Visitor season has now officially started on Ramsey and we had our first three people arrive to see us today. Their timing was perfect as the sun was shining, the sea was calm and as the first visitors of the season they all received a free cup of ‘welcome to Ramsey’ tea to celebrate. At the end of their day they all mentioned the abundance of wheatears on the paths and all spoke of good sightings of peregrine falcons and Atlantic grey seals.
Some of the usual birds are moving through at the moment with charms of goldfinch twittering around the island and the odd chiffchaff in the bushes. We are still waiting for our first swallow of the year but if last years records are anything to go by we hope to see it soon. There have been no sightings of anything unusual being blown up from the south as of yet and the more eyes sweeping the island the better.
I’ve only just arrived back to the island myself after overwintering on Islay and it’ll be my second season as the islands reserve assistant. It’s very quiet here at the moment with just Lisa and myself rattling around the island but it’s a great opportunity to re-familiarise myself with the paths and various breeding sites before Ramsey becomes a much busier place. Our first volunteer arrives tomorrow and we’re just waiting for the next sunny morning to get some of the surveys done.
For details on landings and trips around Ramsey information can be found at www.thousand islands.co.uk
Great to have Amy back! We've missed her company over winter.