Adult summer plummage Laughing Gull seen flying over Shearing Hays on May 21st but has not been seen since. This is a first for Skomer so is very exciting. Unfortunately only two researchers got to see the bird, but even this was pretty special.
The staff and volunteers put in a long day counting Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the 21st. This was the first dry, gale-free day since the island was closed to allow us to carry out these counts. Each year the island is closed to visitors for three days in mid/late May so that we can carry out a count of all the Gulls that breed here. We have to do this is in warm, still conditions so that the birds' eggs don't get chilled. Typically this year we had rain, rain, rain and gales so have had to cram all the counting into a couple of very long days. The staff were helped by nine volunteers who worked very hard to help us get all this done. In the next week or so i will do all the number crunching that will give us population estimates.
Gull counting in progress
Jo Milborrow
Skomer Warden
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