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We were delighted when we spotted the first fluffy grey razorbill chicks on the cliffs of Rathlin Island on 15 June. This is the same date as the previous earliest recorded hatching date at this colony.

Chicks that hatch early are generally considered to belong to good quality parents but for one, this was certainly not the case. Firstly, the brooding adult fell off its ledge taking the chick with it. Luckily both had a soft landing on a patch of grass. However, as soon as both settled down, a lesser black-backed gull came along, scared the parents away and quickly gobbled up the chick. The majority of razorbill chicks have survived the first traumatic weeks of life and parents are frantically providing them with mouthfuls of juicy sandeels, just like you see in the classic 'puffin with fish' photos. One parent was so keen to take advantage of the abundant fish that it even tried to feed a bill-full to an egg! The chick hatched the next day.

The first guillemot chick was seen on 19 June which was 10 days earlier than last year. Most guillemot chicks are being fed small fish from the cod family as well as sprats and herrings.

Despite everyone assuming that most kittiwakes are nesting later this year, with many still building nests only last week, the first kittiwake chick was seen on exactly the same day as last year (27 June).  

On my day off yesterday, I has planned a leisurely day of housework, gardening, dog walking and beached bird surveys.  Beach bird surveys take place on the last Sunday of every month in Shetland.  Organised by SOTEAG/Aberdeen University, people walk various lengths of coastline in Shetland, recording dead birds.  Birds are identified (species and where possible age), checked for signs of oil (which is seldomly seen these days), and rings (there are a number of seabird ringing programmes in the North Atlantic area).  In the case of fulmars which are intact we collect them for stomach content analysis, and eiders are collected for DNA sampling. Martin Heubeck works with the data gathered and is in regular communication with other scientists overseas.  This adds to the picture of what is going on in the sea.

 Anyhow, all plans for the day were ditched when at midday I heard there were killer whales (orca) of Sumburgh Head.  A tour company had briefly spotted a group of five or so indivduals beneath the cliffs, but the elusive whales had vanished.  Malcie and Martha (our North Isles wardens) happened to be at my house, so with them and my pal Harriet we trotted off hoping to see them.  I contacted a couple of folk (including natural history broadcaster Simon King and his wife Marguerite), and we positioned ourselves at various points around the coast.  However, an hour or so of watching from Sumburgh Head and nearby Scatness was fruitless,so we headed to our respective homes.

Half an hour later or so, I get a phone call - the whales had been spotted far offshore about two miles north of Sumburgh Head!!   Harriet and I headed to my parents house, and managed to get reasonable but distant views of the whales which appeared to be "playing" next to a yacht.  Yesterday, I should mention, had the calmest seas and sunniest skies I've seen in a long time, and the presence of many sailing boats made it easier to point out the group of whales to passing walkers and day-trippers.  The whales seemed to lose interest in the yacht, making their way slowly north.  I met up with Simon, Marguerite and camerawoman Alison in a passing place a mile north of my parents house.  From here we could see the whales (again way off in the distance), breaching, tail flapping and being fairly active.  With Simon's superduper megazoom camera, he could see that it looked like the whales had a porpoise or dolphin with them, either leaping or being whacked out of the sea. 

 The whales seemed to be making their way north again, so we contacted Tom Jamieson of Mousa Boat Trips (the passenger ferry which takes people to Mousa RSPB reserve) to see if we could get off in his boat with him for a wee while.  It was a bit of a risk, because the whales could decide to do anything (head south, speed north or offshore) and our trip would be wasted time. Well, thank goodness for mobile phones.  We made contact with the Scottish Killer Whale Research Team, who had launched their RIB (Ridgid Inflatable Boat).  They told us that they were with a group of around FIFTEEN indivduals, just south of Mousa Sound.  Seven of us boarded the Solan IV (AKA the Mousa Ferry) motored south, gleefull with nervous excitement.  After ten minutes or so, someone spotted the RIB.  We carried on approaching a moment longer, then Tom cut the engines.  All we could hear was the lapping of the sea and the sound of Arctic terns feeding on sandeels.   Mousa was gloriously bathed in sunshine, with the 2000 year old broch looked golden. Cameras were all poised.  Then someone spotted a fin ahead of us on the port side, and another and another....   We could see a group of five whales, which were a distance away but still an awesome sight. Well, I couldn't believe it when the whales approached us, closer, closer, closer.  They made their way right up to the boat, within five metres, surfacing, swimming on their sides under the surface. I can't communicate the atmosphere (thankfully, it's been captured on camera and will be on your television screen sometime in 2010 as a part of the BBC "Shetland Diaries with Simon King" series).  It was jaw dropping stomach flipping pure brilliant.

It all is a bit of a blur after that.  The whales grouped, separated, came up to the boat, moved ahead, disappeared only to reappear in a row of seven in a sort of killer whale sychronised swimming leap.  They were belly up, tail flapping, spy hopping... Eyes were all fixed to the starboard side, only to hear the blows of a group coming up from the port side.  We heard from the Research Team that they had a hydrophone and were recording lots of vocalisations.  From the amazingly close encounters, some of the whales were recognisable (by fins and markings) from previous visits to Shetland, though five or so were new.  One of the bulls, known as Bigga, has a dorsal fin of about 6foot tall.  After the most amazing couple of hours at sea, it was time to collect the visitors to Mousa and deliver them back to the mainland.  We were treated to superb views of porpoises on the crossing.  What a contrast to the dramatic powerful predator which we had just enjoyed. Highlighted by the squeals of the children aboard, the porpoises were still a joy to watch.

We then headed down towards Sumburgh Head by car.  We stopped at Grutness pier (where you catch the Good Shepherd ferry to Fair Isle), where we could see that a pod of whales were near to a small fishing boat, just beside Sumburgh Airport.  A group of us ran towards the point, but lost sight of them.  Initially, we assumed the whales had sped past.  I glanced back to the way we had come from, only to see three massive fins.  They'd headed inshore rather than out.  We dashed back to the pier, to see people still looking right but the fins were to the left.  "BEHIND YOU BEHIND YOU!!" - almost like a pantomime sketch.  A small common seal kept close to the pier, and was left undiscovered.  The sandy bay at Grutness is really shallow, and I was most surprised to see how close to the shore the killer whales ventured.  They approached the pier and you could see the 'footprints' of the whales as they swam beneath the surface.  That helped predict where they would come up for air.  They moved on, towards Sumburgh Head.  We made our way up to the reserve and could see that not only were there the group on the east side, but another to the west.  Around a hundred or so people managed to get superb views of the creatures.  I hope to get sent some photos of the days drama, but in the meantime, my brother has sent some photos into this website - http://www.nature-shetland.co.uk/naturelatest/latestcetaceans.htm .

 If you are visiting or living in Shetland, there is no guarantee of seeing any whales, dolphins or porpoises.  But there is always the chance.  I am pleased to know they around, but thrilled when treated to the spectacle. Killer whales are top predators, like us, at the top of the foodchain.  If we wish to continue seeing these spectacular creatures in our waters, there has to be producitve seas and no breakdown in the marine foodweb.  Research is showing that the whales that frequent Shetland waters (unlike those in the north Pacific), eat both seals and fish. Sandeels are perhaps the most important foodsource in our local waters.  In recent years, sandeels have not been so available to their predators, be it fish, bird or mammal.  This is believed to be due to the effects of climate change.  So, we must all act to help look after our seas - be it do your own bit to reduce your effect on climate change or lobby government for better protection through a sturdy Marine Bill.  The RSPB website has loads of ideas and information for you to find out more.

With every experience you can learn something.  The lesson I learned from yesterday is "Never stay home to do the housework."

Cheers

Helen

It's yet another beautiful day in Shetland, with temperatures hitting 20degrees!!  I've been in the office this morning, but did have an interesting interuption.  A young holidaying Dutch couple knocked at the door to alert us that a puffin had flown into the telegraph wire, crashed to the ground and was wandering around trying to find a route back to the clifftop.  Much of Sumburgh Head reserve is bordered by dry-stone walls and it was unable to find its way.  I accompanied the couple to the viewing platform where the puffin was now standing, and with their help managed to catch the puffin.  It was able to move rather quickly, but unable to take flight fully.  Once I had a hold of it, a quick check revealed it was uninjured.  The feisty spirit was certainly intact, and it managed to grip my hand in a vice-like grip with its fantastic beak.  The puffin had no intention of releasing its grip, and the gentleman carefully prised it off my hand.  I released the bird over the wall, and it immediately launched itself from the cliff top looking non the worse.  Unlike me, as I am now proudly sporting two puncture marks on my left hand. 

Have a good weekend!

Helen 

Tammie Norie is the Shetland name for our most popular seabird, the puffin. I think I've said before that Sumburgh Head is one of the most accessible seabird colonies in the country.  You can see, hear and smell a whole range of seabirds, from guillemots and shags lower down the cliffs, to kittiwakes and razorbills a bit further up, to fulmars and puffins nearer the top.  It is also a great place to watch gannets and gulls at sea or flying past, and to see both Arctic and great skuas harrying smaller seabirds. 

It is a great place for the RSPB to be able to help share the seabird experience with visitors, and communicate the importance of monitoring seabirds and safeguarding the seas.

Yesterday we were blessed with calm sunny weather, and the reserve was very busy with visitors.  Just from looking at the clothes and accessories people are wearing, you can see that seabird colonies are appealing to people of all backgrounds and interests.  Some folk are obviously serious walkers, photographers or nature enthusiasts - wearing a certain style of trouser, high quality weatherproof jackets, rigged up with backpack, poles, optical equipment or whatever.  

One lady was the most glamorous vision I have seen on the reserve, with a full length glitzy faux-fur-trimmed coat, Jaqui O style sunglasses, and amazing hair and make-up.  I wondered if she was a Hollywood celebrity.  Well no matter what the clothes and style may allude to, the expressions all reveal the same.  Everyone feels happy when watching puffins!

We had two groups of young people come to Sumburgh Head with an educaitonal aspect to their visit.  Forty were in their second year at primary school, and thirty were in their second year at University.  Linda and Rob accompanied the younger group, as a part of our Living Classrooms field teaching scheme, whilst I accompanied the University group.  We were each communicating the same messages though using different methods and language -basically - impacts of climate change, our responsibility to look after the sea and the lives dependent on it, and nature is amazing. 

Linda was in charge of environmental games, which include the PufFun game.  This game is a firm favourite with local schools and was once observed by members of the royal family (Charles and Camilla)!  The run-around game aims to educate children about the Shetland Sandeel Agreement (an agreement developed between RSPB, SNH and the Shetland Fishermen's Association to manage the local sandeel fishery which helps seabird populations) and how climate change affects the sea. 

Rob took the other group to do birdwatching. They not only get to enjoy the spectacle, but learn some about how birds have adapted to life at sea. This is all linked to A Curriculum for Excellence.  There are some children who have never had the good fortune of visiting a seabird colony, so it is most rewarding for RSPB staff to share the experience with them.  

Meanwhile, I spoke with the visiting Aberdeen University students about seabird population trends, the importance of long-term monitoring, and socio-economics relating to seabird colonies and the community (and we also spoke a little about some midsummer celebrations which were taking place in town).

Rob has been carrying on with his pufin monitoring.  At last, the puffins are bringing in sandeels so there must be chicks aplenty in the burrows, adding more to their breeding season story. It is a bit of an art to keep an eye on the puffin colony and record which birds are returning to their burrows with food.   Martin Heubeck has been doing feedwatches on the guillemots. The chicks are growing well, and being fed on sandeels of various sizes, whiting and small saithe.  The oldest chick is due to leave the colony any day now.  Happy days!

That's all for now.

Cheerio from Helen

Are our seabirds in crisis? Recent research has highlighted the worrying decline in many familiar seabird populations including kittiwakes and herring gulls. Rising sea temperatures are being blamed for changes in the plankton population which are causing food shortages at critical times. Finding a fat, calorie packed sandeel at the right time, in the right place is becoming harder.

The legislation travelling through Westminster aims to ease some of the problems seabirds face. Safeguarding and protecting the fragile marine environment is crucial if we want our seabird cities to remain.

You can stand up for seabirds and make sure the Marine Bill counts. Help right now by taking part in the latest campaign action. Click on the link to email your MP today.

PS Read more on the latest research and watch our short film on the recent successful lobby of the Westminster Parliament and listen to the thoughts, hopes and wishes of people like you who want to stand up for the marine environment.

It was mostly a day of paperwork yesterday and organising the Shetland Nature Festival events, but I thought I would share a few images with you.

There's the view of the approach by road to Sumburgh Head.

 

It's a single track road with passing places, leading up to the main car park. Here you will find information about the reserve, lighthouse, how to identify various whales and dolphins that have been recorded here, and leaflet dispensers with a trail guide and 'Seabirds of Orkney and Shetland' leaflet which helps you identify the birds you may see. The leaflet also gives local names for the birds, such as Solan for gannet, and Tystie for black guillemot.

Now, it may be difficult to believe, but you can get fantastic up-close views of puffins from your car. I stopped to take that photo whilst driving up to the office. Sumburgh Head is one of the best and most accessible places in Britain to get up close views of puffins.

This is particularly good for people who are less physically able to hike out to remote sea cliffs. I was really vexed to get a phone call from a lady from Wiltshire who had intended to come on one of our Puffin Evenings this week with her friends.

Unfortunately, due to ill health of one of the party, the ladies are unable to travel to Shetland. I was rather looking forward to meeting them, having had some communication over the last few months. I do hope they reschedule for the future. But in the meantime, if anyone can advise me on an easily accessible puffin site that is nearer to Wiltshire than Shetland I would gladly pass on information.

The third photo is the view west and north from the reserve.

 

As well as picking out the seabirds, you can see Sumburgh Airport, the wonderful award winning West Voe beach, my house, and the site where the Braer oil tanker ran ashore. The RSPB played a major role during that particular incident, such as advising on bird-related matters, co-ordinating beach searches and working with the media. I was a 16 year old schoolgirl at the time, but took a month off from my Highers studies to help with the clean-up operation.

That experience played a role in where I am today, working for the RSPB at my special Sumburgh Head. It was an interesting and emotional time, that wild windy January in 1993. At that time, the main focus of safeguarding our sea was about never allowing an oil tanker to pollute our shores again.

It was, in some ways, a simple and tangible experience that everyone could relate to - be it the vision of a shag or eider covered in oil, how the food chain would be affected, or the vile stench in the air that you could not escape.

However, the matter of climate change and the associated effects on marine life is a far more complicated concept (which I won't go into here). It is so important that the RSPB continues to raise awareness of this, and try to explain it in a scientific yet accessible way for people to relate to.

It's also so very important that we each do our bit and act as best we can to combat climate change. Go on - you know you want to! Find out what you can do.

Hello! Welcome to the Rathlin Island Seabird Centre blog.  My name is Lorraine Chivers and I am currently based at the amazing West Lighthouse – the location of the RSPB’s Seabird Centre on Rathlin Island. 
 
The Seabird Centre is amazing!  It’s amazing because it’s on the only inhabited island off Northern Ireland (with less than 100 residents); it’s amazing because it is based in an upside-down lighthouse (with the light at the bottom!); and of course it’s amazing because it gives spectacular views of hundreds of thousands of seabirds during their summer breeding season.
 
This summer I’ll be keeping a close eye on the puffins, guillemots, fulmars, razorbills and many more, as they jostle for position on the steep cliffs and sea stacks. There’s never a dull moment at the Seabird Centre – this week I was witness to a shocking altercation with a sticky end… 
 
What started out as a few prods with a sharp beak turned into a full blown vicious fight. We yelled at them to stop as we watched in horror as an egg was kicked, rolled around and left teetering precariously on the edge of the narrow ledge. They didn't listen. The blue speckled egg was kicked one last time and plummeted to the ground and smashed on the rocks. The parent flew after it and, as it's too late now for re-laying, watched its only chance of reproducing this year smashed to pieces. 
 
Fortunately, guillemots are long-lived, with a lifespan of around 24 years. There will be many more chances of breeding success for that bird in the future. Early indications suggest that may be more guillemot eggs on the ledges of the Rathlin cliffs than there were last year. I will be monitoring how successfully these birds rear their chicks as the season progresses. Over 80,000 pairs of guillemots breed here on Rathlin.
 
Keep on eye on this blog as I will be updating you each week on the seabirds and their most recent antics!

The latest count of incubating Arctic terns on Mousa is 925! This is more than double that of last year.  In years past, at this time, I've been feeling cautiously hopeful about breeding success but my hopes have been dashed when the sandeels appear to disappear and chicks starve.  But this year, I am more hopeful than ever before.  There's been such a series of poor breeding seasons, with few or any Tirrick chicks fledging on Mousa and you may have read or heard the recent articles about the effects of many poor breeding seasons on the population of various seabirds.  Tirrick is the local name for Arctic terns, taken from the sound they make as the chase off a person, sheep or any perceived threat that is too close to its nest.

This year, it appears that there are loads of fish available, so I am most optimistic.  Tom (the ferry man) has never seen such a quantity of birds feeding in the Mousa Sound for a long time, commenting that the sea is quite white with birds.  For not only are there terns but gannets are plunging (feeding on mackerel), and large groups of great black-backed gulls are congregating, feeding close to the surface (on what?  I don't know).  It is worth noting that the sea is rather an unusual colour, caused by an algal bloom.  The sea is that shade of green you see in photos of tropical shores.  This bloom has drawn in a large rare visitor to our shores, which was spotted by one of the groups on our Mousa Open Day on Saturday.  The fotunate few were delighted to get views of a basking shark - a formerly common fish in these waters, but less so in recent years.  The dorsal fin and tail fin both protrude above the sea surface, and thus can give you an idea of the size of this enormous fish.

A group of more commoner sea creature visited the sea off Sumburgh Head on Friday - killer whales!  I am pleased for the folk that saw them, but Linda (Field Teacher) and I were on Mousa at the time taking a school group around as a part of our Living Classrooms educational service.  Och well, can't be everywhere at once!  Our post of Field Teacher is quite a recent one (thanks to funding from public support, Chevron and Scottish Natural Heritage), and I am so pleased that we have Linda. Not only is she an ex-headteacher with years of teaching experience but she is also a keen diver with a broad knowledge of marine life. Linda led a rock pooling trip on our Open Day, and some of her dive buddies came along to access some deeper water. It's great for children (and adults!) to discover marine life - hermit crabs, anemones, chitons, corals, seaweeds, shrimps, starfish, brittlestars, top shells, thingimmyjigpods with bright yellow knees and a habit for hanging upside down on seaweeds...  When people are more aware and understanding of life that is in the seas around us, it leads to better appreciation and hopefully more action to help conserve these amazing habitats and sealife.

I hope to give you an update on what's going on with the seabirds at Sumburgh Head in the next blog, thanks to Martin Heubeck (of Aberdeen University/SOTEAG). Also, Rob will be checking puffin burrow activity this week, so I can tell you a bit about our Tammie Nories.

Cheers eenoo

Helen

Hello again from 60North.  It's all go with the seabirds here in Shetland.  Guillemots are hatching out steadily at Sumburgh Head and the kittiwakes are finally on eggs (another late breeding season from them).  Typically, seabirds are to be enjoyed by day.  However, in mid-June daylight extends late into the night so you can easily enjoy watching puffins at Sumburgh Head after supper.  In fact, you can read a newspaper outside at midnight!  We call this period of half light "Da Simmer Dim." 

Some seabirds are only to be seen in the darker hours, and so it was that last night I caught the 11pm ferry to Mousa.  It was a beautiful calm and light evening and the twice-weekly night-time ferry was packed with passengers.  Tom Jamieson, the skipper of the ferry, gave an introductory talk before setting off from the Shetland Mainland.  He advised passengers on how to behave, such as not using flash photography and being most careful where we tread. A few minutes later we stepped ashore at Mousa and proceeded on the fifteen minute walk to the 2000 year old Mousa Broch.  Before we reached the broch, we started to hear sounds coming from drystone walls and the boulder beach.   Churrrrrr-hic. Churrrrrrrr-hic.  A sound which has been described as being similar to a fairy being sick!  This was the call of Europe's smallest seabird - the storm petrel.

Mousa is a magnificent place to experience storm petrels - there are thousands breeding on the island, it is easily accessible and the atmosphere is quite awesome.   They breed all across the uninhabited island but most famously in the thirteen metre tall Iron Age broch, which has been described as "Britain's Biggest Bird Box." The upper view of a storm petrel bares some resemblance to a house martin, being of a similar size, mostly dark with a snow white rump.  Their local name "Alamooti" makes reference to their size, "Mooti" meaning "tiny."  Their size and character makes them potential prey for aerial predators, such as a great black-backed gull or great skua (bonixe), so it is safer to use the cover of darkness to return to breeding sites.

Just after midnight, we saw our first flutterings of a storm petrel as it flew around the broch.  As it got dimmer, more and more petrels arrived and some people compare the experience to watching a colony of bats.  Sometimes, you're fortunate enough to get good views as a petrel perches on the dry-stone structure before disappearing into a hole in the wall, and for a brief moment you can appreciate it's glossy plumage and delicate form.  If you step inside the broch, you also get to appreciate their gorgeous, distinctive musty smell!  Everyone had a magnificent trip -  gazing at the broch, enjoying the show.  At around 1am, we drifted back to the ferry without the need of a torch.  As well as the storm petrels, I heard the odd Arctic skua call and snipe drumming and chipping. And then I noticed that the air was filled with the song of skylarks.

 I'll tell you more about the lifestyle and conservation of Mousa's fantastic wee storm petrels in another post, but must bid you farewell for now. 

Thank you for reading this blog!

Helen

 

Martin Heubeck can often be seen perched on Sumburgh Head, peering through a telescope.  It could be said that Martin is almost as familiar a figure as lighthouse tower!  For over thirty years, he has been working for Aberdeen University/SOTEAG monitoring the fortunes of Shetland's seabirds.  It is of huge importance that we have such a long-term data set to work out the long term trends of seabirds as this can give us an insight into what is going on within the seas around us.  Part of the monitoring programme Aberdeen University/SOATEAG carry out is monitoring guillemots breeding success.  The first guillemot chick at Sumburgh Head hatched out yesterday!  I'll be updating you on the chicks fortunes as the weeks progress.

Over on Mousa, Rob (our seasonal assistant warden) has been busy counting incubating terns.  I was expecting a good number of birds, as the feeding activity around the island has been ever so busy, and reports from local fishermen say that sandeels are abundant.  In 2008, there were 400 incubating birds.  Rob did his first colony count on Tuesday and found 642 incubating birds!  We haven't got a total figure yet (he's still on Mousa as I type), but from our phone conversation this afternoon, we are looking at more than 900pairs nesting on this island. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the sandeels to remain throughout the breeding season.

 Today, we had P4 from one of the Lerwick primary schools visit SUmburgh Head as a part of our Living Classrooms field teaching programme.  As well as learning about and enjoying watching our seabirds (mainly shags, guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars and puffins), they created a marine foodweb, measured out the lengths of the cetaceans that visit our shores, and played a migration game. It is really rewarding for us as staff to see young folk really engage with the wildlife, and ask such interesting questions.  It is worth mentioning that when I asked how many of the class of 33 had seen killer whales (orca) almost all raised their hands!  In fact three of them had watched a group of killer whales swimming by their local beach in town just last Sunday!  Where else but Shetland?

 

Well, I'll sign off  now, but  STOP PRESS - Rob has just come off Mousa ferry and called to say there is a total of 901 pairs of Arctic terns nesting, with over 2600 individuals on the island.  THat's the most in my six seasons of being a warden on Mousa.  Smiley smiley.

Cheerio for noo

Helen

We're excited by the arrival of 150 new residents on Ramsey Island. In a bid to lure puffins to breed on Ramsey again, model decoys have been deployed around the island.

Lisa Morgan from Ramsey tell us that puffin decoys are finally here and installed in suitable locations around the island! The lifelike models were delivered by the sculptor and artist, Eddie Tycer, in early May and are now deployed.

Puffins bred on Ramsey back in the 1800's but their eggs and chicks became easy prey to the rats that arrived on the island through shipwrecks. According to records puffins last bred on the island in 1894.

A century later RSPB spent four months eradicating the rats. Since 2000 we have seen an increase in Manx shearwater numbers (although a small number managed to hang on during the “rat years”) and just last year storm petrels were found breeding for the first time on Ramsey.  Puffins would complete the set.

Puffins are difficult to tempt to new breeding sites. They are sociable little  birds and prefer to see other birds already established at a site before making landfall themselves. The strategically placed decoys are our attempt to lure the puffins to that important first landing! Once ashore they will find thousands of ready made burrows waiting for them thanks to the island's rabbit population.

With our seabirds struggling around the UK restoring a species to a former breeding site is worth a shot.

Success will not come overnight and may take years. But with a large puffin population on nearby Skomer Island, (c. 8,000 pairs, the largest colony in southern Britain) it is hoped we can pinch a few!  These younger, non-breeding birds return to the colonies in late June and July so we will be keeping our eyes peeled over the coming few months!

Helen Moncrieff drops us a line from Mousa, an RSPB reserve lying about a mile east of the southern mainland of Shetland, famous for it's Iron Age broch, seals and of course seabirds.  Unlike Sumburgh Head, there isn't towering sea cliffs.  Instead there is a subtle mosaic of tidal pools, maritime heath, machair and moorland.  Being free from ground predators (except otters), it provides an ideal breeding site for Arctic terns.

Helen recently visited Mousa with the Shetland Conservation Volunteers and the Ness Under 14s football team. This is her story:

Mousa is an uninhabited island, accessible by boat. On the ferry crossing, we watched hundreds of Arctic terns (or tirricks as they are known in Shetland), feeding on sandeels in Mousa Sound.  Every now and then, an awesome aerobatic display would be performed in front of us, as an Arctic skua would chase a tern to try and steal its' fish.  This is one of my favourite summer scenes.
 
Sandeels are an important food for many of our breeding seabirds and part of a fragile marine food web.  Our researchers are looking at the connection between the warming sea temperatures and impact on sandeel numbers. But judging by the immense numbers of Arctic terns feeding in the Mousa area, and what I've been hearing from local fishermen, it looks like there are good numbers sandeels in our waters at the moment.  This makes me optimistic.

However, experience has taught me that just because it looks good at this time of year doesn't mean that we'll see many fledged young.  In 2008 for example, after a promising start not a single tern chick fledged on Mousa.  This was due to a two week period when the terns couldn't seem to find fish to feed their tiny chicks.  Here's hoping that the abundant sandeels remain through the breeding season and I'll keep you up-to-date with their story.
 
Now, what are the local young football team doing on Mousa? THey were undertaking Da Voar Redd Up.  Da Voar Redd Up translates as The Spring Clean, and every year in Shetland thousands of volunteers take to the roadsides and beaches to remove the rubbish that has accumulated.   Much of the rubbish on Mousa comes from the sea, although there is evidence of visitors who cannot be bothered to take their litter home with them. Naughty naughty!  Plastic bottles and containers made up the majority of the pollution, with netting, rope, polystyrene and stuff relating to marine industries making up the rest.  It is ever so vexing to see such rubbish, particularly with the knowledge that seabirds and sea mammals can die from being entangled in netting, and also that fulmars eat small pieces of plastic having confused them with plankton. The RSPB is grateful to all who helped, and Mousa looks all the better for it.    A tern colony had established at one area, so we will wait til after the breeding season so not to disturb the birds (whose defence strategy is to noisily attack you, dropping the occassional "bomb"), and leave their eggs open to predation by gulls and skuas.
 
We were also accompanied by the Shetland Conservation Volunteers, and our new local volunteer Rebecca.  Our job for the day was to measure out potential storm petrel habitat.  Storm petrels, known locally as Alamooties, breed in boulder beaches and scree, but also in man made structures such as dry-stone dykes and even the 2000 year old Mousa Broch!  Our task was to measure the walls and record the collapsed sections.  It was a case of many hands make light work, and we really appreciate the help we get from the Volunteers.  I was rather delighted as I heard my first storm petrels of 2009.  The late Bobby Tulloch compared their churring call to the sound of "a fairy being sick!"  I look forwards immensley to going on a special night trip to Mousa to see Britain's smallest seabird returning to the broch - Britains biggest bird box.

There is never a dull moment at a seabird colony, be it the drama of a skua chasing a tern or the tranquility of watching a kittiwakes in the evening light.  Do try and visit a seabird colony as soon as you can - nature is good for you!