Tammie Norie is the Shetland name for our most popular seabird, the puffin. I think I've said before that Sumburgh Head is one of the most accessible seabird colonies in the country. You can see, hear and smell a whole range of seabirds, from guillemots and shags lower down the cliffs, to kittiwakes and razorbills a bit further up, to fulmars and puffins nearer the top. It is also a great place to watch gannets and gulls at sea or flying past, and to see both Arctic and great skuas harrying smaller seabirds.
It is a great place for the RSPB to be able to help share the seabird experience with visitors, and communicate the importance of monitoring seabirds and safeguarding the seas.
Yesterday we were blessed with calm sunny weather, and the reserve was very busy with visitors. Just from looking at the clothes and accessories people are wearing, you can see that seabird colonies are appealing to people of all backgrounds and interests. Some folk are obviously serious walkers, photographers or nature enthusiasts - wearing a certain style of trouser, high quality weatherproof jackets, rigged up with backpack, poles, optical equipment or whatever.
One lady was the most glamorous vision I have seen on the reserve, with a full length glitzy faux-fur-trimmed coat, Jaqui O style sunglasses, and amazing hair and make-up. I wondered if she was a Hollywood celebrity. Well no matter what the clothes and style may allude to, the expressions all reveal the same. Everyone feels happy when watching puffins!
We had two groups of young people come to Sumburgh Head with an educaitonal aspect to their visit. Forty were in their second year at primary school, and thirty were in their second year at University. Linda and Rob accompanied the younger group, as a part of our Living Classrooms field teaching scheme, whilst I accompanied the University group. We were each communicating the same messages though using different methods and language -basically - impacts of climate change, our responsibility to look after the sea and the lives dependent on it, and nature is amazing.
Linda was in charge of environmental games, which include the PufFun game. This game is a firm favourite with local schools and was once observed by members of the royal family (Charles and Camilla)! The run-around game aims to educate children about the Shetland Sandeel Agreement (an agreement developed between RSPB, SNH and the Shetland Fishermen's Association to manage the local sandeel fishery which helps seabird populations) and how climate change affects the sea.
Rob took the other group to do birdwatching. They not only get to enjoy the spectacle, but learn some about how birds have adapted to life at sea. This is all linked to A Curriculum for Excellence. There are some children who have never had the good fortune of visiting a seabird colony, so it is most rewarding for RSPB staff to share the experience with them.
Meanwhile, I spoke with the visiting Aberdeen University students about seabird population trends, the importance of long-term monitoring, and socio-economics relating to seabird colonies and the community (and we also spoke a little about some midsummer celebrations which were taking place in town).
Rob has been carrying on with his pufin monitoring. At last, the puffins are bringing in sandeels so there must be chicks aplenty in the burrows, adding more to their breeding season story. It is a bit of an art to keep an eye on the puffin colony and record which birds are returning to their burrows with food. Martin Heubeck has been doing feedwatches on the guillemots. The chicks are growing well, and being fed on sandeels of various sizes, whiting and small saithe. The oldest chick is due to leave the colony any day now. Happy days!
That's all for now.
Cheerio from Helen