No two days are ever the same out here. There were no visitors today due to a stiff northerly meaning the boat could not run but we were far from idle! In fact it turned into a very varied day......

We began by getting the sheep in. With this continued mild weather and flies still active we decided to treat them with a blowfly repellent now that their fleeces are starting to grow back. This should see them through to the end of autumn when the fly risk diminishes.

Dewi in 'work mode' - he was a star today and saved us a lot of leg work!


Job done!


Then it was time to check on the Manx shearwater study burrows........

There are still a few young shearwaters waiting to fledge. This bird is still showing some down and is too heavy to leave at the moment but will probably do so within the week. Most have departed for the long flight to Argentina now and the colonies are quiet again after a busy summer

Then there was just about time to fit the seal round in before the tide rose too much.......

There were 122 grey seal pups on the monitored beaches today of which 60 are on Aber Mawr alone! Both shearwaters and seal pups have benefited from such a calm September this year

It was late afternoon by now and we shot down to the harbour to meet Derek who was delivering our new quad bike on the high tide. We change them every 4 years as we get a very good part exchange deal and incur far lower maintenance costs as a result. The overall cost to the RSPB is much lower doing it this way

Off with the old red bike and......

....on with the new green one!

All in all a pretty enjoyable way to spend a Saturday!

The forecast is much more settled for tomorrow and Monday so hopefully boats will be running again. Contact Thousand Islands Expeditions on 01437 721721 to check and to book a place on the boat - the seal pups will be here till the end of October