panning around as it still appears to be at that end of the island. On the flat calm of last weekend, porpoises were seen offshore.
Bass: We circled slowly, manoeuvring into position. I hung over the side of the boat, with a fearsome parliament goose jabbing at me. It attached itself firmly to my hand. Not quite what I planned, but it held on long enough for me to be able to lift it out the water and place my other hand around its throat and into to the safety of the boat. I reassured the passengers who were happily snapping away at this unexpected photo opportunity that it is impossible to strangle a gannet, although somewhat tempted to prove it could be!! It was placed carefully in a large bucket at the back of the boat beside Tim, our skipper. As the tour continued, a couple of times I saw an alarmed look on Tim’s face. He would disappear below the console and emerge wide-eyed! The feisty parliament goose was trying to leap out of the bucket. We want a large basket with lid! Safely back to harbour it was taken to Pat Marr’s to be brought up to a healthy weight before release. Many gugas are now being seen drifting with the tides. That being said there are still a few five to six weeks chicks to be found on camera. The fun is in finding them!
The ‘gable gannet’ or more appropriate ‘chapel chick’ as Tom has named it, is doing well. I hope that I will manage that final photo before it fledges as it has been amusing to watch this new and successful site. It has also proved a great hit with photographers with Tantallon Castle as the backdrop. Sadly a view that will disappear with the confirmation that the unspoiled coastline is to be destroyed with luxury housing. I hope that they could plant trees to provide wildlife habitat and obscure the view of this future blot on the landscape.
Mackerel plea to our local fishermen: Pat Marr’s freezers stocks are very low. The chicks consume large quantities of mackerel. Remember some may be there for several weeks and need fed daily. If you have any fish to spare please wrap them in a bag and just pop them over Pat’s wall (please NOT in the pen). Tim and I went fishing for an hour the other day and although it was not the catch of the year the five fish we brought back were gratefully received. Therefore, every fish helps, thank you
Local sightings: Little Gull , Black Headed Gull, Guillemot , Eider, Sandwich Tern, Purple Sandpiper Oystercatcher Turnstone, Redshank, Curlew, Heron, Pied wagtailandSwallows
Musselburgh: Black-tailed Godwit. Ruff, Greenshank juvenile, Curlew Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Slavonian Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Shoveler, , Goosander, Gadwall, Little Gull, and Med Gull
Barns Ness: Whitethroat, Whinchat,Stonechat, Aberlady Spotted Redshank seen below bridge on 2nd September.
Seawatch: The Scottish Seabird Centre proved to be an ideal location for a very successful and enjoyable day last Sunday. Chris Waltho from the Scottish Ornithological Club was excellent, and by the end of the day, we left informed and ready to take on the challenges of sea watching. After an initial power point talk giving key ID tips for seabirds in flight, we found the ‘cliff nesting‘ birds in the Discovery Centre ideal for closer identification/size recognition. Then we went outside for practical tips and watching, back to the Education Centre for more informed talks and tips, and again outside for more practical. With the tide high the afternoon proved more successful with Little Gull and Purple Sandpiper being our highlights. Coffee breaks and lunch gave us all a chance to meet up, exchange views and for Chris, Anna and myself to see where we can improve for the 5th October Seawatch. If you are interested in trying to spot Shearwaters, Skuas, Divers and Ducks. Details of the next course can be found on the Scottish Seabird Centre website, the Scottish Ornithological Club website or phone 01620.89.0202 to book your place. Spaces are limited. Warm, waterproof clothing is recommended and if you have optics, bring them along for this enjoyable day.
Bird Sightings - week up to 28 August 2008 (Maggie Sheddan)
Isle of May: Apart from two or three fulmar chicks, the cliffs are empty around Pilgrims Haven. Juvenile Shags swim offshore and occasionally gather on the rocks. All fairly quiet and normal for a late August Sunday morning. As a member of the public panned around the bay, utter astonishment took over as a Sea Eagle was spotted sitting calmly on the rocks. Not only was it seen by many, but also it has been recorded, giving yet more excellent moments for the Scottish Seabird Centre website and the Discovery Centre visitor. By lunchtime as I sailed around Craigleith, I took great delight in informing the passengers, of the exciting morning. I pointed out the camera explaining that this was just another of our many exclusive moments that we capture and, that it is beamed around the world.
Many of you may know that the RSPB, over the next five years will release seventy-five sea eagles in a reintroduction scheme. This young tagged male is being tracked, and was one of the birds that were released just over two weeks ago in Fife. It was seen on the island for the first time on the Saturday and up until Wednesday was still around. So do keep watching!!
There is some controversy over the reintroduction of this magnificent bird that was last seen in these parts over a hundred years ago. Not only has the habitat changed greatly with development of cities and towns, changes in farming and land management, not to mention the depleted fish stocks of the seas, We have seen our seabird colonies expand beyond belief with only this last few years beginning to see a serious decline in numbers. Will the release of seventy-five birds impact on our wildlife e.g. Golden Eagles, our seabird colonies? Certainly, some research from Norway has shown in one area Kittiwake breeding has been dramatically reduced due to sea eagles gliding along sea cliffs. In two days, it has already taken two of the fulmar chicks. They do not need to hunt or feed every day. With a wingspan of over 2.4 metres, this is a formidable predator. We can only wait and see. “A total of forty-two pairs bred on the west coast of Scotland in 2007, producing thirty-four chicks. There are around two hundred individuals in Scotland.
In the wild, they are opportunistic hunters and carrion feeders (the diet of birds on the west coast contains remains of over forty species of bird, mammal, fish and mollusc) - they will catch a variety of fish, birds (including gulls, ducks, waders and crows), rabbits and hares.
Larger prey such as deer will be taken as carrion. They regularly pirate from otters & other birds“
Bass: The dark speckled ‘gugas’ are not difficult to find now. On the west promontory visible beyond the chapel only on the very top are we seeing older chicks, many in that area are still down covered or quills are just emerging. One or two gugas have been seen on the sea and just this morning I watched one take to the skies. In the beautiful sunshine it launched, caught a thermal and I witnessed a rather unstable but strong flight until it disappeared around the rock. The two partial down covered chicks that were rescued from the sea are looking good in the care of Pat Macaulay.
Local sightings: Eiders in their beautiful fresh plumage are returning. Black Headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Redshank, Sandwich Tern, Pied WagtailandSwallows with the now fledged young enjoying the sunshine and insects today.
Musselburgh: Black-tailed Godwit. Little Gull, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Golden Plover, and Oystercatcher sitting out the high tide. Heron, Juvenile Spotted Redshank Teal, Sparrow hawk and Sand Martin.
Luffness Greenshanks on a flooded field with two Grey Wagtails.
Wildlife Sightings - week up to 22nd August 2008 (by volunteer and guide Maggie Sheddan)
Bass: Still wet and miserable at times, particularly for those on the lower levels as the water runs off. These last few days’ lots of wing flapping have been seen and many gannets now into their parliament goose stage. There are several near to fledging.
It has been a mix of good and bad fortune for the Bass this week. Loggers have been placed on the legs of 30 adult gannets. These are small white plastic rings about 4cm in length. Look, carefully you may spot one. This will give vital and interesting information as to the whereabouts of wintering gannets. Information already received from the retrieval of earlier loggers has shown that some adult gannets are wintering off the coast of West Africa, returning to the Bass to breed slightly later than North Sea wintering gannets. The west coast of Africa is rich in fishing. A lot more information is being recorded allowing scientists to understand the changes in wintering birds. With new connections now established with the scientists, it is hoped that this type of information can be placed on the Seabird Centre’s website, with links to the relative research for those wanting to understand more and that researchers and scientists can also take advantage of our technology and cameras for their studies. Keep you updated on this.
A lone Wheatear has been seen on the fortress wall.
Craigleith juvenile cormorants with pale bellies can be seen on the top of the east cliffs but below the cliffs are silent. Of course, the sound of mewing from the present juvenile herring gulls breaks the silence as the boat sails around. Young shags (like the children at the harbour) gather on the low rocks, jumping in, climbing out, and jumping in again. A lone gannet was spotted last week. We were not sure if it was injured. A few days later, another was spotted some distance from the first. The following day as we sailed around the lone gannet was still there but the other one had increased to 5! Remember the Bass Rock is virtually full. They were sitting low on the Rock and by no means settled. St Abbs have had similar this last 2 years but yet no nesting birds. The highlight from the boat has to be the tiny common seal pup, although it must be at least 5/6 weeks old if not more it creates such excitement when spotted. On calm days grey seals are hauled out, the pregnant cows are fairly obvious.
The work of the volunteers is so very visible now and the really good news that the density of regrowth on the northeast is not as bad as the sheltered glen. In some areas grasses, hemp nettle etc. are abundant and the ground stable. Wrens, pipits, mallards and fresh goose droppings (possibly the resident greylag?) have all been seen on the island.
Local sightings: 7 mute swans out in the West Bay, the herons are returning, a whimbrel was heard, goosanders, eiders, black headed gulls, oystercatchers, turnstones, redshanks, sandwich terns, pied wagtailsandswallows. An osprey has been seen flying over Aberlady.
Wildlife Sightings - week up to 14th August 2008 (by volunteer and guide Maggie Sheddan)
Bass: The guga is visible on camera and easily spotted. The raised nest sites of established breeders have paid dividends this week as water cascades down the rock. The chick sits happily protected on 'its island'. Two peregrines are being seen on the lighthouse at times and the common seals are occasionally visible on camera. A few kittiwakesyoung remain with adults returning occasionally to the nests. Several sightings ofjuvenile guillemotseen this week from the boat, guillemot, eiders, goosander, black headed gull, oystercatcher, turnstone, redshank, sandwich tern, pied wagtailandswallow. A report of an unidentified cetacean possibly with calf north of the Bass, no other information.
A thank you to the person that handed in rings. They were from a Scottish racing pigeon. No other information on that but I have reported it to them. It was also good to know location and condition (e.g. carcass, no obvious sign of injury etc.) of bird to pass on.Several racing pigeons have been found on the Bass this year, all peregrine kills.
Wildlife Sightings - week up to 8th August 2008 (by volunteer and guide Maggie Sheddan)
Bass: The fun is now finding the very young chicks among a sea of maturing chicks. Torrential rain this week has made for miserable times in the colony as they hunker down, matted and covered in mud and younger ones are at risk of chilling. Only a few Kittiwake chicks remain. I spotted a couple of fulmar chicks, but sadly the ones that were counted earlier in the season do not appear to have bred and sites have been empty these last few weeks. The late breeding shag has two chicks, and the peregrine has been seen on the rail of the lighthouse, a regular site for it. Common seals are regularly being seen around the Bass Rock and today one we see one hauled out near the helipad.
Craigleith & May over the weekend puffins were still being seen flying in to Craigleith and on Monday one was seen carrying in a sprat. Several were on the sea close to Craigleith. Fulmar have chicks. On calmer days seals are being seen, mainly grey but there are also a couple of common seals being seen. On the May, an excellent spot by Paul, the Seabird Centre's Discovery Centre Manager, this week ofa juvenile kestrel on the cliffs off Pilgrim's Haven on the Isle of May and well done to record it too, it just shows it’s always worth scanning around, you never know what you’ll find!
Fidra the peregrine continues to be seen and this week a fulmar with chick has been spotted.
Local sightings:goosander, eider, black-headed gull, sandwich tern, turnstone, redshank, curlew, pied wagtail. Tyninghame; ruff, greenshank and whimbrel. Musselburgh; whimbrel, snipe, little gull, black-tailed godwit
Bird sightings - week up to 31st July 2008
Bass: Some chicks are just beginning to show black through the down others that are perhaps a wk to 10 days older, the black on the scapulars wing and tail is quite obvious now. A couple of adults have been seen on eggs. With no landings this past week, it will be interesting to see how the 'gable chick' is faring. The colony is a hive of activity with all kind of behaviours to enjoy and understand. The last guillemot with chick left this week. Kittiwakes with young are still on the cliff faces and the recently fledged shags are enjoying playing on the landing site steps jumping off into the sea and repeating the whole process over and over.
Craigleith: & May Puffins are still coming and going to the delight of visitors. Some days we are seeing them and others days they have vanished. We scan with the cameras or if on the boat try to find some on the water and most days have been successful. Keep watching! As the Bass kittiwakes and shags are still in around and cormorants are fledging on the top of the cliff.
Fidra Superb shots caught on camera of a peregrine feeding.
Seals a common seal pup has been seen this week hauled out at Craigleith. It was very small but thought to be about 4wks old. At the Bass a slightly older one, all fawn in colour when it dries off is seen in some very odd places. It appears to haul out at high tide, that when the tide drops it pops its head up over rocks that are 10-15ft out of the sea, and is very obliging with its pose for the cameras. Grey seals are also regularly seen hauled out on the north and west of Craigleith
Local sightings:Goosander, Black-headed Gull Sandwich Tern.
Dunbar Turnstone, ringed plover, redshank, curlew.
Musselburgh Greenshank, green sandpiper, whimbrel, snipe, little gull, common sandpiper, black-tailed godwit & arctic skua.
Thanks to all from Lothian BirdNews
Bird sightings - week up to 24th July 2008
Seabirds 2008
Bass: On the fringes, two to three day old chicks have been seen. Very often visitors are disturbed as they see five to six week old chicks in a prone position, often with a web sticking out. The chick can be mistaken for dead. It's not until about six weeks that the chick begins to sleep with its head tucked in the scapulars. The web sticking out adds to the 'dead assumption' but this is used to dissipate heat.
Early the other morning on the fringe of the slope I spotted a poor looking five to six week old chick. Its bald head hung limp and it appeared dead. As this was in a non-breeding area it was clear that somehow it had been knocked out of the nest and had been fairly ferociously attacked. I saw a wing move. Crawling up the slope I carefully lifted it. It showed no resistance to being picked up. With no down on the head due to being pecked and obvious wounds around its neck I didn't hold out much hope. A box is kept on the island for just such rescues and I took it down to the lighthouse area. A quick phone call to Pat Macaulay /Marr for advice and to let her know she had her first casualty of the breeding season, (should it survive the morning) saw me cleaning the wounds and rubbing antiseptic over the pecked areas. I left it in the safety of the box. Checking on it a while later I was pleased that it held its head up and by the time we left the Rock its constant yipping was a comfort. Once in the care of Pat it certainly has perked up and appears to be holding its own.
Craigleith: From the boat we have seen the last few guillemot chicks, on the cliffs. Many kittiwake chicks are left unattended showing that adults have left them to search for food. They are returning but this leaves the young chicks vulnerable and open to predation. On camera, young shags are gathering down by the waters edge. Rafts of puffins on the water but it won't be long until they leave. Another puffling was rescued from the High St this week and again taken out to sea and released.
It was good to land on the island this week. On the north side some areas are looking very good as barley grasses and many others, hemp nettle, docken leaves are spreading over areas. This is good as it's binding the soil. The Glen has a deep covering of young mallow, that won't take long to knock back but I struggled through thigh high nettles, grasses docken leaves and chick weed wondering how the puffins are coping with this dense jungle! Fulmar chicks are beginning to be seen and ringing of them is due to happen this weekend. Many large gatherings of puffins being seen on camera.
Telescope: There appears to be a little confusion regarding the 'roving' telescope. Disabledusers sometime struggle to use the telescopes on the viewing deck as when sitting in a wheelchair one can be too low and not everyone can stretch up to view. On many occasions I have seen some denied that 'wow' view of the Bass through a scope. To be able to take people to the grassy area to the right of the decking or along the pathway would allow them to enjoy this wonderful spectacle. It will also be useful for our early bird walks, for school outings, and the forth coming seawatchs. We also have the yearly whale and dolphin watch date very soon and recently received a call from a wheelchair bound gentleman asking if he would be able to take part in that. A normal telescope is all that is required and I shall look at the tripod design to see what would be best. When not in use the tripod folds down and the telescope, I believe it has been agreed, could be kept in a locker in the windy room.
Local sightings:
Dunbar Harbour: Manx Shearwater, ArcticSkua, Bonxie & Velvet Scoter Musselburgh Goosander, Greenshank, Whimbrel, Little Gull (1st yr), Common Sandpiper, Sparrowhawk &Black-tailed Godwit Aberlady: Black Tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Dunlin ,Ringed Plover, Arctic Skua, Manx Shearwater, Arctic Terns, & Wheatear
Bird sightings - week up to 17th July 2008
Bass: Just a delight to watch the large down covered chicks. One of the gable gannets has hatched and the chick appears to be about 3 weeks old. The other has lost its egg. I cannot wait to see the chick grow and how it manages to balance on the chapel wall.
Craigleith, Fidra and the May: The cliffs are virtually empty of guillemots and razorbills. Quite a few on the sea but not many with chicks. Wonderful footage of a wee puffling popping its head out of a burrow. Two peregrines were seen on the Craigleith cliffs.
Rescues: A phone call early morning saw me running down the road with the standard towel and box to rescue a ‘little auk??’ found under a car in the High Street . I did suggest that it was probably a puffling and indeed it was. It was absolutely fine and on the boat trip later it was released much to the delight of the Seafari passengers. Definitely time to check under your car if around the beach area! Later that day the same box was used to rescue an almost fledged kittiwake chick. Again the Seafari passengers watched as the boat was carefully manoeuvred and the young bird caught. When I met up with the SSPCA he had a common seal rescued from Gullane beach . There appeared to be nothing wrong with it other than a large crowd that had gathered and it was scared. If left alone there was every chance it would return to sea. What is interesting is we have seen several common seals recently: two close to Craigleith and two by the Bass. The common seal is much smaller than the grey, has a more dog like face and pups during the summer months. It is able to take to the sea immediately after birth. Sandwich terns were seen fishing offshore and a redshank was heard calling along with oystercatchers that have recently returned.
Bird sightings - week up to 11th July 2008
Although a little early, reports of a fairly catastrophic season for many seabirds around Scotland are beginning to emerge. I will have more news next week but certainly locally many guillemots have not even attempted to breed, and those that have, have struggled for food . There have been sightings of some with sand-eels, but again this year, pipe fish are being seen. The torrential rain will have exacerbated the situation this week with the high probability of puffins burrows being flooded out at this crucial time.
Bass: From 2 days to 6 weeks old chicks, the Bass Rock is a hub of activity. Many looked very miserable in the rain yesterday. For the first month or so, the young chick can’t thermo regulate, therefore it’s vital that the parent keep the young chick carefully brooded.
Plan 1 - I had the joyful task of freeing 4 very muddy forlorn looking gannets, stuck behind the lighthouse. As I paddled through the 5 inch deep, putrid smelling sludge that gathers at the back of the lighthouse, waving my arms, and stick, the 4 were huddled together on the only dry rock trying to ignore me. I persevered, and managed to move them virtually on top of each other into the corner. If only they would move to the right for another 8 feet they would see the light and freedom.
Plan 2 - come in from the other side. If I could move them to the front of the lighthouse freedom is in sight. This involved me herding them the length of the sludged path. Suffice is to say by the time I succeeded I was splattered from head to foot in foul smelling mud! (We know gannet wings were used in past times for sweeping and very successful they are! )
Dunbar: Kittiwake chicks quite obvious now .
Craigleith, Fidra and the May Guillemots are leaving, many without young . Plenty puffins still around but it won’t be long until they too depart for another year. The shag chicks are growing, although a few smaller ones are still being seen. Herring gull chicks are fun to watch as they flap their wings, jump up and down, going nowhere. 14 grey seals were seen on Craigleith the other day.
Sad news on the Torness Peregrine chicks from Ronnie Williams.
One of the two chicks from this year’s brood has been found dead lying within the station grounds. It had been seen the previous day chasing oystercatchers which are becoming numerous at the station. The following day the dead chick was found and it would appear that it had flown into a building as its neck was broken. We still have one chick remaining. On a more cheery note, the station now has a warning sign on the access road warning staff to look out for oystercatcher chicks on the road. The stony areas around the station resemble a shingle beach and the oystercatchers are only too happy to lay their eggs on this kind of surface without any kind of nest material.
Bird sightings - week up to 4th July 2008
Dunbar: Many kittiwake chicks to be seen now. News of the count undertaken a few weeks ago show that there are about 100 less occupied nests than last year. Not good news. It would appear that breeding numbers at all island sites are down, excluding the gannet, but figures are still being collated.
Bass: The semi-isolated gannets still have their chicks. Another week and hopefully they will have past the very vulnerable stage and the herring gulls will leave them in peace. All around, white down is very evident under the bellies of the adults. The nest with the 2 chicks now has only one surviving. The peregrine has been seen on the east side and on the lighthouse.The plaintive contact call of the guillemot chicks are being heard with the odd chick and parent being seen in the sea. Looking into the colonies it would appear many have not produced young this year.
Craigleith, Fidra and the May: Rafts of puffins on the sea close to the islands.
Eiders - a small crèche of larger ‘ducklings‘ have been visible on the East Beach.
Local sightings: Aberlady: 52+ grey plover (one in breeding plumage) with small number of knots and dunlin roosting on spit. Also 2 ringed plover. A spotted redshank in breeding plumage was seen from the car park. Musselburgh: Little ringed plover, black-tailed godwit, greenshank, common sandpiper
Bird sightings - Week up to 24th June 2008
Dunbar Apologies with a fairly hectic week last week, I missed reading the records in the windy room. I’m sure many of you have and already know that the 1st kittiwake chick was seen on the 16th June. With being so hectic recently I’ve not had time to finish the record book …I will! But it does show how valuable it is. If you see them feeding their young. What is being seen - pipe fish, sand eels. Please do note it down in the windy room records.
This past week guillemot and puffin have been seen with sand eels. Unfortunately they looked rather small.
Bass; An exciting week. The 2 pairs of semi-isolated gannets that I have tried to protect have produced 2 chicks, the 3rd is still incubating, and sadly the 4th lost either a chick or the egg. When we left the rock last Wed the ‘4th’ one still had the egg, but on the Friday it had gone. Close by its neighbour that had hatched, was constantly harassed by a second year herring gull. I watched as the gannet fed the tiny helpless chick and noticed that when it regurgitated, food spilled on the edge of the nest. The herring gull patrolled around, trying everything to harry the gannet into lifting up. I wonder if this is what happened to the one that has lost its egg/chick?
The really good news, this week as I gently moved the non breeders, birds that have settled around the isolated ones have remained. The gannet being harried by the herring gull, the chick has survived not only the gull, but the torrential rains over the weekend. An area that I hoped would infill behind the railing has birds settling and establishing sites. The boundaries that have been put in place have worked.
One nest, close to the chapel has 2 chicks. According to Bryan Nelson genuine two-egg clutches have yet to be recorded, and an explanation may be either an egg displacement or that 2 females may have been involved (ref ; pg 206 Atlantic Gannet Bryan Nelson) Still being carefully brooded they should be visible on camera within 2wks.
I also spotted a ringed gannet mating with a younger bird on the fringes of the slope. Very few ringed gannets are seen now. With the colony virtually full, it would be good if this could happen in the future. With so many immature birds spreading down the path this would be extremely easy, causing no disturbance to breeding birds, but would show where ‘Bass gannets’ will move to. Troupe head and Bempton Cliffs were started with ‘Bass gannets’. These immature birds will have to find sites to breed. Where will they end up? I mentioned last year that a small number of gannets have been seen at St Abbs, not breeding. Ringing not only allows birds to be tracked, but it also shows the age of a bird. It would be good to know if Bass gannets are looking at St Abbs, or if they will move further afield?
Just this week, I received report from the BTO with the details of a cormorant that I had found a while back. It had been ringed on the Lamb as a nestling on 10th June 2007. I found it on the West beach on the 6th May 08. Time since ringing was 331days. Sadly, less than a year old.
The Bass puffins have young. One nests in a crevice in the cave. It has done these last few years. I spotted the young puffling at the entrance of the crevice the other day. With the cave a hub of activity with guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake and shag it’s fun to see if visitors can spot the ‘one’ puffin.
Craigleith, Fidra and the May Guillemot and razorbills with chicks on the cliffs. At around 3 weeks they will begin to leave the cliffs to be tended on the sea by an adult.
Eiders have begun to moult. This is called eclipse. Flightless, many will seek the safety of islands at this time.
Bird sightings - Week up to 18th June 2008
Bass;- From one day old to 3wks old gannet chicks are easily spotted now. You are left in no doubt that the breeding season is in full swing. The 3wk olds, now covered in white down are almost too big to be covered by the parent.
Another busy week with landings. The odd 2 year old mixes among the 3-4year birds. I move them gently out of our area. The fringe birds on eggs are much more confident and settled. There is no question that the “slow and low” behaviour now required for photographers along with boundary ropes are paying off. What I have noticed is that within an hour or so, a few younger birds return to our area probably wondering where the others have gone. For these gannets, now unprotected by the mass, the herring gulls are showing no mercy and I watched several times as the gannets were quickly seen off by determined parents protecting their young.
Herring gulls are very attentive and protective of their young. I watched as one held a rather large piece of fish for the chick to feed. Typical young wanted to feed itself and yanked it from the parent greedily trying to swallow the large prey. After several minutes of gulping and gulping and gulping, almost growing in front of our eyes. It spat it out! Too large for such a tiny chick.
Craigleith The brown woolly shag chicks are a delight to watch at the nests. Puffins are quite active now and readily seen. Grey seals occasionally hauled out on the lower rocks with a single greylag goose seen close by.
Fidra Superb shots of a young recently fledged peregrine. Landing on Fidra this week, it was good to see the top of the island with various grasses and very little mallow except around the piles of cuttings.
Many puffins on the far side of the wall hovering in the strong winds. A small crèche of eider ducklings were seen with only 2 females in attendance. One that had become separated battled with the heavy seas finally making it back to the safety of the group.
Guillemot and razorbill chicks are being tended now.
Dunbar The kittiwake count was undertaken last week. I’ll let you know comparisons to last year when figures come through. Any sign of chicks?
I witnessed a peregrine teaching it’s young how to hunt. The adult took a pigeon in flight but let it go. The young peregrine wasn’t fast enough and the pigeon escaped ….this time!
.A lone eider duckling has been well protected in the east bay and sandwich terns are frequently seen and heard .
A black guillemot has been seen around Dunbar area and at Aberlady Bay a Ruff (male) was spotted
The Torness Peregrines fledged on the 10th June.
Bird sightings week up to 12th June 2008 – Maggie
Bass;- A few gannet chicks are becoming more visible now. There are certainly 2, 2wks old visible and a 3rd possibly slightly older. The white down although not fluffy at this early age, is visible and the chick is now larger than the parents’ webs. Watching one on camera yesterday, it was able to hold its head up, and co-ordination is much better now.
We have been able to land quite regularly this week. On Tuesday I was met with the now, normal younger birds settling on the downward path toward the lighthouse. The visitors are asked to wait as I slowly move upward and turn into the space we use west of the chapel. This area was full of younger birds trying to establish their first sites. The good news is that the birds that are on eggs behind the railing are not moving, but I am now running a rope tied to some home made bollards (thank you Christie and Ian) giving a 1-2m boundary that no foot must step over ! And it’s working! The visitors are now keeping their distance and only when settled are they allowed to belly crawl slightly closer under my watchful eye. I take this down after every visit as I would find the rope in a nest or worse a bird could become entangled. The gable gannets are going to be famous. Giving photographers isolated birds with the magnificent backdrop of Tantallon Castle or clearly silhouetted against the skyline. Can’t wait until chicks appear here as I’m sure at least 2 are on eggs.
Herring gull chicks from new-born to 10 days old are running around along with their very protective parents! I’ve only been hit on the head twice this week!
All but one of the eiders have hatched young and I spotted a crèche of 15 ducklings following 4 females through the gateway and up the stairs. The very young struggled with the rather large steps. I gave them a helping hand. They were still quite small and with many herring gulls she was taking them into safety (I had found a nest in this area)
Wonderful shots homing in on both cameras at different angles of a peregrine with prey on the lighthouse. This too is one of its perching points.
Craigleith On the 8th June the first puffin was seen to carry in fish, a clear indication that young are hatching. Again superb shots of cormorant and shag chicks and also on the 8th a guillemot seen carrying a sprat into a chick at the Bass. Good news that it had a fish, bad new that it wasn’t a sandeel.
We heard about pipefish last year …Talking with the fishermen it’s only been this last 2-3 wks that they have begun to see the increase in pipefish again. Pipefish are carried by currents, as are the plankton. It does appear that there may be changes in currents.
Bird sightings week up to 5th June 2008 – by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass;- the first gannet chick was seen on camera on the 2nd of June, in the central area of the chapel colony. It looked to be 1-2 days old. Several more have been seen since then. I spotted one close to the railings on Wednesday that could be 4-5 days old. I could just make out the first traces of the white down, as in the warmth of the sun it showed itself for several minutes. At this early age, brooding is fairly constant for the first 10-14days. Nests are looking more substantial with a constant trail of gannets carrying in material from seaweed to plastics.
2 peregrines have been seen quite regularly this past week. For a second time, on landing I heard the alarm call over the hub of the gannets. Standing close to the landing site, wishing a nest site to be in vision, I was suddenly hit on the head (no not a gannet….yet!) but a large piece of bamboo that bounced (off my head) and clattered to the ground. The offending gannet flew on. I am fairly sure the peregrines are not nesting on the rock but I have been aware of a new viewpoint that they sit at. It wasn’t until some time later I realized that when we land and walk through the first archway we are in full view. This is the path I continually find predated pigeons.
Craigleith It’s that time of year when counts begin. Having endured the rolling swell of the Bass and the east side of Craigleith cliffs, it was quite a relief to land on the island. 7 landed separating into 2 groups with one ringer (John Davis) heading straight to the cormorant colony. Cormorants are very susceptible to disturbance. As thought (and this is where the cameras are proving useful), the few that have hatched were too small to ring. The other two groups headed in opposite directions, to encircle the island, excluding the cormorant area and meet up somewhere on the cliffs. Shags with chicks were also seen, and this last couple of days from the boat, a shell duck has been seen, possibly the same one that was on Fidra earlier in the week.
The glen is looking very good with many more plants appearing. We think now that it would be good to have a botanist record the plants and compare with past records. The top area by the cliff camera and to the west is looking really good with grasses replacing areas where mallow dominated. There is a very visible east/west divide, and from the boat on the north side, the piles of cut mallow show just how much has been achieved.
Craigleith & May No sign of puffins flying in with food on Craigleith yet. Many of you will have seen Mike Harris’ report from the May regarding the collapse in puffin numbers. I’ll put more in next week’s Bulletin, but earlier this year, I attended a talk from Mark Newell (works closely with Mike Harris) There is indeed a food problem, and that there was already a slight pessimistic fear about this year. Mark talked about studies last season showing that the fish that puffins were bringing in were as not that nutritious ...in other words, the fish were starving ...basically due to the shift in the plankton regime. They suspect that changes in currents are causing this and that the phytoplankton that provide life to the food chain, fish and ultimately to the seabirds, is not as it used to be. It is hoped that Mark will come to give us a talk about the studies and research that is undertaken on the May. I will keep you updated on that, and definitely one to mark in the diary!
Bird sightings week up to 29th May 2008 – by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass: - Tension rises as we wait for that first chick to be spotted. News from John that the 1st chicks have hatched at Bempton cliffs. We are fairly sure that there will also be chicks on the Bass. That 1st naked and helpless chick could be there, but it won’t be visible just now, as when first hatched they need careful brooding. If you have time, watch carefully at behaviour, zoom in close, are webs still wrapped around the egg, or is the egg on top of them. Watch closely and if you think there may be a chick, pass on the information, so that an eye can be kept on that site. The heavy seas have taken their toll with reports of a few dead gannets along the eastern beaches. We rescued one with an injured wing the other day. A large, gannet size box is kept in the office along with regular SSPCA boxes.
Dunbar. The kittiwakes are a delight to watch. We watched closely as one, busy with its nest kept turning and turning around, obviously smoothing out any harmful sharp areas for its egg laying. A visitor spotted one dangling from a nest with its wing entangled in a possible fishing line. Thankfully it was in an accessible area and a quick call to Bobby Anderson (East Lothian Ranger) and a rescue was underway. Within the hour the kittiwake was freed.
Craigleith Puffins everywhere! Superb images on both cameras, popping in and out of burrows, nesting material being gathered, billing, and social groups on rocks - just wonderful! Eider ducklings have been centre stage this week. One visitor was so engrossed that she came back the following day and tracked them for most of the morning. It was fabulous; she gave us regular updates and counts. That morning we had 25 ducklings, 7 ‘aunties’ and the token male. They were well protected as they ventured to the rock pool to feed and then safely back to the cover of the mallow and chickweed. The eider viewed on the cliff-top camera has hatched 4 chicks. We watched, as alone, she nervously led her brood away. Cormorants have also produced this week. It looks as if 2 nests hatched earlier in the week with the 3rd containing 3 pinkish black, fairly helpless chicks indicating recent hatching. Grey seals have been seen hauled out on the rocks.
Fidra Herring gull chicks being seen near to the camera on the top of the island. Two peregrines were seen on the lighthouse this week.
Isle of May Superb close ups of shags on their eggs. They too should be near to hatching. One shag in particular, does enjoy its floral displays. Intertwined in its nest is sea campion, beautifully arranged.
Viewing deck is the last piece of the jigsaw for the Centre. No visit is really complete unless visitors have enjoyed that ‘wow’ factor as they look at the Bass through the telescope. Despite seeing the Bass cameras and learning about the colony it really is only brought home to them just how many gannets there are when they view the rock through the scope and see it ‘alive‘. Until then, many visitors think it’s guano or flowers. A quick look and that universal word ‘wow’ is heard. Among the many visitors that come through our doors, occasionally there is one that stands out and excites, and this weekend I was lucky enough to meet a young boy visiting the centre for the first time. As I adjusted the scopes for him to view all the islands, we discussed gannets. He had watched the colony and had several Q’s. As we talked I was given a roving report of birds he was spotting flying over the sea. Although he had seen guillemots on camera, he wanted to see them through the scope. A heavy swell made it very difficult to see anything on the sea. I put the scopes on the cliffs for him and tried to guide him to the spot. He was having problems seeing them and his mother suggested he come back after lunch to try again. This small boy, standing on the stool, with a very serious face, turned from the scope and said ‘he was not about to give up and was going to stay until he found them!‘ Eventually he did, and went away fulfilled in the knowledge that he hadn’t given up. When he returned later, I brought up the puffin for him to examine. Again a barrage of questions. I think one day we could hear more from this young boy!
Wildlife sightings week up to 22 May 2008 by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass As the colony extends down the slope behind the chapel, the flight path is becoming lower. Having had an occasional wing skim over my head, I had begun to wonder about the cause of death for the odd dead gannet that I was finding close to the railings by the path. An almighty thud the other day confirmed my thoughts. They are having occasional accidents. A gannet bounced off the railing into the colony creating mayhem for a few moments. It was ok, but a little stunned as it made its way out and wandered down the pathway . . . I think the 2 pairs of gable gannets are on eggs, and a third site appears to have been taken on the wall. With Tantallon Castle in the background, it has all the components for a wonderful photograph. As feared, but expected, in ‘our area’, new nest sites with egg have appeared this week. They are very vulnerable to disturbance and predation. With approximately 15 herring gull nests close to, and on the chapel, plus at least another 30 pairs nesting on the upward pathway area, many are just waiting for that moment when an egg is vulnerable. The peregrine had been seen on its viewpoint this week and I found it’s lunch in the form of another ringed racing pigeon on the pathway. Last weeks one was from Doncaster. I shall send in the report for this one.
Dunbar We are doing very well with our recordings and a big thank you to Catriona who called me with news of the first kittiwake egg seen on camera. She thinks there may be more, so pan around and let us know if you spot anymore.
Craigleith With Rene, the researcher, and a colleague on the island last weekend there was some sign of disturbance. He did however confirm what we were fairly sure of, that this year we have large numbers of eiders nesting on Craigleith. Rene has given a count of at least 150. This increase in nests was partially due to the easterly winds just at the time for them coming ashore to lay. Hopefully, there will be no more disturbance until the ringers and counters visit in June, by which time most of the eiders should have hatched. So keep watching for the crèches now. Already this week Mary Buglass spotted 7 ducklings being escorted out of the sheltered rockpools on the south side of the island.
The unidentified plant Mary Tebble & I hummed and hawed over, is now confirmed as Candytuft. Thank you, Mary. This is in an area that has a lot of activity from seals hauling out and the volunteers’ pathway originally wasn’t too heavily covered in mallow. This constant activity has perhaps contributed to its growth where other areas that we have cut, but are not so disturbed, have deep covering of chickweed and grasses.
Cetacean sighting An unidentified sighting of a cetacean off Gullane beach last week. It was thought to be too large for a dolphin, suggesting it may have been a whale. No more is known. Did anyone else see or hear about any sightings over these few days?
Wildlife sightings week up to 16 May 2008 by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass Rock Landing last Friday on the Bass Rock, we approached the turn to the chapel very slowly. This area, and the downward path, is being filled up with ‘younger birds’ trying to establish sites. The majority of them have almost full adult plumage, although you do see a few advanced 2nd and 3rd birds on the fringes. Although not on nests, there are signs of them trying to establish sites. They do move off as we approach. What is good news, the ‘younger birds‘ from last year that were very nervous and moved off when we landed, are not only more settled, a few are on eggs. It’s now finding the balance to allow the colony to grow to the path edges but not deny access up to this area. If we did not land, by the end of this season I suspect we would get no higher than the lighthouse level. The new breeders are very vulnerable as herring gulls patrol constantly ready to move in, in a flash. In just one hour, I saw four herring gulls carrying eggs, flying in from further up the rock. We also passed several predated eggs on the pathways on our way up. I will try to do a count of the gulls, as they too are laying now, with several nests containing two eggs and a couple with three eggs. Herring Gulls normally lay three eggs. Several first year gannets were seen sitting on the water this week (dark plumage all over, although as the season progresses they begin to moult (see Bryan Nelson’s book 'The Atlantic Gannet' pg 11-17 for more information on 1st& 2nd year plumage). Interestingly, they will not land on the Bass. (Pictured opposite diving gannets at the Bass Rock, by Nick Sidle).
Craigleith Island It's a wonderful time of year and our eyes are peeled as eggs are everywhere now; cormorants, shags, guillemots, razorbills, puffins, and eiders. Not confirmed fulmar and kittiwakes. From the viewing deck puffins, guillemots and razorbills are all very easy to spot on the sea. We spotted on our cameras this week Rene van der Waal from Aberdeen University monitoring puffins for the SOS Puffin project.
Isle of May Similar to Craigleith with all birds on eggs except for kittiwakes and fulmars. Eiders are nesting everywhere. So serene, as many close to the paths remain undisturbed as people pass by. Every so often one is fenced of for its safety. Their plumage camouflages them so well but if you really look closely at the female you see what beautiful colouring she has. She’s not brown and dowdy, she has warm tortoiseshell colours, streaked and mottled with white, browns and black and if the sun is shining it just enhances her beauty. I also spotted this week, Professors Harris and Wanless from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on a research mission to the island, with cheeks to the ground and arms down burrows. A quick chat later, confirmed that most puffins are settled now on eggs. About 40 grey seals were also seen hauled out on the Maiden Rocks near to Pilgrim's Haven. The white carpet of sea campion interspersed with clumps of vivid pink from the thrift is quite beautiful; together with puffins standing around on the rocks and the island looks wonderful just now.
Dunbar Keep a close eye on these kittiwake nests. When will the first egg be spotted? Our cameras bring incredible close up pictures of the birds.
Local sightings; At Musselburgh, river mouth scrapes and sea: 2 wood sandpiper, a temminck's stint yellow wagtail, white wagtail and sedge warbler singing. A whooper swan was still at the river mouth, and on the 14th May, an adult drake surf scoter off the river mouth with velvet scoters. Barns Ness A little stint with ringed plovers was seen by Edinburgh RSPB Group.
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Dr Bryan Nelson Seabirds of the Bass - Illustrated Talk
To a packed theatre, Dr Bryan Nelson gave a most wonderful talk, not just on gannets but he also covered the lives and nesting habits of many other seabirds. Accompanied by superb slides, we saw the many changes to the Bass as the colony has grown. We saw the cones he used as markers for monitoring plots, the hide where he, and his wife June, took turns to watch and record every aspect of the gannets' behaviour. He covered other gannetries, which is good to learn about, but time again he returned to the Bass, and why not? The Bass is truly is the most special gannetry in the world. You always learn something new at Bryan’s talks (and certainly several questions I had were answered and not just about gannets!) but you also leave inspired and excited about these beautiful birds.
Bird sightings week up to 30th April 2008 by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass There has been an obvious influx of gannets this week. Not only are there more on the slopes and around the chapel, but the rocky promontory on east side was covered with birds the other day. Last year club birds used to come and go in this area. More eggs have been spotted with many birds now looking quite settled. In these areas there is more jabbing being seen than great territorial fights.
Craigleith Wonderful footage of earth flying as a puffin energetically excavated its burrow. Watching the constant head bobbing, the gaping as they strut around their burrows makes compulsive viewing. An eider nest has been spotted close to the camera, and the shag had 2 eggs the other day.
Fidra and the May Guillemots and razorbills are crowding together on ledges and more obvious on a daily basis now. Look out for the first eggs, and please note them down. Last year the first eggs were seen on 6th May.
Dunbar superb shots of mating Kittiwakes.
Sightings Swallows were seen swooping close to the decking and the east beach, and the harsh grating call of sandwich terns filled the air on our early bird walk. 29 purple sandpipers were counted, along with 24 turnstones. Both species beginning to show signs of summer plumage.
Local sightings; At Musselburgh river mouth scrapes and sea: grasshopper, warbler, whinchat, whitethroat, sedge warbler, wheatear, reed bunting, blackcap, wheatear, long tailed duck, red breasted merganser, sandwich tern, swifts, sand martin and swallow. Gullane lesser and common whitethroat, grasshopper, warbler, red-throated diver, red-breasted merganser. Dunbar a white stork was seen in Asda car park last week ….Asda car parks appear to attract unusual birds! A couple of months ago you may recall a sea-eagle was spotted flying over Asda in Dunfermline! Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Dolphins enthralled visitors watched a pod of dolphins from the shoreline near the Centre last Sunday. It was perfect sea-watching conditions. Unfortunately, no ID or numbers. A Porpoise was seen off Gullane.
Bird sightings week up to 16th April 2008 by volunteer Maggie Sheddan.
Bass Well done to Ian who spotted the first gannet egg on the 21stApril. The Discovery Centre team had been watching the nests closely for several days as many gannets were looking quite settled. Two eggs were seen on the 21st. This is 2 days earlier than the last 4 years, but within the same week for the last 5 years. This week there appeared to be more gannets around the chapel area and the non breeders haven’t yet arrived!
There must be more eggs now? Updating the board at the front door I mentioned to 4 young visitors as they left ‘had they seen the egg’. Eight eyes stared up at me as I explained the excitement of the first egg being seen, and that we will have an idea of when it should hatch and that it will be such fun to watch for. They listened intensely. I mentioned that their ticket would last all day and that if they wanted to come back later, Ian (with the badge) would show them where the egg was (they were all members), 15mins later as I went back downstairs, there they were, glued to the cameras! For the moment, how many eggs can we spot?
Craigleith, Fidra and the May The puffins are as ever entertaining and a joy to watch. Guillemot and razorbill are more obvious on a daily basis now. Research is showing puffins /auks are also returning to their breeding sites later. Shags on Craigleith were seen to have eggs last week and on the May back-dating on a nest site, it is giving around the 8th/9th April for the first egg there. Some shags are very settled other are just pairing up and nest building. Several paired eiders were seen on the low slopes of the Glen on Craigleith with many more pairs offshore.
Sightings With heavy east winds, the West bay has been a haven for Eiders this past week. On the East beach, around 25 turnstone were feeding along the shoreline at high tide. When will they disappear?
Local sightings ; At Musselburgh river mouth scrapes and sea: a tree pipit, grasshopper warbler, whimbrela sandwich tern & shoveler. Gosford Estate: A wood warbler singing intermittently in the rain, house martins, sand martins, swallows, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, blackcaps, great–spotted woodpecker and nuthatch and a brood of 4 very young mallards.
Bird sightings week up to 8th April 2008 by volunteer Maggie Sheddan.
Craigleith Wonderful to see the puffins back, and lovely footage from the burrow cam, as a puffin was seen popping it’s head out the burrow. The volunteers on Craigleith also witnessed one coming out of a burrow in an area they were working in. Earlier in the week large rafts were seen off the island. This year they have more clear zones thanks to the wonderful army of volunteers who have worked tirelessly on all their visits. As the mallow season has now come to a close the island is returned to the breeding birds. The greylag was seen with goslings in tow. A few days earlier than this time last year, she was seen on eggs. No mallards have been seen, but there nesting area had been cleared and in the last few weeks has been undisturbed. From the north camera, we can see a very settled shag on a well built nest. Start watching for the first eggs. Guillemot, razorbill, fulmar and kittiwake can all be seen on Fidra cliffs and the Dunbar camera is beaming back superb shots of kittiwakes.
Bass The vandals were caught on camera the other day ripping up what little grass is around the chapel zone. Landing on Tuesday, I could see the fresh grass in the nests. Perhaps I should leave some cut mallow for them. Mating, bowing, sky pointing, head shaking, territorial fights, it’s all happening. Several gannets are beginning to look quite settled on their nest sites. We are reaching that important egg laying time. For the last 4 years the first egg has been spotted on the 23rd April in the central area to the left of the chapel. We need your help to scan the nests, watch the behaviour and see if we can’t make it 5 years in a row! Most importantly if you think their may be an egg, pass on the info so the nest site can be watched more closely.
The May Puffins are back sitting on the wall and on the clifftops. Having just spent 10 days there, each day it is different. The first 2 days the air was filled with whirring wings as thousands of puffins returned to excavate their burrows. All over the island, like little sentries they stood guard over their burrows, the soft growling and moaning a constant background noise. By lunchtime, they would vanish, and the air would be silent except for the odd mewing of gulls. Suddenly there would be great excitement as the chortling and cackling of fulmars socialising at there nest sites echoed from the clifftops, surrounding the loch close to Fluke street and the engine room.
I became very familiar with the engine room as power is always an issue for the first few days. 4 times a day I would check to see batteries were charging. I feel more confident now with the generator and the controls. Life on the May is not easy. Within hours of landing the water is checked (power is required to pump the water) It was salt contaminated. Thankfully, there was plenty of bottled water for cooking and drinking but washing always left a salty taste on the lips. As you wake in the morning, will the gas be on (bottled)? Will the power be on? Will water come out of the tap? All daily challenges that you have to be able to fix and believe me, I had to!
As you walked around the cliffs the “aaahhr” of thousands of guillemots, kittiwakes cascading from the cliffs, the iridescent green of the shags gleaming in the morning sun, all these problems dissipate and I find myself with a continual smile on my face. You don’t get stranded on the May, only delayed!
Local sightings; Musselburgh river mouth scrapes and sea: a common sandpiper, swallows and willow warblers singing, Gullane Bay red-throated diver and common scoter. Gosford Estate great–spotted woodpecker, treecreeper, swallows, long-tailed tit, tufted duck & buzzard. A White Stork was seen in Edinburgh on April 10th.
Bird sightings week up to 2nd April 2008 by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Craigleith The first puffin was seen on the island this week, with several being seen on the seas around.
Craigleith and the Lamb it won’t be long before we have daily sightings. Keep panning with the cameras. Shags are beginning to settle and wonderful shots of the cormorant displays. Mallards and eiders will soon be looking to nest under the cover of the mallow. With the return of the breeding birds the mallow mashing season will soon come to a close. From the boat wonderful sightings of the peregrines and kittiwakes on the cliffs. Purple sandpiper were also seen on the low cliffs along with 4 grey seals. Guillemot and razorbill are being seen early morning on the cliffs, but are not yet settled.
Local sightings It’s certainly worth spending a little time on the viewing deck. On Early Birds we had eider, common scoter, lesser black backed gull, razorbill, turnstone, purple sandpiper, oystercatcher, redshank, and recently grey heron, house sparrow, carrion crow, pied wagtail, starling and stonechat. Mussleburgh The first swallow!, sand martin, chiffchaff, shoveler, black-tailed-godwit, little gull and the water pipit seen at the western most hide. Aberlady Barn owl, stonechat and wheatear. Gosford Bay The summer plumage black-necked grebe, a red-necked grebe and red–breasted merganser. Seafield a sandwich tern.
Isle of May Sailing into Kirkhaven, thousands of puffins could be seen wheeling at 3 separate locations. On landing, it is very obvious the puffins have returned. Pulling open my blind at 6am, the heart warms, puffins cover the slopes outside – my first job today, to wash the windows!
Bird sightings week up to 28th March 2008 by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass Rock Just when we think the gannets are settled, suddenly without warning, they just disappear.
This is called a dread, or a panic, and according to Bryan Nelson this is a fairly common occurrence among seabirds particularly early in the season, but also happens at the end of the season. We witnessed that last October. It‘s basically an expression of fear or wariness of land. They were all back by the following morning but what was interesting and shows the value of recording events, (& thank you to Mary Buglass) to the date, a year ago, they did exactly the same, upped and left ! (must be something about the 26th!)
News Flash! News today that puffins are being seen on the sea around Craigleith. So pan the camera and get onto the viewing deck and keep watching. They will come and go but they're back! Guillemot, razorbill, and kittiwake are still coming and going and the peregrine was seen on Craigleith from the viewing deck
Local sightings Mussleburgh the Water pipit is still around and a Jack snipe has been seen . Gosford estate Kingfisher, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Long-tailed tits and Nuthatch. Aberlady Green-winged teal is still around, and in summer plumage a Black-necked Grebe, also a Short–eared Owl and a f. Merlin. A Chiffchaff was heard in Longniddry . No more sightings of the Grey Phalarope.
Bird sightings - Week up to 13th March 2008 by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass Rock The gannets are looking more settled and certainly looking out to the Bass Rock it’s taking on that ‘dusting of snow appearance’. It’s quite interesting to see where some are settling. Looking beyond the chapel a few isolated ones are sitting. It won’t be long before they are surrounded, but just interesting to see the return patterns.
Fidra The peregrine has been seen mating, but fewer sightings of them on their viewing points giving an indication that a nest site has been chosen. No recent sightings on the Bass, and none from the viewing deck for Craigleith. By this time last year we had sightings of both razorbill and guillemot, keep watching.
Local shoreline not so many sightings this week although many more eiders being seen, but certainly along at Mussleburgh knot, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit and the gadwall and at Aberlady a drake and green-winged teal.
Bird sightings - Week up to 6th March 2008 by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass Rock It’s wonderful entering the Discovery Centre and seeing the Bass Rock coming alive, the bowing, the bill fencing and bonding of the gannets around the chapel area. Although still coming and going, at each settled period the count is higher. It’s worth looking through the telescopes to see how the colony is fluctuating at different points on the Rock. This is such a good time to watch and learn about the individual behaviour at specific nest sites, before it becomes so crowded that it becomes a little more difficult.
Elsewhere, were still waiting for guillemot, razorbill and kittiwake. Unfortunately, with the Isle of May camera down, perhaps we are missing some, but do look on Fidra cliffs and again through the telescopes at the Lamb and Craigleith.
Local shoreline Waders are starting to leave our shores, and for curlew and oystercatcher and black headed gull many more inland sightings are being recorded as they head to their breeding grounds.
Local sightings At Dunbar the black redstart is still being and the Torness peregrines have been making regular visits to their nest site this week. At Musselburgh gadwall, knot, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit with a single black –tailed godwit and a mediterranean gull.
Bird sightings - Week up to 28th February 2008 by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass Rock; Looking through the telescopes from the viewing deck last Sunday, the rock was alive with thousands of gannets settling on the rock and filling the surrounding airspace. Within camera view, 250+ were counted. By evening only 3 were seen. Scanning around on Wednesday, the Rock was empty all day. This morning 29th Feb again 250+ are settled near to the chapel… for how long?
We are in that period of to-ing and fro-ing, which makes it all the more exciting to scan around. When will we see that first kittiwake, guillemot and razorbill on the cliffs? The peregrine sightings have been tailing off, indicating that nesting season for them is on the brink. Peregrines are a protected species and any disturbance close to a nest site is a crime under the wildlife act, unless the person is a ringer/researcher and carries the relevant licence.
Local shoreline Turnstone, redshank, curlew, purple sandpiper, eider, pied wagtail, house sparrow, starling, and carrion crow. Local sightings The woodlark is still around on its own, but close by chaffinch, goldfinch, linnet and skylarks. A single lapland bunting was seen at Skateraw in fields either side of the dry burn mouth, loosely with skylarks, finches also a few reed bunting. A pair of nuthatches at Smeaton Lake, by the car parking area. (Thanks to all at Lothian Bird news)
22nd February - The first gannet was spotted on 20th February (see our news section) and every day we continue to see more gannets arriving. Since the 20th. up to ½ dozen have been seen settling on the rock for a while, with more coming and going. We're on the brink of the breeding season and never more obvious than this past week on Craigleith. Heading out to the island more guillemots have been seen and heard, and a lone puffin was spotted from the boat. Shags are pairing up, bringing in nesting material, proving their ability as a mate. As I worked away with the brushcutter on the SOS Puffin project on Craigleith, my constant companions were fulmars gliding over the glen, catching the thermals at the cliff edges and swooping past their chosen sites. Ian Andrews (from the Scottish Ornithologists Club) joined us one day and among his sightings were greenfinch, reed bunting, song thrush, wren, robin, linnet, skylark and rock pipit. Moulting grey seals were also hauled out. Check out the low rocks. At this time they become quite grumpy and you sometimes see them rubbing along rocks, aiding the moult .
On camera we have wonderful shots of cormorants at their nest site. This last couple of years we have observed a few with white feathering (filoplumes) on their heads. It has been suggested that this may be the subspecies P.c. Sinensis, however this (filoplumes) alone has proved to be unreliable for ID. The cormorants we have on Craigleith are P.c. Carbo. (If you want more info on the 2 species of cormorant, please just ask in the Discovery Centre).
Local shoreline Turnstone, purple sandpiper, pied wagtail, house sparrow, starling, carrion crow, eider, long-tailed duck, mallard, guillemot, and greylag geese.
Local sightings Earlier this week a woodlark was seen around the Peffer Sands (by Mark Holling from SOC, who believes this is only the 3rd record for Lothian) Later in the week it was seen nearer Lochhouses among a flock of Skylarks. In Binning Wood: jay, siskin and redpoll and at Musselburgh a gadwall and black-tailed godwit. A lovely sign that spring is just around the corner a report of 2 inland oystercatchers at Penicuik. Thanks to all at Lothian Bird news
Bird sightings - Week up to 14th January 2008 by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Musselburgh common (mealy) and lesser redpoll along the River Esk feeding among the alder and nettles, and grey partridge along with a fox at the scrapes.
Dunbar A black redstart (m) was seen earlier this week on the cliff top walk, where the path goes through the tunnel, and along by Barns Ness a 2nd winter caspian gull was seen on the sea and later flew inland to the landfill site. Landfills are always great places to gull watch. A lapland bunting was also in a field close by the lighthouse, but later seen to fly south.
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird news
This weekend sees 2 major surveys, The Big Garden Watch, and the Rocky Shore Count for WeBS
RSPB ‘Big Garden Watch ‘Sat 26thor Sun 27th January
If you have an hour, put out some food, seeds or scraps, get comfortable and just watch and record what comes into your garden. That wee blue tit or robin may come and go, so be aware to count them only once. If you don’t have a garden, spend an hour in the park, or come into the Seabird Centre and watch our feeders on the Bird Cam in the warmth. If you need help to log them in online or where to send them, put them in an envelope (Maggie) and I will send them in.
“In 2007, over 400,000 people took part by counting the birds in their garden for an hour. Together they spotted 6 million birds across 236,000 gardens, helping reveal the winners and losers in the garden bird world.
Over the past three decades participants have made a significant contribution to monitoring garden bird numbers and helped highlight that some garden birds are in need of help.
The survey has recorded the huge declines in some of our most familiar birds. Since 1979, the number of house sparrows counted has fallen by 52% and the number of starlings by 76%.
However, it isn't all bad news - chaffinches and great tits have both seen their numbers increase since 1979 by 36 and 52 per cent respectively.”
Rocky Shore Count
WeBS the main aim of the Wetland Bird Survey is to identify population sizes, determine numbers and distribution, and to identify important sites for water birds. Nationwide over 2000 count sites, with over 3000 sections are counted.
This Sunday, from the Edinburgh to the Berwick upon Tweed volunteers will walk the shorelines recording all bird activity. Waders, ducks, and seabirds are all recorded but, you never know what passerines fringe on the shoreline habitat and we record these too.
Bird sightings - Week up to 17th January 2008 report by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
It’s a waiting game……when will the first gannet be spotted? Looking back at our records this last 3 years, the first gannets were spotted this week, not on the rock but out to sea, from Seacliff to Longniddry. Certainly in the last week in January records show they have been off the back of the Bass Rock (NE side) and seen sitting on the sea. Scan with those cameras and on the good days take some time on the viewing deck sea watching.
16th January 2005 seen from Canty Bay to Seacliff, 19th January 2006 & 2007 seen offshore from Longniddry, 28th January 2007 25-30 (from the viewing deck) seen off the Bass Rock.
Other things to keep an eye out for - are the shags developing their crest? Is the white patch appearing on the thigh of the cormorants? Are the male eiders displaying giving that wonderful head thrust with their distinctive ‘ah-ooo’…..call as if they just heard exciting gossip?
3 Peregrines were seen on Monday morning. Within moments of the cameras being switched on, one was spotted sitting on the cliff edge of the Bass Rock on one of the main gannet areas (certainly won’t be able to do that when the colony returns). A second was on the lighthouse on Fidra and shortly before the cameras were turned on, from the viewing deck one was seen flying out from Craigleith.
Fulmars are around Fidra and Craigleith and a bull and 2 cows were seen hauled out on Craigleith
Local shoreline and Viewing deck oystercatcher, purple sandpiper, redshank, curlew, turnstone, mallard heron, eider, shag, house sparrow, starling, rock pipit, pied wagtail, carrion crow and fulmar
Local sightings Musselburgh Among the regular sightings a mediterranean gull was spotted, and along by Gosford Bay 5 pale bellied brent geese, and at Gosford Estate a nuthatch, kingfisher, jay, treecreeper and great spotted woodpecker.
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird news
Bird sightings - Week up to 24th December 2007 report by Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
The Bass Rock My pick up time was a very respectable 8.45a.m from North Berwick. I hitched a lift from Gordon to check on the young gannet chick seen a month ago. A beautiful winter morning with blue skies, flat calm seas and icy paths! As I climbed the path past St Baldreds chapel my only sightings on the now desolate rock, were blackbird and rock pipit. The young chick had been down near the foghorn. If alive it would be 10½ /11wks old. My heart willed the chick still to be there, but the reality of the heavy gales and freezing temperatures these last few weeks, it was a long shot. As I reached the top and looked down toward the foghorn my fears were realised. It hadn’t made it. I went down to examine it. Sadly it had made it to the parliament goose stage (approx 9½ wks) with no sign of attack, it appeared a little thin. Perhaps abandoned, perhaps succumbed to the icy northerly winds. What is good it has been recorded as a very late chick for the Bass? With time limited, I did a quick check on the ‘pond’ area. Empty, no fresh goose droppings. 
Heading back on to the path I just about jumped out my skin as the Peregrine shot off the cliff face with a frantic alarm call. I’m not sure which one of us got the biggest fright. It circled over head calling as I descended to the landing sight. Fulmars were fairly active that morning and several were at nest sites. At this time of year they come and go and as we sailed out toward Tantallon Castle many were gliding around their cliff nesting sites there - guillemot, razorbill, great black backed gulls, shag, eider and red-breasted merganser were all seen on the journey back to Dunbar and, in the harbour, a red–throated diver. Scan around with the cameras you never know what you will find!
Craigleith Island Will our playful ‘rock pool pups’ stay for Christmas? I suspect not, but they certainly enjoy wallowing in the pool when the tide is low. On landing last Sunday, 8 pups were counted. They’re certainly enjoying the glen being cleared. Apart from the one that climbed up to the brow of the hill to pup, another one was found near to the solar panels which are some distance, and a fair climb. A third pup was seen trying to eat a plastic bag. Thankfully Rene saw this and managed to remove it.
Fidra Island Fulmars were seen around their nesting areas at the top of the cliff faces.
Viewing Deck these last few days with millpond seas it’s a perfect time for sea-watching. guillemot and razorbill have been seen. Watch the Craigleith cliffs, peregrine? fulmars?
Local shoreline Oystercatcher, purple sandpiper, redshank, curlew, turnstone, heron, eider, shag, house sparrow, starling, rock pipit, pied wagtail and carrion crow have all been seen.
Local sightings Slavonian grebe, great –crested and the black-necked grebe have all been seen along the coastline. Velvet scoter has been seen mating and a black-headed gull with full dark cap. Aberlady 100’s of Fieldfare.
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Isle of May & Craigleith Pups still being born on both islands. One on Craigleith has hauled out some distance up the Glen. It’s so good to see these areas now accessible. We know that last year 2 pups were born in the shelter of the rocky cliff out of site of the camera, but in a very safe place. Bulls are now a regular sighting and mating has been seen. Surprisingly with such heavy seas this week, no casualties have been reported. The first pups may well have left the May by now and certainly on Craigleith the first born are over 3wks old.
Fidra The Peregrine was seen sitting on the lighthouse for several hours despite the heavy rain and wind. Common Scoter have been seen offshore from the island.
Bass Hopefully, if we can land in the next week or so, we’ll keep you updated on the very young chick.
Local sightings.
Musselburgh scrapes rivermouth & sea Several little auk still being seen off shore, mediterranean gull, red-throated diver, red-necked and slavonian grebe, golden eye, long-tailed duck, knot and bar-tailed godwit
Aberlady and Gullane Point 200+ fieldfare along with arrivals of chaffinch and goldcrest. Good numbers of siskin and crossbill continue to go over the reserve. Snow bunting have also been seen, and off Gullane point Common scoter, slavonian and red-necked grebe. In one evening, a driver spotted 4 barn owls on posts at the side of the road. All birds seen East of Longniddry including 2 at Fenton Barns, and reports of the first waxwings are coming in.
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Seal Counts
Last weekend, several members of the Forth Seabird Group set sail from Granton Harbour at the very respectable time of 9am. Overcast and a little breezy, we were glad of the calm as we sailed into Inchkeith. It too has a peregrine and within minutes we spotted it in the air above. Our walk takes us around the perimeter of the island where all pups and adults are counted. Remnants of summer sites are easily spotted with shag, cormorant and eider nests all very easily identified, puffin burrows too. Merlin (male & female) were seen on different sides of the island, along with the resident robins, blackbird, pipits and wrens. A total of 123 pups were counted (more than last year at this time). By noon the wind had strengthened, white water crashing over rocks and we knew that our sail past the Carr Rocks and on to Inchcolm would be bouncy and wet. We enjoyed lunch in the shelter of the harbour and set off in fairly stormy seas. Only 6 pups were seen on Inchcolm with no others seen on The Carr Rocks, Haystack or Inchmickery. With such excellent images from Craigleith it has been agreed that only a very short landing is required to count the ones that are out of sight and it will only be 2 people. Where we land, we are out of sight of the colony and with a good wall of mallow to hide us we can do the remainder of the count from there. It will be interesting to compare the total from last year.
Bird sightings - Week up to 16th November 2007 report by Maggie Sheedan (volunteer)
Isle of May & Craigleith As expected the heavy seas and extreme tides brought in the first casualties with reports of pups being washed up at various local locations. Irene witnessed a real battle with one young pup fighting for almost 2hrs to haul back on to Craigleith, the cow close by trying to help her pup to safety. This makes gripping viewing. Thankfully the pup made it back and huge sighs of relief echoed around the Centre. This is the harshness of nature. Now we are beginning to see the first bulls hanging around, and this in itself can bring harm to vulnerable pups. Fights break out between bulls as one tries to dominate ‘his harem’. Unfortunately, particularly on busy beaches like the May, the pups can be easily harmed or squashed as heavy bulls are seen off by the females not yet receptive to their advances.
Fidra Sightings of the peregrine. Scan around you never know what may have landed or what could be in the surrounding waters. Common Scoterhave been seen offshore from the island.
Bass The observant will have noticed a change in the ‘light’ from the Bass. No longer does the glow of warm yellow beam from the lighthouse, now a rather cold LED light gives a burst of 3 short white flashes. As we sat off the Bass waiting for dawn to break, in silhouette the Rock looked cold and inhospitable. With the crane now gone, the dim light, and a good dose of imagination you could visualise the fortress where the lighthouse now stands. As fingers of red spread over the sky and we prepared to land, the silence was broken by 15 greylag taking off from their night-time roost. Fresh droppings by a small pool of water near the top confirmed this. The biggest surprise…a 6½ /7wk old chick seen near the foghorn. (This would give a hatching date in the last few days of Sept!) Standing close to it, as if on guard, a guga (no down) We watched for a while expecting perhaps the young chick to be attacked, but no, it preened the chick a little and just stood beside it. When I checked 3hrs later the guga had gone. In all, we saw a total of 8 over 11wks (some still with wisps on the crown) and 5 chicks under 10wks old. 2 adult gannets were seen to return, feed the chick/guga and depart again. Rock pipits flit about; the peregrine has a good winter food source here. Blackbirds and robin are also resident, and passing through, a snow bunting was seen. John took down all the gannet ramps for storage and we discussed other areas where they could be of use for next season.
One area we are unable to visit during breeding time is the garden. Anxious to know how much mallow is there, we climbed up the steep path and made our way across the now desolate and mud ridden nest sites ….a very puzzling sight met us. Fairly fresh dead gannets had been hung off the fencing. In quite a meticulous way. 4 on one fence, 2 on another and one with outspread wings attached by the primaries to a small elder tree. We were sure that it could have escaped from this and drew the conclusion that it had been placed there. Some tribal ritual? It is not for us to speculate, but is rather a mystery as to the reason for this. The garden does have some mallow but not dense, and with crumbling walls there are escape routes. ………….?
On our return journey a puffin and red-throated diver were seen. The only little auk we saw sadly was a dead one on the Bass. Several have also been washed up this week on local beaches …remember check for rings if you can.
Record Number of Little Auks Seen on Farne Islands
“A new record was broken on Sunday when the ‘staggering sight’ of 29,000 little auks was seen on the Farne Islands” the National Trust said. Two days earlier a count of 18,000 broke the 1995 record.
Although the little auk is one of the world's most numerous seabirds, its nearest breeding populations to the UK are in the Arctic Circle in Greenland and Spitsbergen, and it winters in the North Atlantic. Northerly gales in late autumn and early winter can bring large numbers further south.
After strong northerly winds last week, National Trust wardens began to count the birds as they reoriented themselves and headed north past the Farne Islands.
The National Trust's head warden at the Farne Islands, David Steel, said: "It was a staggering sight to see so many of these small auks bravely battling north against the strong head wind. For the record to be broken twice is remarkable and will take some beating."
The little auk is a relative of the puffin, but is only around the size of a starling. The black and white bird dives to catch tiny crustaceans and occasionally fish fry.
Mark Grantham, BirdTrack organiser at the British Trust for Ornithology said: "These mass displacements of little auks do seem to be quite a modern phenomenon and we can only wonder why. It may be changing weather patterns or changes in food supply, but there's no denying something is happening. To start to understand what might be driving this, we need to accurately document and monitor these movements."
Local sightings. Musselburgh scrapes rivermouth & sea Little auk, mediterranean gull, red-throated diver, brent geese, kingfisher, peregrine and stonechat. Gosford Bay Red-necked grebe and med gull. Dunbar 2000+ little auk, purple sandpiper, red-throated diver. 124 whoopers near Fenton Barns
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Wildlife Sightings Week up to 18th Oct 2007 By Maggie Sheddan,
Today, our SOS Puffin volunteers phoned in from their mallow cutting on Craigleith Island to say that they had just watched a group of bottlenose dolphins swimming between the Bass Rock and Craigleith, which made their day. It was a beautiful sunny day, with a flat calm, perfect for dolphin spotting.
Isle of May On the 9th Oct, 2 days earlier than last year, the first pup made a very timely appearance as Prof. David Bellamy was visiting the Seabird Centre with his grand-daughter Tillly to unveil our new cameras and play area. The press were also here in huge numbers, resembling the paparazzi at times - so they got some great snaps of the new pup, who has since been christened Scottie. It was obvious the pup had been born either through the night or early morning as there was no sign of marauding gulls vying for the afterbirth. The pup had suckled as it didn’t have that complete wrinkly wet look of a newborn. The cow’s milk is so rich (60% fat and the consistency of mayonnaise) that within the first day a difference can be seen. Today the lone, but very contended pup was asleep when I watched it with no sign of the mother. She had been seen feeding the pup earlier but with the sea so close had probably taken the opportunity for a quick feed. In the weeks to come as the beach busies up, the cows tend to stay more with the young pups and can lose about 4 kilos(9lbs) a day during lactation time .
Craigleith Cows are being seen in the water but still none have hauled out for any length of time. We think the first pups are usually born in the last 2 weeks of October. Keep watching. Last weekend a kestrel flew from one vantage point to another for most of the day while we worked in the upper Glen. The peregrine was also seen. One of our volunteers reported that he had seen a sea eagle in the Tay region. They was a release programme into that area a few weeks ago. (at 18th October, the first Craigleith pup still hasn't appeared - should be any day now - check out our Seal Pup podcasts for an update).
Bass Climbing up the shiny new ladder as dawn broke over the east landing, in a fairly stiff wind, Pete Barlow, our cameraman and I battled up the pathway passed the newly painted rails. The familiar crane that has stood close to the helipad for many years has gone. Signs of ongoing work were all around, paint pot, tools, pressure hoses, generators, huge water containers, pipes, brushes, spades and more. Reaching the newly painted gateway, along cut and cleared pathways, we carried our kit to the generator room that house the electrics for the cameras. The cameras are being changed over to digital. Helping Pete with some basic cable chores, his time was then taken with the more intricate wiring of the boxes, my time to see the changes since my last landing almost a month ago. Heading along the path to the more familiar rusting railings I jumped as a guga, still with a little down on it’s head, defended it’s corner. Camouflaged against the rock I hadn’t seen it. It was in a good area to find its way to the sea, but a little early as they normally don’t leave the nest site until they are down free. Continuing up the path to our ‘camp’, I was aware of just how much the colony has thinned out these last few weeks. Displaying and nest building continues and I was amused to see one gannet play tug of war with the rope I lost earlier in the season. I also became aware of several gugas still with a little down on their heads, but on their own just wandering. Are these some of the abandoned ‘chicks ‘? I sat watching for a while, counted over 60 young (most with adults) including 4 under 9 weeks. One young one, close to the path was on it’s own. I went back down to help and came back an hour later. 2 of the ‘gugas’ now had parents with them but several were still on their own. Knowing that there had been workmen on the rock I wondered if perhaps someone had disturbed them. A phone call to the Discovery Centre confirmed that the day before the Discovery Centre staff suddenly saw birds scatter everywhere with several gugas being displaced from adults. Unsure of what had happened, they watched and indeed a short while later saw someone walk very slowly and cautiously down the pathway, perhaps now realising that they had disturbed birds on their upward journey. Although the colony has thinned out tremendously, it shows that many adults are still attending their young. The 7/8 week one, I will check tomorrow and if there is no obvious sign of attendance. I will bring it back into the care of the Marr family. Other sightings included 2 pairs of blackbirds several rock pipits and the peregrine. On the return journey a lonesome puffin was spotted on the water near to Dunbar.
Local sightings: Aberlady - The American golden plover has still been seen along with grey plover. Whooper swans passed over Longniddry, and 100+ barnacle geese flew over North Berwick this week. A firecrest was seen at Torness.
Musselburgh scrapes rivermouth & sea, kingfisher, grey wagtail, ruff, golden and grey plover, adult and juv brent geese, gadwall, scaup, golden-eye, red-throated diver and slavonian grebe.
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Week beginning 10th Sept 2007
We were delighted by the reported sighting of a sea otter in North Berwick’s West Bay. This is the first we have recorded at the Seabird Centre. All eyes will now be peeled!
Tree Mallow on Craigleith and Fidra islands (report from John Hunt)
Windy weather has frustrated more recent planned visits to control tree mallow and only two trips have so far been possible since the end of the breeding season. Our thanks to the many volunteers who have offered their time and then been disappointed. However we shall continue to do all we can to organise work parties through the autumn as and when the weather allows. We are hoping to get out this weekend on both Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th and anyone who would like to come please get in touch with me at 01620 893431 or johnf_hunt@yahoo.co.uk.
Bass Rock (report from Volunteer Maggie Sheddan)
Brilliant news to report!! The gugas (young gannets) are now starting to leave the rock and we know from previous years, they can become trapped in front of the lighthouse or on the roof. Freedom only came if we went out on the boat and herded them through the open gateway. This was all dependent on weather and boats. This year a much larger ramp was built by John, and placed in front of the lighthouse in an area where they tend to gather. We weren’t sure if they would use it, but great excitement today in the Discovery Centre as several gugas were seen to ‘walk the plank’ to freedom. There are 2 other locations that ramps may prove useful, but certainly with this, and runways cut they have a much greater opportunity to escape now onto the sea.
Local sightings. Musselburgh scrapes rivermouth & sea shoveler, red-necked, grebe, teal, golden plover, black-tailed godwit, ruff, dunlin, little gull, a peregrine and a sparrowhawk Aberlady: great-nothern diver, red-necked grebe, greenshank
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Week up to Friday 30th August 2007 by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Sightings: - In the quiet of the evening at least a dozen pied wagtails can be seen scavenging on the decking area of the Scottish Seabird Centre ……… turnstone, redshank, oystercatchers, eider and razorbill. A Manx shearwater and a great skua were seen from the boat this week. 2 minke whales spotted on the morning of the 22nd Aug further down the coast, also a dolphin sighting but species not ID.
The Bass Rock Landing on the Bass this week with our party of photographers, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Making our way toward the chapel (our base site) before the last turn in the path, it was a sea of white. Gannets were everywhere. They have spilled onto the path and down the other side of the slope (this had been the gull nesting areas). Our group moved slowly as the birds were taking off in all directions as we approached the turn to the chapel. At least 350 birds had settled where we normally sit, and every space above the chapel was filled. It was an unbelievable sight, and shows that in just 3 weeks of not landing, how quickly every vacant space gets filled, as nature takes over.
From the cameras we noticed that the club birds sitting on the south east promontory had spread and the heli pad had vanished under the dozens of juvenile gannets. I think the Bass Rock has almost reached its capacity.
I remember joking earlier in the year that perhaps hard hats could become standard uniform. Within the first hour, five gannets had skimmed my head as I sat in my usual spot. As the colony extends this area is becoming their take off point and is beginning to feel a little dangerous! The younger birds that didn’t move are bonding and establishing their sights; I even saw 2 pairs mating. Gugas are evident everywhere but look carefully and you will still see quite a number of fluffy down covered chicks in amongst them. I think the youngest I saw was about 5 weeks. Irene in the DC has spotted a younger one on camera, possibly only 4 weeks old. The party on the trip were a group of professional photographers, most having visited before, so I was confident enough to leave them and free the ½ dozen gannets trapped on the lower paths. The runways that we cut to let the gannets out just a few weeks ago have quickly become overgrown. I cut back enough that they were all able to find freedom, but there is always one! Despite it standing next to a 3ft hole in the fence and a cleared runway it faced the wrong way and shot into the undergrowth. As we left the rock I noted that it had begun to make it’s way out. There was no sign of the peregrine on its perch this time, but I did see a lone wheatear.
Craigleith Island: - Cormorants with juveniles are still being seen, also daily sightings of the resident greylag.
Other Local sightings: -
Musselburgh scrapes river mouth & sea: - Shoveler, red-necked slavonian and great-crested grebe, curlew, sandpiper and ringed plover, black-tailed godwit, ruff, velvet scoter, red-breasted merganser, black-throated diver, little gull, arctic skua, Manx shearwater
Aberlady: - Ruff, common sandpiper
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
2 minke whales spotted on the morning of the 22nd Aug, also a dolphin sighting but species not ID.
Sightings 18th August 2007 by Seabird Centre Volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Bass Rock & General Seabird update: - I sat, spatula in one hand, sample bottle in the other, watching and waiting….. ..and waiting… yes the joyful task of collecting gannet poo! Researchers have been coming out this last 2 months to take samples of guano from gannets. Unfortunately weather prevented their last visit, hence my mission. We are often kept in the dark as to just how much behind the scenes research goes into some of the scientific reports that in turn are translated into some of the facts we learn about our seabirds. We all know the problem during the last 2 years with snake pipefish, but research on the Isle of May shows that between 1986 and 2003 not a single pipefish was reported in the resident birds diet. After 2003 they appeared in the pellets and regurgitations of kittiwake and shag. Auks, such as puffins,at this time ignored them. Sadly this year it is a very different story. Reports from St Abbs, St Kilda, Isle of May and Dunbar, show that kittiwakes, terns and puffins are all being affected by pipefish. kittiwake chicks have been dying in front of our eyes on the Dunbar camera. On St Kilda emaciated pufflings found outside burrows, on the May flooded burrows contributed to low productivity.
On a happier note, the emergence of the 9½ wk old ‘parliament goose’ (ie a young gannet with fluffy white feathers left on its head, making it look like a wig) is becoming very obvious, but scan the colony and you will spot the odd 10/11 wk old. The youngest chick seen is just over 4weeks, on the edge of the colony.
Craigleith: Mallow season has begun! Now that the puffins have left the island, we will be heading out again to Craigleith and Fidra islands with volunteers in our bid to curtail the growth of the invasive Tree Mallow plant (see SOS Puffin on the home page for more information and how you can get involved). 33 fulmar chicks were ringed this week and I’m pleased to say on the May we saw several large down covered chicks tucked in on the high ledges. They too appear to be having a poor season with many on the Bass disappearing before producing young and a similar story from the islands further up the Forth. Still seeing wonderful shots of cormorants and juveniles.
Local sightings: -10 Goosanders in East Bay
Musselburgh scrapes river mouth & sea: - A green sandpiper, greenshank, black-tailed godwit, ruff, sanderling, shoveler, Red- necked and slavonian grebe little gull, whimbrel, kingfisher, grey partridge and wheatear.
Berwick –upon- Tweed: - Report of 150+ kittiwakes at the mouth of the River Tweed and along the coastline heading south terns, gannets, kittiwakes and more all having good feeding sessions...on fish!
Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Sightings - Week up to Sunday 15th July 2007 by Maggie Sheddan
90+ goosanders were spotted on North Berwick East Bay last Friday, quite a spectacle! On the Monday, we also received a report of a line of 95 goosanders in flight at the river mouth of the John Muir Country Park, followed quickly by another 80. Both flocks flew in from an easterly direction. More oyster catchers have been seen this week along with curlew, golden plover, and heron and eider.
Bass Rock
Arriving at the steps , there are now gaps on the cliff ledges where guillemot and razorbill had been nesting. The few Bass puffins are still around and kittiwakes are tending their young . Turning the corner toward the chapel the yipping of the young gannet chicks is just wonderful to hear . Many are highly visible as they are too large to be brooded now and have reached that captivating stage where these giant down covered birds live up to their name. The 2 Gable gannets are still there along with a particularly moodie herring gull that dive bombed me this week when my back was turned .
Craigleith Island
It’s wonderful to see that the puffins returning in large numbers to Craigleith Island. Very satisfying for our fantastic team of over 100 volunteers who slogged long and hard to clear large areas of Tree Mallow before the puffins came back to try to encourage them back into their burrow sites on the island. Rene van der Waal from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology spent last week on the island monitoring the puffins. He was in touch this week to say “our monitoring clearly demonstrates that many puffins have reoccupied their homes in much of the cleared areas – a finding I did not expect as it took substantially longer for the puffins to move back in to smaller cut test areas in the past.” These results are excellent and will be great news for everyone involved in Viridor’s SOS Puffin project.
Also good news is that we can now watch the live action on camera with the Seabird Centre’s new state of the art webcams. These are trained on Craigleith and also on the kittiwake colony at Dunbar and sending us back incredible high definition pictures. Check out the Seabird Centre Live Webcams
Puffins are sitting off the island in large rafts, an indication that the season is coming to a close. At this time feeding is beginning to be reduced. As we know unfortunately … English holidays begin…. puffins leave ! We should still see some around for another 3 weeks or so, but numbers will reduce in the next couple of weeks
Dunbar Harbour Kittiwake Colony
Some kittiwake chicks are gaining their feathers and it wont be long before we see that distinctive. “ W ” marking across the back of the juveniles taking flight. It is a delight to have such close ups these delicate birds.
Local sightings Musselburgh A pectoral sandpiper seen in the scrapes along with bar-tailed godwit , knot, common sandpiper, sandwich and arctic tern , juvenile redstart and whitethroat. Gosford red-necked Grebe , and arctic skua seen offshore, Aberlady greenshank, golden plover, knot , bar-tailed godwit. Thanks to all at Lothian Bird News
Dolphin Sightings 12th July from Sam Miller:
Hi, thought you might be interested in a sighting of a minke whale off the St Abbs head lighthouse today (12th July) at 4-6pm about 500m offshore. We are no cetacean experts but myself and my wife have seen them off Ardnamurchan before and are 99% certain of it being a minke.We also saw a small family group (4 adults, 2 young)of what we think were dolphins, but aren't certain (they were too big for porpoises - which we have seen often); they had very blunt faces and were very light grey/white, in fact two were white on top and we could see them under the water! They leapt out of the water. A photo of Rissos dolphin looks identical - is this possible/ likely? We are very excited! Thanks Sam Miller 01415817042
Reply from Erich Hoyt, WDCS Senior Researcher: It is rare but possible that Risso's dolphins could be seen on the east coast of Scotland. They are usually a deeper water species found off the outer Hebrides and other such locations. The whitish scratched backs of the larger animals in the group would be the key sign, although younger animals might look more like typical dolphins. They are certainly larger than porpoises, more about the size of the bottlenose dolphins found off the east coast of Scotland, or a little larger, but not nearly as big as killer whales (the largest dolphin).
The main species they would be confused with off the east coast of Scotland would be bottlenose dolphins. Although bottlenose are usually uniform grey in colour, many of the bottlenose from northeast Scotland have very light coloured marks on their dorsal fin and back. If the marks are crisscrossing scratches on a very light grey almost white animal, then it is more likely to be Risso's. There is a slight chance you could have seen Cuvier's beaked whales, also a deep water species. They often carry these scratches, too, and have a lighter back and dorsal fin, but they are quite a bit larger, closer to the size of a minke whale. I would love to see some photos if you have them. The minke whales are comparatively much more common in the North Sea, including around St. Abbs Head. Please let the Seabird Centre and myself know about future Ssightings!! Thank-you.
Whale and Dolphin Sightings Dunbar
Josh and Tim Cristopherson and their brother Sam, who runs the popular C2C Surf School in Dunbar, have been amazed by the number of large mammals they have seen while surfing in the area. They are keeping in touch with whale expert Erich Hoyt who is helping to monitor and ID their sightings. In the last few months up to July, they believe they have seen bottlenose dolphins, minke whales, possible sighting of a basking shark and the most exciting, a couple of weeks ago a large group of what they are confident were killer whales (orcas).
Bird sightings by Maggie Sheddan
Week up to 5th July 2007
The Bass Rock:From fog to sunshine to driving rain, this has been an eventful week on the Bass Rock. On arrival at the island, the echoing, intensive contact calls of the guillemot chicks are filling the air as they try to stay close to the adult (male ) This is a desperate time for the 3 week old chicks that have jumped off the cliffs, at times into stormy waters. The young chick, unable to fly is very vulnerable not only to predation from gulls, but is at the mercy of the tides and seas. Guillemots are suffering this year. This last few years breeding numbers have dropped and at some colonies many have not produced eggs. Overall numbers appear to be down at many colonies. This week Cape Wrath reports are fairly dismal. Breeding numbers are down at St Abbs, and locally many birds have vanished from the cliffs this week. Certainly some have left with chicks but could this be a combination of food shortages and perhaps the aftermath of the 2004 seabird wrecks that marred the shores of many parts of Scotland?
On a brighter note the white down of many of gannet chicks is all very obvious now. Just last night on our visit, a new-born chick was spotted, several, particularly on the fringes are still on eggs. I have been trying to protect one new breeder that is now on the pathway, with an egg. On an earlier visit this week John Hunt, Seabird Centre board member and volunteer, has built and placed a ramp in front of the Lighthouse in the hope that gannets that are trapped there will use this to free themselves. He also cut the runway which was instantly used by a trapped bird. Lots of displaying and bonding and even mating is taking place between the younger birds.
The Bass Rock must be reaching capacity for the gannets with over 140,000 now nesting on the island. The areas around the chapel are now almost full. The question many people ask is where will they go to next? This past week news has come in that for the first time in twenty years Gannets have been seen on the cliffs of St Abbs. It would be wonderful if St Abbs were to become the next mainland colony.
Two peregrines have also been seen flying around the island this week and one (a younger bird) is regularly seen on its feasting perch.
Island of Craigleith: - Wonderful news …..the puffins seem to be returning to burrows in areas that have been cut. This was confirmed by Rene van der Waal from the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, who is presently monitoring sites on the island. The area of Tree Mallow which was cut back in April for the SOS Puffin Project (see our home page) has now grown in places to 2½ /3ft tall. It is incredible how quickly it grows. Work on SOS Puffin will start again once the young chicks have all fledged and the parents have returned to sea.
Week ending Friday 4th May 2007
contributed by volunteer Maggie Sheddan
Sightings pied wagtail, turnstone, oystercatcher, lesser black backed gull, eider duck, heron and sandwich tern.
The Bass Rock What an accident prone week for the gannets! On our first photographic boat trip of the season last Saturday, as I chatted to one of the photographers, there was an almighty thud above us and a gannet fell to earth just feet from where we standing. Thankfully although a little stunned, it appeared to be no worse for the wear (I'm considering the wearing of hard hats!). Occasionally as the gannets try to escape our small group or other birds on the rock, they become caught in the invasive alien plant Tree Mallow, which is present on the island (see Craigleith story - press releases for more info). Board member and volunteer of the Seabird Centre, John Hunt has cut a runway for the gannets, which hopefully will give them a flight path. A pile of mallow that I had cut around the chapel area, has vanished! I can only presume that it has become gannet nest material. Many of the gannets are now sitting on eggs and quite settled. Returning home, I realised I was wearing that familiar scent, ‘eau de gannet’. The season has definitely begun!
On Wednesday, we made a special trip to rescue a gannet that had become attached to the lightning conductor. With the help of one of our Discovery Centre staff, Kerr Loy, we managed to free the bird, although at one point with its bill still attached to my wrist I felt it didn’t want to leave. (I have the bruise to prove it!) Unfortunately it flew off into the colony, disturbing many birds on eggs (they settled back very quickly) but we can only hope it survived the adventure.
We also saw the peregrine flying around and checking out one of its viewing perches (there are now several pairs thriving on the islands, including the Bass), where it later took up position.
Craigleith Island guillemot, razorbill and kittiwakes are all very visible from the viewing deck along with the peregrine on the east side of the cliffs. With a sizeable area of tree mallow clearing now complete on Craigleith island in time for the puffin nesting season, we have been delighted to see the puffins starting to return to the island to reclaim their burrows (for full story, see News section SOS Puffin).
Other Local Sightings
Musselburgh gadwall, shoveler, goosander, black guillemot, common scoter, common tern, linnet and whitethroat.
Aberlady grasshopper warbler, sedge warbler, lesser whitethroat, whitethroat, wheatear and whinchat.
Week ending Fri 24th March 2007
Sightings pied wagtail, redshank, turnstone, oystercatcher, lesser black backed gull and eider ducks.
Fidra and Isle of May razorbill, guillemot, kittiwake and fulmar are spending longer on their cliff sites. On Thursday 23rd March many puffins were seen off Craigleith. None were seen when we landed on Friday but there are dozens of guillemot and razorbill on the sea. Worth spending a little time watching from the viewing deck.
Bass gannets still arriving to find their mate and their nest and thousands now on the rock. Numbers at height of season getting close to 140,000.
Dunbar First kittiwakes have started returning to their nest sites at the famous Dunbar Castle colony.
Local sightings; Musselburgh long-tailed duck, slavonian grebe, bar-tail and black-tailed godwits, grey plover, velvet scoter, red-breasted merganser, fulmars, kittiwakes, whoopers, snipe, gadwall , grey partridge and a snow bunting.
Killer whales still reported to be in the area. Reporting of a porpoise beached at Aberlady, it was found to be healthy and released back into the sea.
Week up to Fri 16th March 2007
Sightings pied wagtail, redshank, turnstone , oystercatcher, lesser black backed gull and this last few days many more eider ducks being seen in the East Bay and around the islands
Fidra Several dozen guillemot and razorbill were seen sitting on the sea off the cliffs of Fidra when we visited the other day. Many were on the scene on the way out to the island. One of the peregrines was also flying around the cliffs. The DC captured footage of the peregrine regurgitating a pellet this week – the children enjoyed it.
Bass Territorial skirmishes are taking place regularly now as gannets establish their sites. Looking from the viewing deck, the Bass Rock is once again alive with activity.
Dunbar kittiwakes have returned on the 15th March. Next year we will be able to watch for their return and hopefully this season we can enjoy the delights of this mainland colony when the new camera is installed.
Isle of May razorbill and guillemot now being seen on the cliffs, still coming and going but it won’t be long before they settle for longer periods. Moulting grey seals have also been seen on Pilgrims Haven.
Local sightings; Musselburgh skylarks, bar-tail and black-tailed godwits, grey plover, curlew, dunlin, knot, shelduck, wigeon, common scoter, teal and gadwall.
