As with much of Scotland, we've been bashed by strong winds. What does that mean for our seabirds?
Fortunately, seabirds are generally tough individuals. Many of our Shetland seabirds spend the winter at sea, so must have faced worse than what we've experienced the last few days. Perhaps the biggest threat from these storms is for birds that nest closer to the base of the cliffs and stacks - guillemots and shags for example. They are at risk of losing eggs to the large swell which can build up in the sea. Martin Heubeck, of Aberdeen University/SOTEAG, has a long-term monitoring plot of guillemots on the east side of Sumburgh Head. Unfortunately, easterlies a couple of weeks ago meant some birds lost their eggs. On the plus side, it happened early enough in the season that the birds can relay.
However...
Seabirds need to be in good enough condition to even attempt to lay eggs. To be in good condition, as with humans, they need to have a good diet. From what I have heard from Martin and our friends at Scottish Natural Heritage, it is not looking like that promising for a successful breeding season for our seabirds here in Shetland. We've been unable to reach Mousa, so we'll have to see whether our skuas and terns have settled to breed. Such is the way of nature, only time will tell. We'll try to keep you up-to-date as the season progresses. Remember, we can all do our bit to help look after seabirds, even if you live miles from the sea. Simply do your bit to tackle climate change - use less energy, think about what you are buying and various other things. Do contact RSPB if you wish to find out more about what we can all do to look after our nature.
Meanwhile, our puffincam has been streaming images of an adult bird sitting tight incubating his or her egg. We are most grateful to our partners Promote Shetland for making Puffincam available to the world via the internet. I may be a bit biased, but I reckon it is one of the best wildlife webcams out there! OK, so watching a puffin sitting doing very little doesn't necessarily sound that exciting, but there's something quite addictive about watching these adorable birds. The egg is over a couple of weeks old now, so we're reaching the half way mark for the incubation period.
As I type this, I can hear the sweet song of a Shetland wren coming from beside the foghorn. How it lifts the spirits!