Since the last blog, we welcomed our next set of volunteers Steve and Christine. Both are Island regulars and are well-versed in all things Ramsey. Christine was supposed to come for a week volunteering back in July, but because of the bad weather, she didn't make it over to the island. But luckily Christine managed to get over for 5 nights on the 19th. Thank you so much for all your help Christine, you were fantastic company and so good with all our visitors. It was so lovely to have you back. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Christine departing the island © Greg Morgan.
Steve spent 2 weeks on the island and managed to get across on the 14th. As usual, Steve kept himself busy with a huge list of tasks ranging from fencing, fixing gates, scything, and of course, helping with visitors. Thank you so much for all your hard work Steve, you were incredible as always and we can't wait to see you again soon.
Steve enjoying a cup of tea after boats © Alys Perry.
Steve Fencing © Alys Perry.
Myself and Nia have kept ourselves busy with fencing, clearing out some of our sheds of old wood and machinery, fixing gates, and doing seal counts.
Weekly Wildlife Round-up
Our seal pup numbers have skyrocketed since the last blog post with seal pups on the harbour beaches and all the main stages beaches. Abermawr the largest beach on the North is already up to 27 seal pups alone. This is a big increase and a much earlier start to the season than this time last year when we were only recording 14 seal pups on Abermawr. We can now hear the calls & cries of the seal pups from the Bungalow and farmhouse in the evenings.
The harbour seal pup and its mum © Nia Stephens.
Abermawr Beach © Christine Flintham.
The Chough roost count at Abermawr is continuing to grow with up to 53 individuals recorded this week.
See below a beautiful selection of Chough photos taken by fellow RSPB staff Cellan Micheal on the 24th.
A Chough Fledgling in flight © Cellan Micheal.
An adult Chough in flight © Cellan Micheal.
An adult Chough with mud covering its beak after feeding in the grass © Cellan Micheal.
A smart adult male Grey Wagtail made an appearance in the North on the 26th.
Our first Tree Pipit of the year was recorded on the 24th.
Snipe has started to make an appearance on the Southern end of the Island. Along with records of Teal on the ponds.
Arctic Skua, Sandwich Tern, and Scoter have been recorded over the past week during sea watches from the North.
Our Fulmar chicks have been starting to fledge with more disappearing from the cliff tops every day.
A pod of 4-5 Risso Dolphins have been seen swimming through Ramsey Island on two occasions in the past week.
Sunfish have started to be recorded off the island with the most recent record on the 27th.
Migrant numbers are steadily increasing with Robins, Willow Warblers, and Chiffchaff all busily calling from every patch of shrub on the island.
The reptile tiles have produced more Slow Worms and Common Lizards that are taking advantage of the warmth under the tiles.
The island moth trap has produced some nice additions with a couple of the interesting species shown below.
Angle Shades © Alys Perry.
Orange Swift © Alys Perry.
Small Angle Shades © Alys Perry.
Marbled Green © Alys Perry.
Until next week!
Alys Perry
Assistant Warden
Assistant Warden Ramsey & Grassholm Island