Saturday 4th March comments: We’ve been on the Isle of May preparing for the new season and it’s been good to see how the place has been coping during the winter months. Thankfully all seems well and apart from the occasional breach of a stone wall by some Grey Seals (yes seals knock stone walls over!) the place is looking good.
As the lighter nights continue to advance, it was good to see signs of life as the new breeding season will soon be upon us. On the cliffs plenty of Guillemots and Razorbills were in daily attendance although only for the first few hours of the day as they would then head out to the open sea. European Shags appeared settled and in some cases nest building activity was noted as they will no-doubt be the first to nest as usual. The only other seabird of note were the impressive Fulmars on the cliffledges, cackling away but it will be sometime before they actually start nesting…mid-May to be precise!
Other birds have yet to return to the island, with only a few Kittiwakes whilst a handful of Puffins were seen out at sea but it will be a few weeks before they decide to touch land. Overall its encouraging signs although still very early in the season as we will experience plenty of bad weather before the official start, but so far so good.
Isle of May National Nature Reserve 