At the Mull of Galloway we are looking forward to the arrival of our kittiwake chicks over the next few days, many of which will be viewable on the screens in the visitor centre thanks to our remote cameras on the cliffs.
Kittiwake chick - Photo credit: Laura Shearer
Kittiwakes lay 2 or 3 eggs which they incubate for 30 days. The chicks will then spend the next 5 or 6 weeks on their precarious platforms built from compacted layers of mud and vegetation. Once the chicks fledge they head out to sea and may not return to land for 4 or even 5 years when they will generally return to the same colonies where they were born.
Since the 1980’s kittiwake numbers around the UK have crashed by around 75%. This is mainly due to a lack of sandeels which form a significant part of their diet. For more information on what factors are affecting sandeels please click here
There are still many razorbill chicks on the cliffs and recently fledged guillemots can be seen on the water. The majority of the shags have also fledged and the fulmars are currently incubating eggs.
Puffins are seen most days around the headland, mainly from Lagvag or the Foghorn, albeit in small numbers, but always a delight to see these colourful little birds on the water.
Whitethroat can be heard singing around the visitor centre and the walled garden area, many pipits can be seen displaying all around the reserve, linnet, goldfinch and wheatear are frequently sighted as are swallows, house martins and the occasional swift as they swoosh through the air feeding on many insects.
The vast range of wildflowers that festoon the Mull of Galloway attract a wide range of insects including common blue, red admiral and painted lady butterflies, buff-tailed, white-tailed and red-tailed bumblebees and the very distinctive rose chafer beetle.
Common blue butterfly - Photo credit: Robert Conn
Rose chafer beetle - Photo credit: Robert Conn
This weekend coming, the 4th, 5th July, the Mull of Galloway Trust will be hosting a weekend of events based around the smuggling history of the area. There will be guided walks, talks, crafts stalls, children’s activities and lots more going on. For more information click here