Count Down

Friday 2^nd June comments: The summer months are always a busy time for seabird colonies and for anyone associated with them and we are no different on the Isle of May. Like many other seabird sites, yesterday was the start of the long days as we have started the process of counting our nesting seabirds on the cliffs as we look closely at what is going on and the numbers involved.

Over the next ten days or so, the team will be counting the cliff nesting species with all Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, Shags and Kittiwakes logged. The mammoth task takes time, patience and skill as we go about the job of counting nesting seabirds on the cliffs of the Isle of May. Although seabird populations can show fluctuations from year-to-year, it is the long-term trends which are more interesting as we can see what is really happening with our seabirds (we’ll be blogging later in the summer with the results). It is a good guide to the health of our seabirds and we might be able to pick up the issues of avian influenza or the results of previous good breeding seasons.

However until we’ve crunched the numbers we’ll get on with counting and then reveal what is happening to our seabird populations. So we’ve got some long hours ahead of us and plenty of counting to do. The team are working hard and its all go on the island.

A tern for the Worse…

Wednesday 31^st May comments: The Isle of May seabird breeding season has been ticking along as normal with several species now feeding hungry youngsters, whilst some are still nest building and settling down. However something is different with our Terns, as they have yet to settle.

The Isle of May is home to 600+ pairs of nesting Arctic and Common Terns and by late-May the majority of the population are incubating eggs. When visitors arrive on the island, they are met by the noisy hustle and bustle of an active tern colony and at some point, the terns will even peck heads to defend nests which are situated near the pathways. It’s an exciting (scary?) entrance to the island but also a wonderful sight, as these terns have travelled huge distances to nest on the Isle of May, but not this year, so far…

It is very evident that terns are not present on the island despite appearing on time in early May. In recent days the terns have just not settled and very little activity has been noted on the ground. The habitat and the tern terraces all look good and are ready to welcome the birds back, but the terns themselves are just not nesting. But why?

Studies by P.Monaghan, J.D. Uttley and m.D Burns indicate that food supply could be an issue. Arctic terns are long lived (30+ years), generally breed annually but are frequently subjected to local variations in food supplies. It is known from these studies that birds are known to abandon breeding attempts if they are in poor condition, suggesting that they do in fact attempt to maximise output over a longer timespan than a single breeding season. These studies also indicate that food supply is the key factor influencing the reproductive ‘decisions’ of individuals in anyone year so birds will not nest if they are not in good enough condition.

However as we know, the answer may not be this simple as other factors may be at play including the effects of avian influenza or some other environmental factor or even a combination of all of these. So now we need to wait and see, observer and try piece together what is happening. It maybe that the terns come back and nest (still plenty of time to do so) but it’s certainly been a very unusual start to their season and we’ll watch with interest. We’ll keep you posted.  

The May Blues

Thursday 25^th May comments: The Isle of May has had a touch of the blues recently, but not because we are sad, but almost the complete opposite as we’ve entertained a few migrant Bluethroats!

In the last two weeks easterly winds have seen several scarce and rare birds drift onto the island including four different Bluethroats. On 12^th May an immature female was caught and ringed and was followed by two stunning males, both caught and ringed by members of the Isle of May Bird Observatory Trust. A fourth bird, another male (pictured) has been showing well in recent days (23^rd-23^rd May) and even singing on occasions.

These magical birds (like Robins but with blue fronts) are migrating to Scandinavia and have drifted over the North Sea and found the first landfall (the island!) The Isle of May has a great reputation for these birds and is one of the best sites in the U.K. to see them on passage. The species has been seen in some impressive numbers over the years including a staggering 100 on 14^th -15^th May 1985 whilst in more recent times, we had 15 on 19^th May 2019. In fact, the species is SO good, it is the on the badge of the Isle of May Bird Observatory (https://isleofmaybirdobs.org/)

The Isle of May is certainly a great migration station on the east coast as we are proving once again. As ever we’ll keep you posted of all the comings and goings on the island as spring continues so stay tuned to the blog.  

Pufflings!

Wednesday 24^th May comments:  We’ve been expecting it and finally the news broke on Sunday that we have Puffin chicks! The first adult puffin was seen carrying fish in flight indicating that a chick had hatched across the Isle as a hungry mouth needed feeding.

Puffins incubate their single egg for 40 days so there is a suggestion the first egg date was around the 12^th April. Since Sunday we have noticed several more adults flying in with sandeels suggesting more and more are hatching across the island. So from now on, Puffins will be full of busy as both adults will be fishing and bringing food back to hungry youngsters throughout the day regardless of weather.

Over the next few weeks mass hatching will occur across the Isle of May and the island will certainly feel a lot busier than recent times. Everything has been enjoying the chill time, but not any more, its Puffin chick season (and remember Puffin chicks are called Pufflings!)

Headpeckers on eggs!

Friday 19^th May comments: It’s a fast moving world out on the Isle of May and today we can reveal we have found our first Arctic Tern egg!

The world’s longest distant bird migrant has been arriving in good numbers in recent days with copulating and nest scraping behaviour noted. Arctic terns are highly aggressive towards any intruders as they will attack humans (and large predators), usually striking the top of the head (and capable of drawing blood). In the Arctic, they have been known to repel Polar bears!

The nest site is usually a depression in the ground and both sexes share incubation duties, sitting on eggs for 22-27 days. The majority of pairs will lay clutches of 2-3 eggs whilst a clutch of four is rare. Once the young hatch they are looked after by both parents and take just 21-24 days to fledge. Arctic Terns are surface feeders, plunging into the sea from a height, catching various small fish and marine invertebrates. Once the chicks are on the wing, the family parties start departing the island from early August and then begin one of the world’s most incredible journeys.

Anyway it’s now started and a word of warning; if you are visiting in the near future, please bring a hat. Arctic Terns take no prisoners. You’ve been warned…

Welcome Thomas

Thursday 18^th May comments: It’s been a busy time on the Isle of May for the breeding seabirds but it’s also been a busy time behind the scenes as we welcome the new NatureScot assistant reserve manager to the island.

Today we can reveal that Thomas has joined the team on the island, taking on the responsibility of the assistant role. It’s an exciting new challenge for Thomas who has been working up in the Cairngorms and Insh Marshes as well as previously working as a field assistant in the fabulous Camargue reserve in southern France.

Thomas has been on the island for a few weeks now, finding his feet and discovering his new surroundings and is looking forward to a busy seabird season on the May. If anyone is visiting, make sure you say hello and greet the newest member of the team as we head towards our busy season. All aboard the May isle!

Kittiwakes incubating

Monday 15^th May comments: The seabird season is very much in full swing and on Friday we had the confirmation that Kittiwakes are now on eggs. It’s the latest of the seabirds to be incubating and we are now not far from having the full set of birds on eggs.

Kittiwakes (also known as Black-legged Kittiwakes) are generally pelagic birds of the arctic and subarctic regions and can be found all across the northern coasts of the Atlantic. Although almost exclusively coastal they do breed along the River Tyne at Newcastle/Gateshead, the furthest inland breeding colony in the world! Kittiwakes get their name from their call, a shrill ‘kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake’ (listen out for their calls when you next visit a colony).

Kittiwakes spend the winter months in waters around Greenland and some as far as the eastern seaboard of Canada. It’s an impressive migration route for this dainty gull but one undertaken annually (it’s rather surprising just how far seabirds travel away from their colonies). However they return to the North Sea from mid-March and to breeding colonies like the Isle of May. Bird will build a nest on a Cliffside from late April/early May and lay 1-2 eggs (very occasionally three) and both parents will incubate on average for 27 days.

Kittiwake chicks are born precocial (the young are relatively mature and have the ability to be mobile from the moment of birth) and are downy and white in colour. This downy plumage will start to be replaced by feathering after just five days after hatching and will take approximately thirty-five days to fledgling stage. The plumage of youngsters is distinct, as it has a black bill and black ‘W’ across its back and upper wings. Chicks will come back to the nest for several weeks after hatching and will eventually follow the adults at sea where they spend the winter. Kittiwakes reach sexual maturity at around 4–5 years old. Kittiwakes eventually leave the Isle of May waters in September-October.

Eider Ducklings!

Friday 12^th May comments: Another exciting milestone was reached yesterday on the island as we discovered our first Eider ducklings with their mother on the loch. These are the first ducklings to hatch and over the forthcoming weeks, we’ll be seeing plenty more!

Female Eiders nest all over the Isle of May (including along the paths and roads) and generally have a clutch of 4-6 eggs. The main nesting period is from late April-May and the first eggs were discovered on 17^th April this season. The females will sit tight on the nest for the entire duration of the incubation period (which is approximately 26 days) and during this period, females can lose 40% of their body weight and as a result have to be in good condition before nesting.

Within 24 hours of the chicks hatching, the females will take the young to sea (or in some cases the island loch). Birds will form large crèches as young and adults from a multitude of nests will just mix as young grow bigger and stronger as they head towards independence. However eventually all adults and young will move off towards the nearby coastlines where chicks will be raised. Predation by large gulls is one of the main threats to the youngsters.   

Humpback Whale!

Wednesday 10th May comments: The Isle of May never disappoints! This morning a Humpback Whale was spotted from the mainland and later in the day, our reserve manager was returning to the island and was lucky to spot the impressive beast!

Humpback Whales are rare off the Isle of May, this was only the third in nine years although records are increasing in the Firth of Forth. Regardless it was still impressive to see such a mighty animal around the island and we hope it will stick around for a while to allow people to enjoy the great sight. The Humpback appeared settled and was feeding in large circles off the north end of the island, between the Isle of May and Crail.

So if you are visiting, keep your eyes peeled as you never know what you may see as the wildlife around the Isle of May is spectacular and surprising. Lets see what else we can discovered.

Welcome Home

Sunday 7^th May comments: It’s that time of year when the Isle of May starts to change again, as it gets a bit noisier and a bit more pecky…because the Terns are back! The Arctic Tern has mainly grey upperparts and white underparts with distinctive red bill and feet. The head and crown is black and contrasts with the white cheeks. The bird has a deeply forked tail and the birds look very elegant in flight. The species has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America and in recent days have just arrived back on the Isle of May.

Arctic Terns are highly migratory and they arrive back in Isle of May waters in late April (but were delayed a little bit this year due to poor weather). In the first two weeks of May pairs will conduct vocal aerial displays over the known breeding grounds and form nightly roosts near the jetty on the island. Soon after copulation and egg laying will begin (usually around 20th-25^th May) and Arctic terns are highly aggressive towards any intruders as they will attack humans (and large predators), usually striking the top of the head (and capable of drawing blood). In the Arctic, they have been known to repel Polar bears!

The nest site is usually a depression in the ground and both sexes share incubation duties, sitting on eggs for 22-27 days. The majority of pairs will lay clutches of 2-3 eggs whilst a clutch of four is rare. Once the young hatch they are looked after by both parents and take just 21-24 days to fledge. Arctic Terns are surface feeders, plunging into the sea from a height, catching various small fish and marine invertebrates. Once the chicks are on the wing, the family parties start departing the island from early August and then begin one of the world’s most incredible journeys but more on that later in the season. It’s just good to have them back!