Every year we monitor the breeding bird species on the reserve. Most species are monitored annually but some seabirds are done on a cyclical basis. Here are the results of the 2013 breeding season (with 2012 figures in brackets)
In 2012 there were 39 species that bred on Ramsey and the Bishops and Clerks (a small string of islets off the NW coast that form part of the reserve)
Fulmar 227 pairs (284 in 2012) – productivity (the number of young fledged per pair) was 0.62, i.e. 62% of monitored nests 1 young – most seabirds only lay 1 egg so this is a reasonable productivity
Manx shearwater – not surveyed in 2013 (3,835 pairs in 2012)
Storm Petrel – 5 pairs (Ramsey only – there were 150 pairs on the Bishops and Clerks in 2010)
Shag – not surveyed in 2013 (15 in 2012)
Canada Goose – 2 pairs (1)
Mallard – 2 pairs (2)
Buzzard – 2 pairs (2) – fledged a minimum of 4 young
Kestrel – 1 pair (1) – fledged a minimum of 3 young
Peregrine – 2 pairs (2) – fledged a minimum of 2 young
Oystercatcher – 32 pairs (23)
Lapwing – 1 pair (3) – the only pair to breed in Pembrokeshire in 2013?
Lesser black backed gull – 170 pairs (266 in 2008)
Herring Gull – 221 pairs (277 in 2008)
Great black backed gull – 25 pairs (25 in 2008)
Kittiwake – 139 pairs (175) with a poor productivity of 0.29
Guillemot – not surveyed in 2013 (4,204 individuals in 2012)
Razorbill – not surveyed in 2013 (1,482 individuals in 2012)
Puffin – 40 individuals (42) – all on Bishops and Clerks
Feral pigeon – bred but not surveyed
Little owl – 5 pairs (4)
Short eared owl – 1 pair (1)
Skylark – 16 pairs (13)
House martin – 1 pair – first breeding record for Ramsey
Swallow – 10 pairs (10)
Meadow pipit – 58 pairs (57)
Rock pipit – 33 pairs (26)
Pied Wagtail – 8 pairs (4)
Wren – 49 pairs (40)
Dunnock – 13 pairs (9)
Stonechat – 14 pairs (19)
Wheatear – 107 pairs (109) – surely the densest site in Wales?!
Blackbird – 16 pairs (14)
Whitethroat – 11 pairs (7)
Great tit – 1 pair (1)
Chough – 7 pairs (7)
Jackdaw – bred but not surveyed
Carrion Crow – 7 pairs (6)
Raven – 4 pairs (3)
Linnet – 37 pairs (46 in 2009)
It is interesting to note how populations have changed in the long term so we will compare 2013 figures with 1973 in the next blog
107 pairs of northern wheatear bred on Ramsey in 2013
House Martin bred for the first time in 2013 and fledged a minimum of 6 young
After a cold spring Swallows had a late season but 10 pairs still managed at least 2 broods each