We have had a flurry of early seal pups born on Ramsey this year. Usually we get a few born between now and the end of the month but in the first half of August we have seen over 20 being born on the beaches and caves.
This has been a real bonus to our summer holiday visitors who normally only catch the first few as the holidays draw to a close. Traditionally the 3rd week of September is the peak time for births so it will be interesting to see if this occurs earlier this year. Why have we seen these early births? It could be that the cows are in good condition having fed well over the summer, which is an encouraging indicator fish stocks in the area. By the end of October we would expect somewhere in the region of 300-400 to have been born, making Ramsey the largest grey seal colony in southern Britain. Weather permitting boats run until the end of October so you can try and witness this spectacle for yourself.
If you are in the area trying to observe seals, be it from land, boat or kayak, take a look at the Pembrokeshire Marine Code website for a set of guidelines to avoid unnecessary disturbance.
The other "pup" on the island, our 11 month old Border Collie called Dewi had his first official sheepdog lesson today. I was as excited as he was as led him to the sheep for the first time and was delighted with how things went! He is a natural and if he carries on like this I'll be very happy. I started slowly with 5 sheep in a round pen and will build from there.
Today is the 3rd day in succession without visitors being able to get to Ramsey. Winds touched gale force yesterday and although today was much improved the swell left behind from the blow of the last few days meant that the boat couldn't unload passengers safely and was forced to cancel landings once again.
Migrant birds are few and far between at the moment but we did see signs of movement today with a few willow warblers and whitethroats passing through. Plenty of resident specialities to keep us entertained though with flocks of post breeding chough building to around 20 birds and the peregrine family still active.
Hopefully the weather will settle down next week and we will see a few more visitors in the run up to the bank holiday.