It’s not just birds that are flying around here at the Mull of Galloway. Our moth trap had a bumper haul of 200 moths this week consisting of 20 different species bringing the total records from May up to 38 species including sightings of various day-flying moths such as a humming-bird hawk-moth, six spot burnets and cinnabars.

A few highlights from the most recent trappings include northern eggar, angle sha…

The recent run of gorgeous weather has brought forth some of the smallest stars of the reserve - beetles, bees and butterflies abound on the heath.  Plant-wise the hogweed flowers still dominate but other white umbellifers are joining in now as the wild carrot and yarrow are coming into flower.  It isn't just the rose chafer beetles that approve of umbellifers: they are a favourite of hoverflies and other flies also…

The shag chicks continue to grow well and at five weeks old, the nest is getting a little crowded! The chicks, which are already starting to stretch their wings, will remain on the nest for around another two and a bit weeks but will continue to be fed by the parents for several weeks more.

The kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots are starting to settle down and several eggs have been spotted. The fulmars, which have…

Today is the anniversary of a tragic accident at the Mull of Galloway, which directly involved the building which is now the RSPB visitor centre.  On the 8th June 1944, a Beaufighter aircraft was en route from Prestwick to an airfield on the Solway but encountered poor weather and crashed into first the Lighthouse boundary wall, followed by our visitor centre roof (an equipment store at that time).  The Beaufighter then…

This week has produced quite a variety of sightings, on Monday 15 porpoise were spotted from the lighthouse and a puffin was reported to have been heard calling early in the morning but no actual sightings of any have been made this week. There have however been many sightings of peregrine and kestrel hunting around the site and rock pipit have frequently being seen displaying around the cliff edges or near the fog horn…

I am employing supermarket tactics - you know, when you troop along to Aisle 7, halfway down and find not the teabags you were expecting but something completely different which looks very tempting and ends up in your shopping basket?  It's just that I've managed to fit in a couple of visits to the Wood of Cree recently and need to let you know what you're missing.

As far as I'm concerned, the Wood of Cree…

Two weeks ago today (and therefore one week earlier than they managed last year), our favourite shag family saw the first of this year's eggs hatch.  Visitors have been treated to a privileged insight into this new family's daily routines; the chicks have grown before our very eyes, courtesy of our cliff cam. The tiny little wobbly necked creatures that emerged from the eggs have burgeoned into plump, healthy youngsters…

Here's why :)

The intrinsic beauty of the headland with its coastal Heathland, cliff tops carpeted by a multitude of wildflowers, panoramic views across Luce bay and the Irish sea, bees and butterflies flitting around, the occasional glimpse of passing porpoise or inquisitive seals bobbing their heads up through the waters surface and of course the sight and sound of so many birds, seabirds clinging to the cliff…

On Wednesday night we put out our moth trap at the Mull of Galloway, a simple contraption for those not familiar with this type of survey work, basically it’s a box with a light bulb that attracts moths who then settle down inside the box until we record them then set them free unharmed.

With a cool stiff breeze, clear sky and a full moon it possibly wasn’t the best night to attract moths but we figured we would…

Hi, I’m Ellie! I arrived at the Mull of Galloway on Sunday 4^th May, where I will be a residential volunteer for two weeks. On my arrival driving along through the South Rhins in the sunshine I saw gannets diving into the sea and oystercatchers sitting on the sea wall just outside Drummore.

It was quite foggy when I got to the visitor centre and I could just make out the rocky island of Big Scare about 6 miles out…

I've been away from the reserve for a few days but I can tell from flicking through the sightings book that many birds are still on the move.  Large numbers of swallows and martins overhead at the weekend, twenty plus wheatears on the reserve last Friday.  The Mull is superb for watching passage migration, whether it be incoming traffic in the springtime or birds heading for their wintering grounds in the autumn.  From…

There is some catching up to do in our first sightings blog of the month, much to tell.  Now that we have another member of staff at the Mull plus residential volunteers we should be able to put out more frequent sightings reports.  Here's what's been happening so far this month:

On the cliffs and sea:

The auks have not yet settled down, but are taking up their nesting sites on the better days when it is calmer…

Rob, our new Information Officer has just finished his first week at the Mull.  It's great to have him here - we've both come through the RSPB internship scheme in 2012 so we've met before and are proof positive that volunteering and especially internships will help you take the next step up the conservation career ladder.  I'll let him introduce himself, here's his blog and mugshot!

Hi, I’m Rob the…

I've been back at the Mull for exactly one month and it has been an eventful month on and near to the reserve.  Lambing has now finished at the Mull Farm so as you pass the fields on your way up to the reserve, you'll notice the fields are full of sheep and bouncy lambs.  There's also been an MOD exercise in Luce Bay so you may also have noticed soldiers camping out at the Tarberts, or lurking in gorse bushes. …

Today is the first day of spring and also the  United Nations Day of Happiness!  It's grand to be celebrating both of those occasions here at the Mull of Galloway.  It has been a blustery day here but even if all the wildlife is sheltering from the weather there is always something impressive to catch your eye; today the elements were the stars of the show.  This morning when I switched on the screens in the visitor centre…

I'm delighted to announce that the RSPB visitor centre will be open for the 2014 season as from today, Sunday 9 March!  It will be open 10am - 5pm Thursday - Monday during March and every day from April onwards when I should have a team mate and volunteers to help staff the visitor centre.  We were semi-open yesterday as I donned my marigolds and did some more dusting and polishing.  It was nice to see a few people on…

I knew it: I shouldn't have taken leave last week.  We've been expecting to see great swathes of birds passing through the Mull on their annual migration southward and it all got going last week while I was away.  My colleague Paul had the good fortune to be on the reserve and we were very lucky indeed to have a visit from Clive McKay who is a Bird Migration expert who spent a long weekend watching out for migrating…

As usual, I am responsible for the brilliant? pun in the title but this time I have handed over to one of my residential volunteers to write this blog.  Our volunteers come in all different 'shapes and sizes', with many different skills and backgrounds.  However, they invariably have one thing in common: a real passion for nature and a strong desire to make a difference.   So, I am delighted to introduce Robert, a marine…

As I write this all UK schools should now be on their summer holidays. We’ve already had some Scottish and overseas school children and families visiting us of course and now we’re preparing for an invasion from the rest of the UK. We’ve got lots of fun things for you to do here at the Mull. Just at the moment, while it’s such beautiful weather, we’ve been putting out a 6 point trail for you to follow. There’s an activity…

We’ve had reports of some UFOs on the reserve at the Mull over the past couple of weeks – people have popped into the visitor centre with puzzled expressions on their faces.  Their cameras contained photographs of nondescript small brownish birds, what on earth could they be?  

The answer is that several of the young wheatear, stonechat and pipit families are fledging right now.  So the birds hanging around looking…

The other evening as I was leaving the reserve, I saw something that you don’t see everyday – a hare sitting on the roof of the Gallie Craig cafe.  Actually it wasn’t a silly as it sounds since the roof is turfed and covered in grass and plants so clearly the hare fancied a meal at the cafe (and who wouldn’t?)  Just for once I wished that I’d had a camera handy but I tend not to bother with cameras…

... three very lovely (well, the parents think so anyway) babies.  Weight and sex unknown. 

We have been watching this particular pair of shags for well over a month now, ever since we spotted them building a nest and mating.  Three eggs then appeared and we are delighted to announce that all three eggs hatched last weekend.  I was spending a long weekend in N. Ireland and was admiring the lovely black guillemots in the harbour…

It has been strangely quiet on the cliffs here at the Mull of Galloway, relatively speaking that is.  The kittiwakes have been kicking up a bit of a fuss but their rivals for noisiest cliff edge dwellers have been staying away since their first arrival a few weeks back.  I was trying not to fret for my new ‘family’ but I admit to being relieved to see large numbers of the guillemots and razorbills now occupying the cliffs…

A belated hello from me - the new Community Liaison Officer here at the beautiful Mull of Galloway.  I am indeed living the dream, having spent the last couple of years working towards a career in conservation with the RSPB.  My quest has taken me from Oxfordshire to Scotland, via Rathlin Island, Coombes Valley (Staffordshire) and then finally Leighton Moss in Lancashire.  Three absolutely wonderful locations which have…

Well it's goodbye from me after a couple of seasons at the Mull. I've had a great time here, and am leaving with rich memories.

Some of the best include early mornings sunrises surveying tysties, exploring New England Bay beach with wild children, imitating seabird colonies with a raucous primary 5 class, watching an amateur rocket blast off into the atmosphere, spotting a Risso's dolphin breaching out to sea, soaking…