Exciting times ahead next week. Our egg is due to hatch between 14 and 17 June. So, stay tuned to www.rspb.org.uk/shetlandsummer or www.shetland.org (where you can choose which channel to watch) and you may see a young puffin hatch.
There have been some puffins coming ashore with sandeels and zipping straight into their burrows. That means there are already puffin chicks on the reserve. And with some patience and a telescope you can be rewarded with views of guillemot chicks. So in a couple of weeks they'll be jumplings, leaping off the cliffs for their first contact with the sea. Summer is an amazing time in Shetland.
Rabbits have been wanting to get into the headlines by being on puffincam too. Naughty wee fellows have been popping into the burrow teasing the sitting puffin.
I've been trying to upload more pics but am having technical problems. I hope to share them with you soon.
Here they are now!
This young man from Levenwick really enjoyed watching the puffin at the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse. Local children are being asked to name the chick.
Following a "Wild Walk Through Time" event on Mousa, we were treated with superb views of a Minke whale.
The Minke circled the Mousa Ferry for ten minutes.
You can see how close it came to the boat. The small dorsal fin after a long, slow moving roll helps identification.
You can just about pick out the fin to the right of the lady with the ponytail. Mousa reserve is in the background.
The whale (which is known as a Herring Hog in Shetland) repeatedly swum under and beside the boat.
All the best from 60 North
Helen
Helen, I live in north America and I have been watching the puffincam. Thank you for the information about the sitting puffin. I saw puffins, for the first time in my life, at the RSPB Flamborough Head in Scarborough England and fell in love with them. It's very exciting to watch and hopefully see a chick hatch. Thanks again for keeping us updated and informed.