We've had fantastic weather up at the Mull all week, and Rob and I made the most of it on Thursday by making a full count of our seabirds. At the moment, the best place to see the birds is just off the reserve along the cliff path from the cafe. Here, the birds are very close, and with a pair of binoculars you can watch tiny penguin-like guillemot chicks wobbling precariously on edges surrounded by big groups of over-protective gargling adult birds. We have very very few guillemot chicks this year because of the May winds which blew almost all of the eggs away, so it is a relief to spot the few that made it.
Kittiwakes haven't been doing at all well over the last few years, which is why we are all really glad to see lots of their chicks around this year. Kittiwakes seem to suffer more than most from the declines in sand-eels, and as such most chicks have been starving to death in previous years. This year we will watch them closely (and keep all our fingers and toes crossed) to see how many chicks make it.
On the 27th August we will be running a sponsored walk for the kittiwakes ('10k for kittiwakes'), so if anyone would like to support our kittiwakes and other seabirds up here at the Mull, please contact me at the centre and I can get you registered and send you out a sponsorship form. Anyone of any age or fitness welcome - you can take it at your own pace, and we even have a shorter trail for shorter (or tireder) legs.
Hope so see you there!
Hannah
Hi Norm, good to hear from you. It hasn't been a great year chick-wise - with no guillemot or razorbill chicks fledged as far as we can tell. The eggs were all blown off the cliffs and they didn't re-lay. We did have about 140 kittiwake chicks fledge though (they laid their eggs later than the guillemots and razorbills, after the worst of the weather), although from a total of about 350 kittiwake nests that not a very high figure.
How is the job going?
All the best, Hannah
I've been wondering how the chicks got on at MoG as we only saw a few when we were there (and no kittiwakes). How's it been generally this year? I've brought a stack of Marine Pledge leaflets home and am going to ask my yoga students if they want to fill them in!
(Hey, did I tell you - on my last day there I finally got to see the puffins? Four of them!)
Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree, intimate friends, the ego and the Self dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life while the latter looks on in detachment.
Mundaka Upanishad
Great to hear the kittiwakes are doing well. I can't join you for the walk but I'll be with you in spirit.