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 16th 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
14th January
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.
