How good must it be to able to lift off your nest and float in the air for the first time. Have been spending quite a bit of time watching our young Kittiwakes, and boy is there a lot of them this year, and now is the perfect time to catch them as the days worth of crazy flapping becomes that first faltering flight. Even if you miss the birds actually lifting off the nest for the first time, it's easy to spot the first timers as they float randomly around the cliff face until they oh so quickly master the ability to actually fly where they want! Of course, not all plain sailing (flying) and the bird that spent a while on the roof of the visitor centre clearly didn't intend to do so. Also, plenty of chicks flying back out to sea over the coastal footpath and you'd imagine it was never their plan to actually leave the sea.
Of other chicks: Pufflings have actually been seen recently so you could be lucky. On some days there are hundreds of adults around, so worth a thorough search of those perfect little crevices. If there's no Pufflings entirely possible you might pick out a Fulmar chick. Motionless balls of fluff waiting patiently for the adults to return and more the look of a Pigeon chick about them, but I love them. Gannet chicks are ever more demanding, so plenty of activity from the adults and breezy days continue to give stunning views of adults and previous years young flying a few feet away on the cliff top.
Flocks of finches are starting to build, Linnets and Goldfinches in particular and even though there are flocks of Tree Sparrows some are still busy on third broods. Suspect the increasing numbers of birds nesting in the visitor centre roof is testimony to the ageing tiles, but a popular spectacle none-the-less.
Visitors to the reserve might well have noticed a new addition. It is not a Jackdaw box, but of course the Jackdaws don't know that!! More of this in a future post.
So many Ringlets around at the moment, that even a hint of sunshine and you'll see them. Lots of new emergence as plenty of very fresh looking individuals. Also, Peacock caterpillars have been seen in patches of nettles and perhaps the last chance to see the Bee Orchids as they begin to not quite look their best.