Wow! What a day I had yesterday?!
I spent the morning down on the range with local bird expert, Ken Croft, and went sea-watching. It was phenomenal. Ken had expected a great passage of birds because of the wind direction and invited me to join him. I spent about an hour an half down there, sheltered between some rocks, watching hundreds of manx shearwater in passage, around 150 gannets and various friends of the South Stack auk variety (razorbills, guillemots and plenty of Puffins - that's where they all get to!). I can recommend sea-watching to anybody. Wrap up warm, set off early and choose a good sheltered spot to set up camp. The birds were in so close that binoculars were all I needed for a better look, although Ken did bring his scope which was an added bonus. I am rather a fan of gannets and these were the best views i've had of them - thanks Ken! One thing we didn't see yesterday was a Great Skua, which I had been told had been seen passing through the previous day. Today, however, I had a text from a rather excitable Ken who had just one flying past the lighthouse. I wonder how many of our visitors picked that up?!
Yesterday we said goodbye to four of our residential volunteers; Bob, Sue, Peter and Ann. I was very sad to see them go as they had been excellent volunteers, hardworking and fun to be around. On her last day, Ann spotted a red-backed shrike which is very exciting indeed! She had chance to show a few passing visitors but we have not seen it since - keep a look out! Other unusual spots yesterday were a short-eared owl and a reed bunting!
Today we welcomed our new residential volunteers; David, Simon, Jenny and Chris, who are already getting stuck into hard slog here at South Stack. It's all hands to the deck in our busy cafe this bank holiday! Hopefully they'll have time to get out for some birdwatching and if they do i'll let you know what corkers they pick up!
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend...
Kathy x
As mentioned previously, we recently had a visit from 'Weather man walking' Derek Brockway... here is what BBC blogger, Gull, had to say about the visit...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/walesnature/2011/05/north_to_south.html
You'll have to wait until next year for the progamme to be aired, but in the meantime why not come down and see us. The mountain paths are accessible and we can provide maps, the scenery is second to none and you'll probably bump into rare wildlife along the way...
Get your walking boots on and and we'll see you soon.
Please do something to protect our precious seabirds by stepping up for nature and signing the pledge below...
https://www.rspb.org.uk/applications/inforequest/index.aspx?dt=SUNITH0021
It only takes a minute and will provide vital support to the birds you may encounter on our reserve.
Many thanks in advance,
Kathy and the team at South Stack x
Lots of fun was had by all, the birthday cake was yummy and I even won a cuddly, musical sparrow on the tombola :) It was especially cool when the the grandaughter of Mr and Mrs Jones (the first RSPB workers in Wales) showed up with her pictures and stories. We were also very happy to receive an award from Holyhead Town Council commemorating 100 years of conservation work in Wales. Big thumbs up all round!!
Hi guys, just to remind you that tomorow is our celebration of 100 years of the RSPB doing conservation work in Wales. Come along and join in the fun and games with us. There will be things to do for all the family so please help us celebrate the wonderful work of the biggest conservation organisation in Europe...