Friday 25 September 2009
Bird-a-rama!
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Saturday 19 September 2009
Volunteer on Skomer
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/out_and_about/321767/secret_getaway_skomer_island.html
If you would like to join the island team in 2010 as a Voluntary Assistant Warden for a week then have a look at the information on our website http://www.welshwildlife.org/SkomerVolunteers_en.link
Wednesday 16 September 2009
The glorious 12th......
The sunshine has also seen lots of butterflies and some Migrant Hawker and Common Darter dragonflies.
We had a visit from Greg the Ramsey Warden who came to stay for a few days which was great but we also had to say a very sad goodbye to Jerry the Skomer/Skokholm Assistant Warden. After a brilliant five months of hard work Jerry reached the end of his seasonal contract and has had to go back to real life on the mainland :-(
The Seal pups are doing well, there have been over 45 born now and many of them have already moulted and are living an independent life.
Bookings open for accommodation and volunteer placements for next year on October 5th. So if you would like to come and stay overnight on the island or volunteer with us for a week then please have a look at the new booking information on our website http://www.welshwildlife.org/. In particular we have made important changes to the Volunteer scheme that will enable us to improve the experience our volunteers have http://www.welshwildlife.org/SkomerVolunteers_en.link
Tomorrow is the start of the Walk on the Wild Side and Lucy and Llinos have been busy training for their mammoth charity trek to raise money for Skomer and the Teifi Marshes reserve. The sponsorship is going well but they still need more support to reach their target. If you haven't yet sponsored them please go to http://www.walkonthewildside.org.uk/
They are also running a caption competition...
Jo is also in training (but she's a bit late!) and will be joining Lucy and Llinos on Sunday and walking the coast of St Brides Bay, from St Davids back to Skomer. You can follow their progress on their blog www.walkonthewildside.org.uk or listen out for updates on Radio Pembrokeshire. They will also be accompanied by Salty the Seal and Pertwee Puffin, who you can follow on Twitter.
Friday 11 September 2009
A Season on Skomer
There have now been over 30 pups born here on Skomer, some of which have already moulted and are independent. There are several cute ones visible on the beaches.
Sunday 6 September 2009
Murder....we think...
The Seal pup that was born a few days ago was seen swimming up and down the coast of North Haven, looking for its Mum. It then struck out for the middle of the Bay.
What happened next stunned us all.
A bull seal came up by the pup and grabbed it by its rear flippers, then dragged it underwater for a few seconds. Both of them came back up and the pup called and struggled. The Bull got a better grip and with a vicious flick of its head was back under water and neither of them were seen again.
We are all a bit stumped and have not really heard of this kind of thing before.....was the Bull intentionally killing the pup......was he playing with it........did he think it was some food....? It is hard to say what instinct he was reacting to. This bull (called 'Marbled Bull' due to his markings) has held territory on this beach for the last two years, so there is even a chance that this was his own offspring! Sadly this pup had not been fed much and has been wandering around calling for its Mum for the last couple of days (well fed pups just tend to sleep). So perhaps this dramatic end has saved it from a slower death.
Thursday 3 September 2009
Seal pup video
This pup was born this morning on North Haven. It suckled from it's Mum a couple of hours earlier then fallen asleep and had just woken up and realised it was hungry again! Seal pups sleep a lot. This one is calling to it's Mum for more milk, scarily they can sound just like a human baby crying. The sound is very poor but you can just make out the cry of the pup over the roaring wind and surf!!
This video was taken from a long way away from a clifftop through a zoom telescope. I was out of sight of the mother so was in no danger of scaring her away from her pup. Please remember that pups are easily disturbed. If you want to watch them please follow these rules and go to http://www.pembrokeshiremarinecode.org.uk/ for more info.
> Never approach Seals close up
> Keep still, quiet and inconspicuous. If viewing from a cliff top keep low and don't cast a shadow onto the beach below
> Seal pups sleep a LOT! It is normal for them to lie still for hours, their mothers will come ashore every few hours to feed them. The mother may not come ashore if there are humans around so don't stay too long.
Birthdays all round.
We also celebrated the birth of the first Seal pup on a 'viewable' beach. This pup was born on North Haven early this morning. You can see some fantastic live images of it from our web-cam http://www.welshwildlife.org/web-cameras-public_en.link. Or if you are in the area pop down to Lockley Lodge and watch the live video feed from there. Unfortunately the weather is too rough and windy for the boat to run to us today, or tomorrow. But it is looking good for the weekend.