Hello!
Welcome to the Seabird blog! I am going to be keeping you updated with our seabirds on our Sumburgh Head and Mousa reserves. These reserves are situated at the southern end of the Shetland Isles. Mousa is a small uninhabited island lying across the line of 60 degrees North, famous for its 2,000 year-old broch (an Iron Age stone-built tower).
The seabirds I'll be telling you about that breed on Mousa include great and Arctic skuas, Arctic terns, black guillemots and storm petrels. Sumburgh Head is a headland at the southern tip of mainland Shetland. Our Shetland Office is situated there, in a lighthouse keeper's cottage. It is home to many breeding seabirds, including shags, guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills, fulmars and (the star of the show) puffins.
This time of year is perhaps my favourite, as I get to see old feathered friends returning and have a few surprises too. Guillemots and kittiwakes have been in attendance for a few weeks now. Shags are looking very handsome with their crests and glossy green plumage. Last Wednesday at 5 pm, there were no puffins on the cliffs. However, at 7 pm there were hundreds!
On Sunday, I popped up to Sumburgh Head and found some birdwatchers focusing on the headland to the west of the reserve (Fitful Head, where the Braer ran aground in 1993). To my great surprise, they were watching a white-tailed eagle which had flown north from Fair Isle! I managed to watch it for a minute or two before it disappeared behind a hill. A rather serendipitous moment! I'll tell you more about that individual bird another time.
We had a first trip of the year to Mousa on Easter Monday. On the 10-minute ferry crossing, we saw red-throated divers and black guillemots on the sea. On Mousa, there were already half a dozen great skuas (we call them bonxies in Shetland), though it is still a little early to see their smaller cousin the Arctic skua.Before I go, I better quickly introduce myself. My name is Helen Moncrieff and I am the South Shetland Warden. Our Shetland Team are - Rob Fray (seasonal Assistant Warden), Linda Davis (Field Teacher), Malcie Smith and Martha Devine (North Shetland Wardens), Pete Ellis (Shetland Area Manager) and Jenny Sutherland (Administrator), and our volunteers. I look forward to sharing our news with you.