We’re at a really lovely time of year on Shetland; the wildflowers are in bloom, the sun occasionally puts in an appearance and there are chicks everywhere.
Down at RSPB Sumburgh Head the first pufflings have been seen and the adults are putting on quite a show for visitors as they bring in food and take well deserved breaks on the cliff tops. Guillemot chicks, which are also known as jumplings have started to fledge – this involved launching themselves off the cliff to the sea below where dad then accompanies them out to sea. The kittiwakes chicks have hatched and starlings and wrens can be seen taking food back to chicks in nest in the walls.
Shetland wren with food. Photograph by Mike Kerry
Puffins at RSPB Sumburgh Head
At RSPB Loch of Spiggie we’ve completed most of our wader and wildfowl monitoring with just productivity counts left to do. We’re thrilled that ringed plover have successfully hatched chicks on the reserve this year, which join redshank, curlew and oystercatchers breeding on site. We did some work with the water levels early in the year and this has exposed edges that have been perfect for feeding opportunities. Today we started pulling up monkey flower in some section of the reserve, to prevent it becoming dominant, and had a lovely time watching all the tufted duck-lings out on the loch as we worked.
Across on RSPB Mousa the Arctic terns seem to be doing well, with more adults in the colonies then last year, and food being brought in for chicks. Fledgling wheatears are all around the island and lots of the nests within our shag plots now have chicks. Unfortunately, on Mousa we have also been dealing with the ongoing Avian Flu situation and we were able to clear dead bodies from the island last week. Thanks to the Mousa Boat for doing a private charter to make this possible. The whole situation has been heartbreaking but the team have been pulling together and supporting each other. We’ll now keep everything crossed that it doesn’t make its way into the storm petrel colonies.
Wheatear
A shag with two chicks from Mousa
In happier news we are seeing good numbers of red-necked phalarope chicks. Alongside our managed sites we also keep an eye on other areas of suitable habitat. With the wetter conditions this year we’re finding breeding birds in areas they haven’t been for years and nests on all of our managed sites. In my last post I mentioned one of last years chicks had returned and was seen with a female – this week the team found him on a nest. What a great way to end the week!
A phalarope nest - photo taken whilst undertaken survey work under schedule 1 licence