A quick update on what has been a really successful season for our breeding choughs. We have eight breeding pairs in 2009, most being at well-used, traditional sites around the island. But this year we also had one site near the harbour being used for the first time since 1975 and the other a brand new site in Aber Mawr.
As I write, six of the eight sites have fledged youngsters, each getting a healthy three or four chicks out of the nest. The new Aber Mawr nest and the harbour pair are still feeding chicks inside their caves, but it will only be a matter of days before they are also on the wing and if the deafening noise of hungry chicks coming from these dark crevices is anything to go by, they will also produce more than one juvenile.
It has also proved to be a very early year for these birds, with our first nest on the south coast, fledging young on 1 June, 16 days earlier than last year.
If you would like to see family groups of choughs, noisy and playful, as the youngsters learn how to fly and feed themselves, Ramsey is a great bet over the next month. These family parties will remain intact for up to five weeks and will then join larger groups of feeding choughs as we head into the summer and autumn months.