Shetland

Blog post: A May Day surprise!

Blair — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:22:00 GMT

Today we’ve had a lovely May Day surprise, and no it wasn’t a pinch and punch for the first of the month! It was the news that our Puffin pair that we watch via #puffincam laid their egg this morning. The egg was spotted at 9.41 am by @pridith and can be seen below in the following picture. Around this time, each year is when most of the Puffins around the cliffs of Sumburgh will be laying their eggs. Last year for example our pair laid their egg on the 4^th of May.

Puffins typically mate for life and each year return to the same burrow to try to reproduce. Like most seabirds, Puffins lay only the one egg. Once laid, they will spend roughly 5 weeks incubating it until it hatches out.

We’re now slowly counting down the days until our birds welcome their new arrival. If you spot any interesting behaviour or activity on our webcams, please let us know by tweeting with the hashtag #puffincam or contacting us via email. Shetland@rspb.org.uk

To view the webcams click here.

Blog post: Sumburgh Head - mucky but you may be lucky!

helen moncrieff — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:36:00 GMT

Hello

As you may know, Sumburgh Head is in the midst of being redeveloped, so is a bit of a building site at the moment. Please note that access to the lighthouse isn't possible this weekend as there is digging work taking place at the gateway.

However, you can walk up past the cattlegrid (wear boots as it is pretty mucky), and you may be lucky to see the guillemots on the stack. They aren't here every day, it depends on the weather and sea state. When it is rough, the birds go out to sea to avoid the waves smashing onto the rocks. This morning though, it looks like winter with a dusting of snow, but sounds rather like summer with the call of guillemots and fulmars.

It's always wise to keep an eye on the sea and to the skies. A puffin was spotted nearshore a couple of weeks ago and a peregrine has been seen now and then. A little auk was nearby at West Voe yesterday. So, if you're lucky, you may spot something a bit different.

Best wishes from Sumburgh Head

Blog post: Braer +20

helen moncrieff — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:09:00 GMT

Do you remember what you were doing 20 years ago, on the 5th of January 1993? I do. I was a local Shetland lass who loved nature and suddenly this happened -

The Braer oil tanker ran aground at Garths Ness, and started leaking more than 80,000 tonnes of light crude oil.

With the Braer Anniversary this weekend, I've been taking a peerie walk down Memory Lane. I was a teenager, living just a mile or so from the wreck site and Wildlife Response Centre, which was based in the local Scout Hut. I simply had to volunteer to help with dealing with the wildlife casualties. I’ve memories of walking coastlines, collecting dead or oiled birds and other wildlife, observing and recording the oil, birds, otters, seals, fish and other marine life. Oh, and the weather - it was wild to say the least!

I remember the media descended on the islands, I think increasing the population by ten percent! It was strange to have the eyes of the world watching events around my community.

At the time, I didn’t understand the complexities of what was going on with the Wildlife Response Co-ordinating Committee, the politics and such like. I just wanted to help. It was certainly a time of emotion and experience for everyone and was a life changing event for me. Actually, it’s probably a reason why I now work for the RSPB! Now I can look back with more experienced eyes and better appreciate the work of all the individuals and organisations that did their bit to help. You can read Shetland’s oil spill contingency planning and response here on the Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group site.

Looking through photos today, I felt a bit teary seeing the suffering and dead animals again. That side of things was dreadfully saddening, and it was the worry that we all felt - how bad would it be? I also feel glad and proud to have met some fantastic people, people who came together in horrible conditions to help.

I am going to take the local Shetland RSPB Wildlife Explorer Group to the site on Sunday – exactly twenty years and one day after the tanker grounded. There's no sign of the ship now. Instead, we'll be looking for porpoises, seals, great-northern divers, long-tailed ducks, rock pipits and so on. It’ll be easy to describe the effects of oil pollution to the bairns and how individuals and organisations can help. The difficulty comes trying to communicate the problems that we face now, like the shocking amount of rubbish littering our sea and shore and climate change.

They’re big big issues that makes dealing with the Braer oil spill seem simple in comparison. The problems are not insurmountable though and in twenty years time I’ll surely be blogging that I am proud of the individuals and organisations who have successfully tackled these problems. Won't I? We can all do something and you can find out about the steps you can take to help nature through the RSPB website.

Best wishes from windswept Sumburgh Head.

Blog post: Environment Awards - recognising achievements

helen moncrieff — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:15:00 GMT

You’ll likely be aware of the more public face of the RSPB, such as Date With Natures, campaigns and our wonderful network of nature reserves. What you may not know is that behind the scenes, all across the world, RSPB works in partnership with hundreds of organsations. We sit on boards, project teams, delivery groups and more. We cover everything from community mental health projects to steering international marine policy. One group we’re proud to be involved with here is the Shetland Environment Group, based with Shetland Amenity Trust. The Group recently hosted the 24^th Shetland Environment Awards.

I sometimes feel a bit downhearted with the way we humans treat the planet, but the Awards gladden my spirits. The Shetland community is quite small in size, but there are many folk committed to making the islands better. Here are the 2012 winners!

From left to right, Julie Thomson & Cheryl Jamieson - Gardiesfauld Youth Hostel; George Sutherland - presenter of the awards; Beth Gerrard – Sandgarth Tree Project; Rick Nickerson – on behalf of all Voar Redd Up Volunteers; and Cecilia James who won an award for her marathon litter pick. You can read more about this years awards here.

Congratulations to everyone.

It is timely to remind you that there is a call for entries for the Nature Of Scotland Awards 2013. Now in its 2nd year, these awards wish to recognise and celebrate excellence, innovation and outstanding achievements in Scottish nature conservation. Do you know a species champion? Is there a politician that has gone that extra mile? Has your youth group been working on a wildlife habitat? Whilst your tucking into mulled wine and mince pies over Christmas, why not mull over who might be suitable nominees. Closing date is 15th March 2013.

On behalf of the RSPB staff and volunteers in Shetland, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Blog post: If you go down to Sumburgh Head today...

helen moncrieff — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:47:00 GMT

Hello

First of all - a quick mention must go to local woman Charlotte Black. She reached Sumburgh Head at lunch time today having run through the night all the way from UNST!!!! That's around 80 miles!! Congratulations Charlotte on an exceptional effort, raising money for local good causes. We hope da spaegie isn't bad.

This blog entry is mainly a note to say please take care if visiting Sumburgh Head by car, particularly in these icy conditions. The sun never quite reaches some sections of road leading to the reserve, so ice remains throughout the day. Remember that there is a lot of construction traffic on the road too, so please be patient as the work continues - it will all be worth it come 2014!!

You can still walk around the reserve on foot, but best put on rubber boots as it's rather muddy in places. Either walk up from Grutness or Jarlshoff, or park at the main car park (you'll see quite a bit of equipment there), and take notice of Corramore's access signage as you walk up to the lighthouse.

The new education building has really taken shape, and you can actually watch the work live via a webcam!. The contractors are trying to allow public access as much as possible, and permitted safe access around the perimeter of the South Park for birders to get a look at the Rosa Rugosa bushes in the hope of spotting rare migrants in autumn.

What sort of wildlife might you see in December at the Head? Well, fulmars are always a joy to watch. Take time to enjoy watching them surf on the wind and cackle away to one another at their nesting sites. Twite are frequently around the lighthouse buildings or on the cliffs. We put out canary seed for them to help sustain wintering birds in particular. Their population has declined in Shetland over the years. This is largely down to changing times in agriculture, with less arable weeds for them to feed upon.

Twite feeding outside the office window.

Twite, or Linties as locally known, like to perch on the various wires and strucutres around the lighthouse and are really rather tame. Their twitterings are lovely to listen to on a calm day. Occasionally, you can spot something different on the reserve. In the last few days there have been robins, redwings, fieldfares, blackbirds and snow buntings.

It's great to go for a walk looking for wildlife, but I think Sumburgh Head is a marvellous place to visit to purposefully do nothing - to have a wander and a ponder. Wrap up warm and gaze at the sea, sky and land. The sunsets and sunrises have been amazing the last couple of weeks. I'm sure I heard a "tssssssss" as the sun dipped behind the sea beside Fair Isle!

The Good Shepherd passing the reserve on a calm frosty morning, on her way from Fair Isle.

Blog post: Miles apart but closer than you think

helen moncrieff — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:03:00 GMT

Hello!

I have just returned to Shetland after my sabbatical on the uninhabited desert islands of Santa Luzia and Raso in Cape Verde. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to help the Cape Verde NGO Biosfera 1 in their conservation work (check out the saving species blog).

The archipelagoes are thousands of miles apart, but in many ways closer than you may think. I've been home a week now and am reminded of similarities between Shetland (60N) and Cape Verde (16N).

Generally, it is pretty windy at Sumburgh Head...

and constantly windy at Santa Luzia (albeit somewhat warmer!).

There can be threats from marine industries.

Fortunately, the cargo ship which came ashore on Santa Luzia did not cause any oil pollution,

unlike the Braer in 1993, a couple of miles from Sumburgh Head.

Long-term monitoring of seabird productivity and collection of biometrics is very important to help understand the health of species and the marine ecosystem.

Like on Mousa - where it's pretty nippy and if the sun pays a visit it's a welcome treat...

... or on Raso, where you need to get the work done by 11am to avoid the sun!

Seabird chicks are adorable!!

Proved by the storm petrel on Mousa

and this Cape Verde shearwater on Raso.

There's any number of other similarities - the importance of islands for migrating birds like turnstones, sanderlings and whimbrels; striking the balance for managing our seas for nature and economics; biosecurity (all land mammals are introduced both Shetland and Cape Verde); friendly people, passionate about wildlife; the constant problem of marine pollution from litter (it drives me crazy!!); the effects of climate change and more. I've been reminded that the day-to-day choices we make in our lives have global impacts.

I'll leave you with a small world story, connecting the work of the RSPB and nature reserves of Mousa with Santa Luzia by an invisible line.

One evening towards the end of our time on Santa Luzia, Juan and I were standing in our camp, pictured below with yachts in the distance, having a couple of biscuits.

The only people we ever saw on Santa Luzia were the fishermen that used the island. So we were surprised when a friendly looking couple approached the camp. Once they were close, the woman looked at me and became rather animated and excited. Both Juan and I thought "it must be the bisuits" so I offered her the packet and she declined say "Do you remember?! Do you remember?!" Then, the penny dropped - it was lovely people who I had met on Mousa in 2010 for an educational nature documentary!! What are the chances of that! You can visit the blog of the Pakea Bizkaia team to see their reaction to the coincidence and find out more about their work. There's photographs from Mousa and Cape Verde, as well as many other shores and seas.

Unfortunately, my camera batteries ran out so I couldn't get more than a couple of photos. I was ridiculously excited and delighted to meet with Andrea, Unai, Gonzalo again and to meet their new team. It is a memory that will stay with me forever and I wish them all the very best with their unique and ambitous environmental adventure.

Blog post: Seals, sunsets and snow

Newton Harper — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:52:00 GMT

A wee autumn update...It’s been a while since the last blog, but been kept busy with reserve work. Once the summer’s breeding data had been entered it was time to look at some practical management tasks, from planning boardwalks on Mousa and new pools at Spiggie to removing the old observation hut on Sumburgh Head, inbetween the end of season take-downs and tidy-ups on all three sites, which included a hairy removal of Sumburgh info boards in gale force winds with Jenny...phew. Most reserves would leave these large boards up all year round, but the winds here would probably fling them into the North or Atlantic Sea, depending on which direction it's blowing!

Pretty much battened down all the hatches for winter now, and not before time, with the first snowfall of the season on Friday, brrrr... Weather hasn’t been the only thing keeping things interesting locally of late, with two far flung rare migrants found by local birders, just minutes from the reserves. A Chestnut-eared Bunting from the far- east (second for Britain, third for Europe!) and from over the pond, a Bobolink. Check out pics of both on the excellent ‘nature in Shetland’ website and facebook pages, both great online resources for keeping up to date with Shetland's bird and wildlife sightings:

http://www.nature-shetland.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/natureinshetland

Having completed the annual Mousa Storm Petrel ringing expedition with the SRG in September, last week was time to visit Mousa (while weather permitted) to start the annual Grey Seal pup survey with SNH. Grey seals are born with a white fur coat which they shed over the first three weeks, before taking to the sea. On this visit 36 pups were counted in all, including some newly born, a fantastic sight. During the count, while heading up toward the old ruined homestead I was treated to a surprise close encounter with a Short-eared Owl, which took off in front of me, landed 100 yards away and was instantly mobbed by a Sparrowhawk! The seal in the first pic is starting to shed its white fur, revealing the dark velvety coat underneath. How many can you spot among the seaweed?

Finally, many visitors to Sumburgh Head during the summer ask what's it like during winter, so here's the view at the moment...

As the sun sets and the moon rises, was that a broomstick I saw flashing past the lighthouse? it must be the time of year....Happy Halloween!

Blog post: Puffincam - CSI Sumburgh Head

helen moncrieff — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:07:00 GMT

First of all - thank you everyone who has been in touch about Puffincam. It is most heartening for us to hear how much you've enjoyed watching seabirds online or at Sumburgh Head.

Secondly - thanks to Andy Steven, from our partners Promote Shetland. Like Newton and I, Andy has given up so much of his own time to help bring Puffincam and Cliffcam to our computer screens. Andy has gone through hours and hours footage to try and unpick what happened. On Monday, he came to the Shetland Office - which became CSI Sumburgh Head. Here's what we know.

Between 21.45 Monday and 04.00 Tuesday, the puffling received wounds to its back. The cameras only show puffins and rabbits being present. There appeared to be some feeding (we need to investigage footage closer), but sometimes it seems as if vegetation is being passed to the youngster, not fish. An adult frequently seems to be trying to get behind the chick on the left hand side of the screen, and sometimes the chick is shoved from entrance to entrance and even gets trodden on.

We're all trying to interpret what happened. The wound looked like it has come about from pecking, but we cannot be sure what happened. Some folk suggest that adult puffins are trying to provoke a reaction in the chick, trying to get it to move in a caring way. Another suggests that the chick is being persistently attacked (i.e. repeatedly pecked) in the back. The chick probably has not been getting enough food. If it was better fed, maybe the wound would have healed up fine. Puffins pretty much all look the same and parents don't recognise their chicks. Could it be that only one of the birds was a parent, the other having perished at sea? Ah, the mysteries of nature!

There's so much we'll never know about wildlife, but advances in technology helps shed light. Take the FAME project, which you've no doubt read about in the last issue of Birds magazine, revealing where seabirds are foraging, and the many webcams across RSPB. As well as technologically supported research, pure observation and recording remains the mainstay of scientific research and monitoring. Claire, a Nuffield sponsored student from the Anderson High School , is undertaking a study into predators at Sumburgh Head. She is spending hours and hours watching to see who is the most successful avian predator around the reserve - will it be bonxies, swaabies, hoodies or another?

There's plenty of reasons to visit Sumburgh Head, even on days when the weather isn't sunny and calm. Here's an update from Stephanie, our Date With Nature assistant at Sumburgh Head. She wrote this when working in wintry conditions on Sunday.

"Puffins enjoy the wild weather"

It is a wet, windy and wild day up at Sumburgh Head! The deep blue, churning sea is foaming with white horses galloping towards the black might of the cliffs, as the rain blusters across the headland. While this seems to have put off our human visitors, the puffins are made of sterner stuff and are out fishing in force, launching themselves into the wind and circling in great clouds! The weather, while dramatic, is of no cause for concern for our puffins, who are used to the rough weather of the North Atlantic where they spend their winters.

On the cliffs, a sooty-faced puffling was spotted this morning on Cliffcam, out of the burrow and having a look around at the world, closely guarded by a parent. It looks like this chick will make it and is thinking about fledging, perhaps tonight when the wind is due to calm down. The two-week old, once white and fluffy fulmar chicks, are now dark grey and rather bedraggled, trying their best to shelter behind mum as they wait for dad to bring in the fish. At the bottom of the cliffs, there are noticeably fewer guillemots now, as most of the chicks have gone with dad out to sea over the last nights, but there are still some around, waiting for the wind to drop and take the plunge.

Thanks for reading!

Forum post: Re: Where is the puffling?

WendyBartter — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 22:27:00 GMT

Hi peoples - don't know if anyone lives in England but did you see 'Britain's Lost World' which started last Monday on BBC4. It's about St. Kitts etc. and they featured Puffin Nests on a ridiculously steep slope which Kate Humble was too nervous to stand up on - main thing was the concern over lack of sand eels & suitable small fish - found too much evidence of tough pipefish being fed to pufflings - not enough flesh & too tough for them so they were starving too. Is a run of 5 programmes but don't know if any more puffin info will be on it.

Blog post: A magic night with flying sea fairies

helen moncrieff — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:10:00 GMT

We could do with some good news today. I've just spoken with Mark Bolton, the RSPB's seabird ecologist, who is staying on Mousa undertaking a fascinating study on storm petrels (come back for news in future postings). He told me that they've discovered their first storm petrel chicks of the year today!! That's quite timely as our Date With Nature Assistant Stephanie Miles had written a blog entry following her and fellow DWN Assistant Blair's trip to Mousa at the weekend. What with all the Puffincam drama, I hadn't got it posted. Enjoy!

"It was an overcast night, as Blair and I took the ferry over to Mousa, for a long anticipated experience of nocturnal storm petrels. Mousa is home to the largest colony in the UK, the birds nesting in gaps in the dry stone walls, boulder beaches and in the largest bird box in Britain, otherwise known as the prehistoric Mousa broch. This dry stone tower, that bulges in the middle as if from eating too much Christmas dinner, is as mysterious as its inhabitants, as archaeologists cannot decide exactly what it was used for. The sea was calm as we floated across it to the sound of waves and fiddle music, to land on the midnight isle.

A brief walk took us around the bay and down to the broch, while the Mousa Boat men told us all about the magical birds. At less than six-inches long, these tiny birds only return to their nests at night, after days away from their egg or chick, from foraging far out to sea, maybe even as far as the edge of the continental shelf. This means the remaining adult and egg or chick have to have survive without food for days on end and they do so by lowering their body temperatures, as a bear does to hibernate and this saves them the energy they need until their next feed. For the chick, this means awaiting the returning adult, which allows the other adult to go out to feed. This change-over always occurs under cover of darkness, to protect the vulnerable adults from predation. And this, was what we were here to witness.

Mousa Broch by day

At the broch, we saw our first glimpse of a storm petrel flitting bat-like across the top of the water surface in the bay. Then it was joined by another, and another. Going inside the broch and into its head-bumping alcoves, we listened out for the strange whirring-chirping noises, sounding like a cross between a wind-up toy and frog song, meaning the other storm petrels were waking up. These weird noises and night-time flights are thought to be where the myths about fairies came from and Mousa broch with its steep, uneven steps and windowless interior is certainly perfect setting for a gothic fairytale. We climbed up the steps, until we reached the very top and went out into the open air. There, a break in the cloud revealed a pearly moonlight shimmering upon the waters of the bay. As we took in the romantic scene, a storm petrel flew straight over my head and circled around, then another and another until there were dozens whirling around us. I felt something on my foot and on looking down, I saw the white rump and dark shape of a storm petrel shuffling across the flagstones, via Blair’s feet and into its hole half a metre away. We watched, entranced by these mesmerising creatures, for what seemed like seconds, but what was many, many minutes, trying to comprehend this privileged glimpse into their lives.

Storm petrel photo from www.rspb-images.com

On our way back down into the broch, the whirring-chirping chorus had reached its crescendo. Whilst, the birds spiralled down through the broch and to brush our upturned faces at the bottom, with one nearly landing on Blair’s outstretched hand. Outside, we leaned against the curved side of the bulging broch, for one last look up at the darting black shapes darkening the sky. As I remarked on their amazing aerobatic skills, we saw two collide in mid air with a dull thud, before carrying on their way, with no apparent ill-effects, except perhaps to my ego. Returning to the boat, we passed the boulder beach and a stone wall, both pulsating with the eerie calls of the storm petrels. As the air began to fill with the dampness that preceded the drizzle, it seemed as if the storm petrel were living up to their name, their calls summoning forth the night’s rain."

There's only a few more evening trips left this season, so make sure you book the Mousa Boat soon!

Blog post: Puffincam - mysteries and revelations.

helen moncrieff — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:05:00 GMT

Hello

It is a very beautiful day here in Shetland. The sun is shining, the air and sea are fairly calm, there are still some guillemots with their chicks lower down the cliffs (I imagine many of whom will leave this evening as it is calm), fulmars have fluffy gorgeous chicks and there are loads of puffins on the cliffs looking like they are posing for visitors. It was at this time yesterday when we noticed strange occurences in the Puffincam burrow.

As I type this entry, Andy, from Promote Shetland, is looking through the footage. With thanks to Puffincam viewers who have emailed with news of their observations, we're managing to piece together what happened to result in the death of the peerie puffling. Before I go into the details and interpretation, I just want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been in contact about Puffincam. It is wonderful to hear that you have enjoyed watching life at Sumburgh Head. It makes the time and effort RSPB and Promote Shetland put into the project worthwhile.

So, what did happen yesterday?

Between 6.25am and 9am, there was commotion within the burrow. At one point three puffins were there, and there was a time when the chick looked like it was being evicted - pushed, shoved and pecked. Up until around 11.30, things looked OK. There were some postings on Twitter and the RSPB forum of the chick being attended to by a parent. Then the chick appeared to get weaker and weaker, an adult started behaving in a distressed manner, and then the chick stopped breathing at 12.06.

From 12.08, there followed around 4hours of parent birds kicking up nest material, settling down beside the dead chick, pacing up and down the burrow. Some folk say we shouldn't humanise birds, but it is difficult not to put our own emotions on to the birds. They looked quite distraught.

After taking some advice, we retrieved the chick, quickly took some measurements of its wing and weight, and returned it to the burrow. RSPB has undertaken studies of puffins in the past in Shetland, so Pete compared our puffling to similar birds. Our puffling was significantly lighter (around 100g) than similar sized chicks. We noticed that the chick had wounds on its back – looking like it has been pecked (rather than inflicted by a mammalian predator). It didn’t feel undernourished though, with plenty flesh on its breastbone.

Initially, we assumed the chick had starved. 2012 has once more been a poor breeding season for many of Shetland’s seabirds – this is due to the lack of available food, particularly sand eels. Our chick had been fed tiny sand eels early in the season, then sillocks (small pollock). A couple of weeks ago, you may have noticed the chick was quite energetic, building up its muscles (you sometimes see it diddle up and down, strengthening the legs). Viewers have commented that the chick was looking rather lethargic recently, perhaps this is because it wasn’t as big as it should be for its age, having not had enough good feeds.

We may never know exactly what happened to the puffling. It appears that the chick was attacked by one or two puffins and that has led to its death. Given its weight and behaviour, it could be that the chick was poorly and not well-fed enough to be strong enough to survive such a stressful incident. I think we’re safe to say that this is not normal behaviour in puffins. We can’t help but cast our minds back to not seeing the chick last year and to the “ASBO” puffin of 2010. Was it one or both of the parents who went for the chick? Was it an “intruder?” Could it be the parents were trying to provoke some sort of response in the chick as it was poorly?

Personally, I am properly vexed about our puffin chick. It is difficult not to get attached to it - it may be foolish, but I can’t help myself! It is true that many of Shetland’s seabird species have suffered huge declines in population over the years, and each year many many chicks do not make it to adulthood. But there is something about our puffincam chick that is symbolic. Puffincam has been a wonderful tool to help raise awareness of puffins and seabirds in general. It also has helped grow our knowledge of these much adored characters. We hope it will continue long into the future. If we can reveal more from the footage, we’ll keep you posted. Until then – thank you for watching puffincam. We hope you continue to enjoy watching them here at Sumburgh Head, and follow the fortunes of their neighbours – the fulmars.

By request from a viewer - please click here for a link to footage from happier times on Puffincam. Unfortunately, we do not have footage of fledling puffins. We'll reveal more in a future post about our puffin productivity monitoring.

Please do look through the RSPB website to find out how we can help the marine environment and support our work. We can all do our bit –from helping beach-cleans, acting against climate change, lobbying for Marine Protected Areas, sponsoring a puffin and so on. Long-term monitoring of seabirds is so extremely important to help us better understand the marine environment, and so protect our seas. RSPB undertake monitoring all around the UK, as do other bodies such as SOTEAG/Aberdeen University, Fair Isle Bird Obeservatory, Scottish Natural Heritage, BTO and many more groups, volunteers and organsiations. They all combine to add to the bigger picture.

If you would like to support the work of the RSPB having watched puffincam, please do contact us at shetland@rspb.org.uk or call us on 01950 460800. Visit www.shetland.org to find out more about visiting or living in Shetland. It’s an excellent website.

Blog post: Sad day at Sumburgh Head and Puffincam

helen moncrieff — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:52:00 GMT

Hello

It is with great shock and sadness that I am posting this entry to the Shetland blog. Today, around noon, our little puffin chick took its last breaths. It has been an emotional and confusing day, and we still do not know exactly what happened. I'll try to summarise here, but hope to reveal more over the next day or so.

This morning, we could see the puffin chick and parent birds. Just after noon, we noticed the adult puffins behaving unusually in the burrow, particularly kicking nest material around and they appeared to be distressed. As we watched here in the RSPB Shetland Office at Sumburgh Head, we tried to work out what was happening. We started to fear the worst and that something bad had happened to the chick, but didn't want to raise alarm just in case there was an explanation.

I tentatively used Twitter #puffincam to see if anyone had witnessed unusual behaviour. I soon spoke with a lady called Elizabeth who revealed that our fears were a reality. I have to admit, I still remained hopeful but as the minutes became hours, and the emails came flooding in I had to accept that this was the end for the puffling.

Initially, we were assuming that the death of the chick was related to a food shortage. Many of our seabirds have had a poor breeding season in Shetland, due to a lack of available sand eels. Having spoken with some seabird experts, we decided to take some measurements of the chick - so to help us get a better understanding of the breeding season (i.e how heavy was it and how well had its feathers grown). I visited the burrow when the adults were absent and retrieved the chick. It was a good weight, with plenty of fat around it's breastbone. However, Blair noticed wounds on its back. It had been attacked, and from the look of it (and the emails we've recevied from aroudn the world) we are thinking it was by another puffin or two.

We are most grateful to everyone who got in touch, from England to the USA, Australia to Chile - you have truly helped us today. Andy is currently downloading the footage from the last 24 hours so I hope we can reveal more to you over the next couple of days. It seems there was an incident between 7 and 9am with another one or two puffins.

It has been heartwarming hearing such good feedback from all the viewers who have been enjoying Puffincam.

Remember that Sumburgh Head is still a great place to visit. The guillemots are still here, but fewer and fewer as the jumplings leave (come up tonight around 10pm and watch). Fulmars have gorgeous fluffy chicks. Puffins are still to be seen in large numbers all around the reserve. We are just sad that our little one has not made it.

Sorry, but I have to sign off now, but will be back tomorrow.

Thank you for your support of puffincam - it makes our efforts feel worthwhile.

Blog post: Tonight's the night...

helen moncrieff — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:33:00 GMT

Hello

Some of the guillemot chicks may be leaving tonight, as the wind has eased a bit. So, make your way to Sumburgh Head to watch as they get their first experience of being in the sea.

Cheerio

Blog post: Jump into July

helen moncrieff — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 12:03:00 GMT

Here's a post from Blair Cameron - one of our Date With Nature Assistants at Sumburgh Head.

It is that time of year again when there is a wealth of activity on the Sumburgh Head cliffs. Newton, our Assistant Warden here at Sumburgh has seen the first of our guillemot chicks jumping off the cliffs and into the sea. They get their name 'jumplings' from this massive leap of faith they take into the waters below. The guillemot fathers will try to encourage them to go by swimming beneath them. It can take as long as two hours or as little as two minutes but they all will eventually join their father and are later escorted out to sea. The jumplings are fed by the parents for up to three weeks after leaving, until they can fend for themselves.

This time of year there is also a lot of high drama chases and interactions between predators and their prey. Arctic and Great Skuas (Bonxies) have been scouring the cliffs looking for a tasty meal as well as hooded crows going from burrow to burrow, to see if the can seize a tasty puffling treat. Yesterday, myself and some visitors witnessed a hooded crow pull a puffling from its burrow. However, this puffling wasn't going without a fight and squirmed its way back into the burrow to our surprise.

Blog post: Footage of Puffincam 2012

helen moncrieff — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:31:00 GMT

Here is a sequence of videos of significant moments of Puffincam 2012.

First there was the arrival of the puffins, back to the same burrow as previous years. (Please visit the site to view this video)

Then there was the egg (Please visit the site to view this video)

Then, the occassion we were all waiting for, the hatching (Please visit the site to view this video)

Then, the first footage of a feed! (Please visit the site to view this video)

Special massive thanks to Andy Steven who has spent HOURS getting all this on to YouTube.

If you notice a significant moment on Puffincam, or indeed Cliffcam, please Tweet using #puffincam with the time, date and what happened. That'll be a big help for our partners at Promote Shetland when it comes to editting the footage. If you're not a Tweeting person - post a comment here in the RSPB Community Shetland Group and we can pass it on.

I've heard from the Springwatch team that tonight there may be some footage filmed this year at Sumburgh Head. It's great seeing seabirds on telly and via the web, but nothing beats visiting a seabird colony.

Thanks for reading!

Blog post: Eggciting news at Sumburgh Head! We've got a puffling!

helen moncrieff — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:03:00 GMT

Blair - one of our Date With Nature assistants at Sumburgh Head - called me this morning saying that the Puffincam egg was starting to hatch. How eggciting! There goes my productive day off in the garden :)

Both parents - we call them Tammy and Norie after the local name for puffins - have been in the burrow today. As I write this blog post, the incubating bird is shuffling around a bit, checking the egg, tossing its head side to side and up and down, and pottering with nest material... I've had just a glimpse of the egg and saw a small hole. It's almost painful waiting to see what happens, particularly after the 2011 chick didn't survive hatching.

There's a couple of differences to last year in our Puffincam burrow. In 2011, the egg was quite often left, but this year it's been incubated the whole time (except when Tammy or Norie need to step outside to the loo). Last year and in 2010, there was significantly less nest material - this year it looks right cosy.

You can follow Puffincam at http://www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature/245688-shetlands-summer-spectacle - this gives you more details about how to get to Sumburgh Head and when staff are on-site with telescopes to help you get the most out of your visit (thanks to VIking Optics for the loan of telescopes!). Our super partners at Promote Shetland have Puffincam at www.shetland.org/puffincam. They've set up a Twitter feed, so if you are into Tweeting, use #puffincam if you've anything you'd like to say.

STOP PRESS

Just had a text from a local man, Maurice Henderson, saying the egg has hatched -woooohoooooo!!! I missed it as I was taking too long to type this blog. Woops!

Congratulations Tammy & Norie - Wishing you all the best in the weeks ahead raising your peerie puffling.

I'll get a quick conservation message in here... Seabirds really are struggling to survive. This is in part due to us humans. We can all help puffins and other seabirds through doing more to tackle climate change, encouraging governments, industries and individuals to manage the marine environment better, volunteering on beach cleans, sharing nature with children... there's lots of simple little steps that can be taken to make a big difference. Check out the rest of our website to find out how to Step Up For Nature. Go on -it'll give you a warm fuzzy feeling!!

Now, where's that bottle of bubbly I've been saving....?!

Blog post: Eggciting news at Sumburgh Head

helen moncrieff — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:01:00 GMT

STOP PRESS

Just had a text from a local man, Maurice Henderson, saying the egg has hatched -woooohoooooo!!! I missed it as I was taking too long to type this blog. Woops!

Congratulations Tammy & Norie - Wishing you all the best in the weeks ahead raising your peerie puffling.

Now, where's that bottle of bubbly I've been saving....?!

Blog post: Superduper Whoopers!

helen moncrieff — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:58:00 GMT

In my excitement about Sumburgh Head redevelopments and classic cars, I totally forgot to mention that our Loch of Spiggie whooper swans successfully hatched out five cygnets!! Only a few whooper swans breed in the UK, and this is the first time they've brought out chicks at Spiggie in nearly one hundred years. We are totally chuffed to bits.

Small cygnets are vulnerable to predation, so we ask people to avoid disturbing the swans. We really appreciate folks cooperation in avoiding the Setter Marsh area during the incubation period, and particular thanks go to Shetland Anglers' Association. As with most of the reserve, you get the best views from the road. Keep an eye out for bathing bonxies, displaying lapwings and hopefully we'll be seeing broods of tufted ducks before long.

Blog post: A Triumph at Sumburgh Head - literally

helen moncrieff — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:25:00 GMT

This weekend, the Shetland Classic Car Club have their show in Lerwick. Before all the vehicles find their place in the Clickimin Centre, some visit Sumburgh Head. Jenny took a couple of shots as she left the office.

They don't make 'em like they used to!

Larry gave some less-mobile visitors a lift to the top of the reserve, which gave us a chance to check out his 1973 Triumph (in RSPB blue colour). It is worth noting from this picture that there is very limited room for manoeuvre, so do use the main carpark.

Assistant Warden Newton took a moment away from monitoring puffins to get into the driver's seat. Can you believe the inside still has the plastic covering it was delivered in?!?!

It was a great day for puffin-watchers today, with hundreds dotted around the cliffs - you might be able to make them out from the fulmars below.

The three puffins below appeared to be posing for the camera.

We wish all involved with the Classic Car Show a great time in Shetland.

Blog post: The transformation begins!

helen moncrieff — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:49:00 GMT

It's been a long time in the planning, but with the arrival of contractors Corramore at Sumburgh Head, plans are becoming reality. Take a look at our partner Shetland Amenity Trust's website for details on the project.

Continued visitor access is very important to everyone here. We are delighted that Corramore have factored in this into their work programme, and you will still be able to access much of the reserve and get great views of the cliffs. For obvious reasons, certain parts of Sumburgh Head need to be closed off whilst the reconstruction work goes ahead. The men from Corramore are busy today preparing the area for the work, including putting up barriers. I'm sure you'll appreciate this has to be done to allow the work to go ahead.

Our Date With Nature will remain open seven days a week, 11-4, with Stephanie or Blair on hand to share the news of the seabirds breeding season. Follow the signs to our temporary "visitor centre" (we've a small display area in our workshop) and to where we are giving free introductory presentations at 11, 12, 2.30 and 3.30

People are wondering what the effects of the construction will be on the puffins in particular. Please be assured that the requirements of breeding birds have been factored in during the whole planning process in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage and we do not expect there to be any impacts on the birds.

What is having impacts on the puffins are avian predators. Lesser black-backed gulls and hooded crows are frequently investigating the burrows and we’ve found a couple of broken puffin eggs. Bonxies have been seen drowning puffins. We’ve found a few predated guillemot eggs dotted around the reserve, perhaps taken by a gull or crow. So, as well as puffins and guillemots having a tough life foraging for food, they’ve got predators to deal with! There is always something to capture interest during a visit to Sumburgh Head, even if it is a bit gruesome.

If you don’t get a chance to visit Sumburgh Head, make sure you check out Puffincam online (via www.rspb.org.uk/shetlandsummer or www.shetland.org.uk/puffincam) . Our egg is due to hatch around June 14^th. Fingers crossed it all goes OK!