Our work at Fowlsheugh continues...I was on the reserve on Wednesday and Thursday doing more seabird monitoring. One of my jobs each year is to monitor the breeding success of the kittiwakes. I have to identify and map about 400 kittiwake nests and re-visit them at key times to calculate how many chicks actually fledge from their nests. I am pleased to report that most of my nests are at the "small chick" stage. The chicks all look healthy and I saw lots of feeding by the parent birds. To me, the season appears to be still going strong. I will re-visit my kittiwake nests when the chicks are close to fledging, fingers crossed the food supplies last to enable these birds to leave the nest fighting fit and prepared for their first winter at sea.
There are plenty of guillemot chicks, some are now well grown and I expect any day, they will start leaping off the cliffs and head out to the open sea. Several people at the reserve were asking me today about razorbill chicks, is there any? The answer is yes, but you have to look much harder, as there are less adult razorbills and they tuck themselves well away in nooks and crannies. I saw several chicks today, some also quite well grown.
If you recall in my last blog, I was drumming up support for the much-maligned herring gull. My love of these birds has waned a bit this week...I witnessed a couple of guillemot chicks being snatched from the cliff and consumed by the gulls. I also saw a Carrion crow snatch a kittiwake chick. Sometimes wildlife watching can be distressing!
Other wildlife highlights...the birds- foot trefoil is beginning to flower..day flying carpet moths (sorry..my moth ID failed to get it down to a species) and a Silver Y moth. (A distinct lack of butterflies on the cliff top I noted today.) Also, good sightings of puffins, I am sure there are at least two burrows unerneath the cave at the end of he maintained footpath. All in all, a very successful two days work and wonderful weather.
Vicky