Thursday 20th June comments: It’s been a happy place (as you could imagine) since we broke the news of our Puffin census and the results indicating the Puffin population has increased to 52,000 breeding pairs. However it’s not all good news.
The seabird breeding season has had its good news but we’ve also got bad news. More positives for the season include the successful return of the Arctic terns to the island with over 300 nesting pairs, a real plus point considering the complete abandonment of the island last year (so a step in the right direction). The first chick hatched on 18th June and the next week or two should see a big number of chicks being born.
Up on the cliffs it’s been more of a mixed picture as we now know that the news won’t be good for some of the nesters. European Shag numbers are way down as we estimate a drop of over 500 pairs compared to last year (the population has been decimated) but we’ll bring the official numbers to you next week. Another big concern is for our Guillemots as we know winter survival was poor and colony attendance is well down, which shows a big drop in their population. However Razorbills and Kittiwakes appear to be slightly better off, so not as a dramatic decrease compared to the two other species mentioned.
So overall a complete mixed bag and we’ll bring the final figures soon which will reveal how well these birds are doing. It also shows just how fragile seabird colonies (and seabirds) are and the knife-edge they live on, and if there is one thing we definitely know, it is that they need a good breeding season this year! Fingers crossed…
Isle of May National Nature Reserve 