Early September is the peak Manx shearwater fledging period. Following rat eradication on Ramsey in 1999 our population of this nocturnal burrow nesting seabird has increased from 850 pairs to 3,800 (in 2012). We now carry out various research projects to study the ongoing positive effects of predator removal , one of which is the ringing of fledglings, something that would not have been possible when rats were here.
For around 7-10 days before departing young birds leave the safety of the burrow at night and exercise their wings or just go for a bit of a wander. Some don’t even bother going back to their own burrow! They aren’t being fed any longer, in fact the parents will be well on their way south by this time, some may even have reached the wintering grounds off Argentina already.
It is during these night time forays that we pick them up and put a uniquely numbered metal ring on their leg and hope to see them again in the future. Each year we pick up some of these returning birds with two years old being the youngest returnees we have found – it looks like they spend their entire life up till then at sea. We then see then again in following years until they start to breed at around five or six years.
With over 50% of the world's population breeding on the islands of Skomer, Skokholm and Ramsey it should be Pembrokeshire's iconic bird but somehow the gaudy overrated puffin seems to have stolen that tag! :)
Thanks to all those who came to help this year – Becky, Kathy, Karen and Mary (the latter two from our RSPB Conservation Data Management Unit who are helping with analysis of our shearwater data and got to see their subject first hand!)
However it's not all plain sailing for our fledglings.......
Manx shearwater fledgling ringing on Ramsey 2015
Lizzie weighing birds in the cone. We use red light in the main to minimise the light impact on birds
This time of year is fraught with danger for the young shearwater about to head off to south America alone without any previous ‘instruction’ or learning. When leaving on a dark, foggy and rainy night the artificial lights of the nearby mainland can act as an unnatural attraction and confuse birds. Disorientated birds can end up grounded inland and are at risk of predation by cats and other mainland predators. Their bodies are adapted for swimming with their legs set far back, making walking a cumbersome process. This is the reason they have evolved a nocturnal presence on land on predator free islands. Without human intervention they are unlikely to find their way back to sea.
On Sunday morning I received two early morning phone calls from St Davids residents reporting they had picked up Manx shearwaters more than 2 miles inland. Had the birds been injured I would have directed the callers to the RSPCA (0300 1234 999) as the RSPB is not an animal welfare charity and we are not qualified or equipped to deal with such incidents. However these birds were simply grounded inland so I was more than happy to receive them back (they had almost certainly come from Ramsey).
One of the birds knew what it was doing and landed on the doorstep of the office of one of our local boat operators! A huge thank you to Voyages of Discovery for ferrying both birds across to us on Sunday morning, especially Scott who did a speedy 4 mile round trip to collect the second bird from the office between trips! And thank you to the member of the public who boxed his bird up and walked it to the boat office
I released them safely at dusk yesterday evening. I did so from the western side of the island and before dark so they could get out to sea and away from artificial lighting. The weather was much improved last night so any fledglings should have got away no problem (no phone calls this morning at least!)
Fortunately the weather was nice for most of early September and even though it has changed now the vast majority of birds will have fledged so we shouldn’t see too many more such incidents.
Now lets hope this change in the weather doesn't spell trouble for our seal pups......
Voyages of Discovery delivering the wayward shearwaters from St Davids - thank you!
'Shearwater delivery for Ramsey!' (don't worry we didn't slow cook them!)
Off duty sheepdog Dewi made sure they didn't escape
Together for the final journey to the west coast (that day they had been transported on foot, by car, boat and finally quad bike!)
Head that way, keep Europe on your left and bear right when you hit Africa