It has been a good season for chough on Ramsey. This year we had 9 territorial pairs (8 in 2013) of which 7 went on to nest build and attempt to breed. The other 2 were non-breeding pairs that were establishing a territory for the first time which is encouraging for the future.
Of the 7 breeding pairs, 2 failed at the incubation stage (one to bad weather, the other for unknown reasons but they were first time breeders so this is not unusual)
The 5 remaining pairs fledged 17 young between them (two sites fledged four young each, the other three fledged three young each)
This gave an average of 2.43 per breeding pairs (17 / 7) or 3.4 young per successful pair
This is slightly up on last year where 7 pairs fledged 14 young between them (2.0 per breeding pair).
The first of the 7 sites to start nest building did so on 9 March, the latest on 21 March.
Incubating birds were first noted on 14 April with the first chicks being fed from 2 May. The first site to fledge young did so on 9 June with the last getting young out on 15 June
Our oldest known chough on the island is a male bird ringed as a nestling in 2000. At 14 years old he once again bred successfully in 2014. Since he first started breeding aged 3 years old he has fledged an impressive 38 young! He is obviously seen as something special as his current partner actually jumped ship a couple of years ago and ‘divorced’ her partner at the time when the older bird's partner died and he suddenly became available! Divorce is not uncommon in choughs following breeding failure but the pair in question had been doing very well and were even well into nest building for that year’s attempt when the female left!
Fledging is only half the story though. The first year of a chough’s life is a difficult time and it is this ‘first year survival’ figure that is vital in terms of maintaining and ultimately increasing population levels. This spring has been encouraging with large numbers of non breeding birds (1 and 2 year olds in the main) being present on the island. They form large quarrelsome groups and prospect for future partners and nest sites whilst serving as a constant annoyance to the established breeders trying to get on with the important work of raising young!
Our non-breeding flock this spring numbered between 15 to 30 birds but on 23rd May reached an impressive 48 birds (some of these might have been our breeding birds but the vast majority were non breeders)
large chough flock over Ramsey
On Ramsey we try and maintain suitable conditions for chough throughout the year to give young birds the best chance of making it through the winter. They feed on soil invertebrates with beetle larvae and crane fly larvae being important components of their diet. By grazing livestock on the island year round we can help keep sward height to suitable levels in all seasons as well as providing an alternative feeding habitat in the form of animal dung.
Sarah Beynon from Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm here in St Davids has been studying our dung beetles on Ramsey since 2009 and tells us that the population levels found on Ramsey are higher than anywhere she has studied on the nearby mainland
You can see chough on Ramsey right through the season. Summer is a good time as the breeding groups begin to amalgamate into larger social groups, Mixed in with non-breeders this can give rise to some sizeable flocks forming (50-60 birds at times)
Young chough begging to adult
Ramsey is open to the public until 31st October – contact Thousand Islands Expeditions for boat booking details on 01437 721721 or email info@thousandislands.co.uk