We have had some incredibly warm and calm weather this past week which has been brilliant for getting out in the field and finishing off our main monitoring work.
Gower Ranger leaving the harbour after a land © Alys Perry.
We welcomed another lovely volunteer onto the island this week and it was none other than the well-known and loved Gwyneth. Gwyneth has been coming for many years and always gets stuck in with her enthusiastic introductory talks and insatiable laughter. Gwyneth helped with visitors, monitored chough, painted the bungalow and the plastic puffins, and engaged with all our day visitors. Thank you so much for all your help this week Gwyneth, we can't wait to have you over again. Fingers crossed it will be sooner rather than later! Here are a few photos of what Gwyneth has been up to this week.
Gwyneth watching Chough at Colonmenodd © Alys Perry.
Gwyneth leaving after her week volunteering © Alys Perry.
In other news, we finished our whole island seabird census for the year! I have listed the totals below against previous years for comparison. We are super pleased it is all done for the season and it looks like the seabirds are still doing well. Below is a table for this year's results from the 2023 census.
Nia doing Auk counts on the Western Cliffs © Alys Perry.
A pair of Razorbills having a little bonding moment © Alys Perry.
We also finished our final breeding bird surveys this week for all the non-seabirds. This is great news and means we can total up and share them with you very soon.
Weekly-Wildlife Roundup
It's been a very busy week with fledglings appearing everywhere!!!
The biggest news of the week is that another 3 Chough chicks have fledged from Organ, 1 from Colonmenodd, and another 3 ready to go any day now at Gwelltog. The 3 fledglings at Abermawr are now busy feeding in the fields behind the bay along with their parents.
One of the Abermawr Chough fledglings © Alys Perry.
Chough fledglings are very demanding when they are hungry! © Alys Perry.
Two of the Organ Chough fledglings © Alys Perry.
Every stone wall appears to be covered in Wheatear fledglings now and busy adults trying to feed them.
Wheatear fledgling © Alys Perry.
Adult Wheatear catching insects to feed its chicks © Alys Perry.
Oystercatcher chicks are now being a bit more bold appearing in the fields and along the coastline.
An Oystercatcher with its chick on the East Coast © Nia Stephens.
Jacksdaw fledglings are also appearing all along the east coast.
A Jackdaw fledgling © Nia Stephens.
We also had some observations of a male Broad-bodied Chaser and a very interesting Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly.
Broad Bodied Chaser sitting on the Bracken by the Eastern Ponds © Alys Perry.
A Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly hiding from the wind © Alys Perry.
Our House Martins nest boxes around the farmhouse are getting increasingly busy with the first signs that chicks are hatching with pieces of egg shells appearing below the nests.
We also had our first sighting of a very small and spotty Red Deer calf this week hiding in amongst the bracken with its mother.
Event News
We have another exciting event happening on the Island this summer. This time with Lauren a brilliant local yoga teacher who will be hosting yoga sessions on the island! All the details are in the link below but this is a fantastic opportunity to stretch, relax and unwind on a secluded part of the island. Followed by tea, homemade cake, and a leisurely guided walk in the afternoon. It sounds so good that myself and Nia are very tempted to join in too. If you are tempted to take part or need more information follow the link to read more about what the day involves. Spaces are limited so book soon to guarantee your spot!
https://tidelinesurf.com/collections/yoga-classes
I do apologise for the poor quality of the photos in some of the blogs. The internet as you can imagine is not always the most reliable here and it doesn't always upload them properly.
Until next week
Alys Perry
Assistant Warden
Assistant Warden Ramsey & Grassholm Island