With it being a bank holiday this weekend I suppose the rain was inevitable. Unlucky for us, this period of heavy rains has coincided with the first of our seabird chicks beginning to hatch out en-masse. At the moment, the Black-headed Gulls that begun nesting in April are welcoming new chicks to the world on a daily basis whilst several clutches of Ringed Plover eggs are due to hatch any day now.
Above: A clutch of ringed plover eggs that are being closely watched and should be hatching within days.
Sadly, hatching out of a protective shell casing into the world at large does have its disadvantages. The chicks of most seabird species including the ones that breed here are precocial meaning that they hatch out with a full set of downy feathers ready to fluff up. In downpours like the current one, chicks under around 2-3 weeks will all be tucked away under mum or dads wings to stop them getting wet and cold but if the parents are disturbed and chicks are exposed to the elements, they can get cold very quickly. Being not much more than a ball of fluffy feathers means that they quickly soak up the rain whilst even light winds rapidly chill their tiny little bodies to dangerous temperatures.
Above: A young tern chick less than 24 hours old demonstrating just how fluffy they are! (Photo: Wez Smith (2011)).
We've been giving them a lot of space over the weekend so that there's no reason for any of the new parents to let their chicks out from their warm nests. Hopefully we'll be getting some sun soon enough and we'll all be treated to the sight of lots of chicks exploring the world for the first time. I can't wait!