A mystery character has turned up at Fowlsheugh over the winter.  She (we think she is a she!)  is seen daily lurking around our observation shelter.  But don't be alarmed, she is a friendly soul, giving visitors a warm welcome.   Where she has come from is a mystery..can anyone can shed any light on this matter.  A name for her would be good too.  So, any suggestions?  

On more serious seabird issues..thanks to Tom for his…

 

Hello Fowlsheugh Blog. I am Tom Simon the current Intern for the RSPB Grampian Reserves. This is my second visit to Fowlsheugh and it was a memorable one.

The main purpose of our visit was to replace the stakes on the cliff tops which we will tie ourselves to when carrying out breeding bird surveys. I myself will be doing Kittiwakes and the general feeling was it was quite quiet for the time of year.

My favourite…

I popped down to Fowlsheugh yesterday....it's officially my day off today, so my blog will be a short montage of the wildlife I encountered, in no particular order: ......thousands of seabirds, on the cliffs and on the sea as far as I could see...guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars,...seven bottle nosed dolphins, rock pipits, short eared owl, buzzard, dramatic skies and mirror calm sea, , fox poo, badger sett…

An early visit down to Fowlsheugh this weekend to meet up with Robin and Toby from the RSPB film unit at the Lodge. They're currently touring the country (reaching Fowlsheugh via Northern Ireland on the their way north to Orkney!) to check out places to film seabirds over the coming season.

Despite the very very strong wind, Fowlsheugh managed to show itself off and looked lovely in the sunshine, even if it…

Had my first visit to this wonderful little reserve yesterday and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Merlin, peregrine, and buzzard all flying over my head with lots and lots of fulmars back on the cliffs, chattering away. Eiders on the sea down below, with song thrushes and blackbirds in the gorse bushes, there was never a shortage of something to look at. I stopped for a while at the new shelter, it was such a lovely day…

With 40mph winds around Strathbeg at the start of this morning, it perhaps didn't seem like the best time to head out to a cliff top reserve! However I had a bit of work to do at Fowlsheugh and it seemed an ideal time to give Suzanne a look round the reserve. Thankfully, the winds dropped as we headed south and by the time we arrived, the sun had come out and the reserve was looking superb, and we decided it was safe…

 

 There are always reasons to go to Fowlsheugh even though the seabirds are a distant memory.    I popped down today to look for grey seal pups (none seen) This is the beginning of the grey seal pupping season and while we only ever have small mumbers..its a job worth doing.   We send all our sightings info to a research team at St Andrews University, they coordinate seal surveys across Scotland.   It's a great walk along the…

Hello..long time no blog from the warden!   Sorry it’s been a while, but just to let you know seabirds at Fowlsheugh have done very well this season.  Across Scotland their fortunes have been mixed.   Shetland in particular has had a dreadful season, with many birds not attempting to breed and chicks starving to death on the cliffs..a depressing picture indeed.  However, at Fowlhseugh the story is a lot brighter.  We only…

Since the last blog post Lesley took over for a couple of walks / sessions on the cliffs - thanks Lesley. She maintained the 100% success record of seeing Puffins! I was back and on the cliffs from 23rd, with walks on 23, 26 and 30th of June. Mixed weather (what a wet summer we are having), but lots of birds. Plenty of Guillemot and Razorbill chicks, with very many Kittewakes. Herring Gulls are (perhaps unfortunately…

The torrential rain in Aberdeen missed (mostly) Fowlsheugh, but provided fantastic rainbows, and clear light for the evening walk. This went ahead, despite some misgivings at 1800, and a great evening was enjoyed. Lots of chicks are now on the cliffs, Herring Gulls on the tops (watch out for dive-bombing adults in places - they will follow for some distance), Kittewakes, Guillemots and Razorbill chicks were all seen.…

After the excitement and sandwiches, it was back to the presence on the cliffs, with quite a few visitors on the reserve enjoying the sunshine. 5 participants joined me on the guided walk, but room was made for many others when a Puffin was seen and telescoped! 7 Puffins were seen in all. The weather was amazing, with birds panting in the heat as they could not leave nest sites in the full sun. Lots of chicks were visible…

A beautiful day at Fowlsheugh today to officially open the new stone-built shelter. Friends of George and Moyra Anderson, who left us the money to build the shelter, RSPB staff, the shelter designers and local residents were all invited for the official ribbon cutting and a picnic lunch on the cliff top.

Pupils from Mackie Academy in Stonehaven cut the ribbon. These kids have been working on a long term project to get…

Hi

A quick update from the wardening team.   Lots to tell you.   We were hoping to get to Fowlsheugh last Monday, but 70mph winds put paid to that.  This was a shame as I was all geared up to start my annual programme of seabird monitoring.   Kathryn, our summer "internee" is doing some of the work for me this year.  She will be doing a couple of counts of all the herring gulls nesting on the reserve.  Later on in the…

After upgrades and technical problems am able to get back onto the blog and update the news.

I spent Sunday afternoon on the cliffs, seeing 12 Bottle nosed Dolphins passing south, unfortunately half an hour before the start of the planned guided walk. 10 participants joined me on a breezy afternoon with some showers, once again a couple of French people were happy to have an explaination in French!

The walk was successful…

A sunny day spent on the cliffs. A few people about, holidaymakers and locals. Included four french tourists really pleased to find a guide who could help them in French! They saw Gannets, Puffins and Dolphins and rated the reserve as one of the best highlights of their holiday. As did a couple from England who appreciated the access to the birds and the lack of people (they live near Bempton Cliffs which is a busier…

Just completed a piece with Mark Stephen at Fowlsheugh for his "Out of Doors" programme on Radio Scotland. Should be broadcast on Saturday and repeated on Sunday this week.

The weather was great, the sights and smells as expected (not picked up by the mike though) and the sounds fantastic. Hopefully the final piece will reflect the fabulous place that Fowlsheugh is.

I will start the guided walks tomorrow …

nuff said!

Hi

On Thursday, we had another wander along the cliffs.    This time we were checking to see if any puffins had returned to the cliffs.   We try and do this fairly regularly at this time of year, to help out Dr Mike Harries from the Centre of Hyrdology and Ecology (CEH) Mike has studied seabirds, particularly puffins for many years and he is interested to know whether puffins are returning earlier to their breeding grounds…

.    Yep..I know we are only a few days into 2011, but I am already getting excited about the seabird season.  I was at Fowlsheugh with a friend/local volunteer yesterday for a flying visit and was delighted to see large numbers of guillemots and fulmars on the cliffs.     No, this isn't an extreme example of birds nesting earlier because of climate change!!!  Both species pay short visits to their breeding grounds from December…

Hello all

I was at Fowlsheugh on Sunday, leading our penultimate guided walk, two takers and our youngest participant so far..13th month old Rosie.   I was a bit worried driving down, as the season was very early this year and I was a bit concerned there would be nothing to look at.   However, as I got out of my car, I heard the usual racket of the kittiwakes, some passing sandwich terns and a couple of screaming peregrines…

Hi...lots to update you with.   I have been to the reserve a couple of times since I last "blogged".   Myself and other staff and volunteers were at Fowlsheugh on  30th June to host a group of scouts from Falkirk, who were on a summer camping week in the area.   It was perhaps one of the hottest days of the year and we had a great walk along the cliffs.  Of course, many of them saw a puffin for the first time in their…