We celebrated Jerry's (Assistant Warden) birthday this week with a big pie and sparkley-Barbie-pink cake and heart-shaped biccies....(what else would a twenty-something guy want for his birthday..?)
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.
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.Again a few days of atrocious weather but Dave B put in some time seawatching and was rewarded with another Balearic Shearwater on the 2nd, 3 Common Scoter on the 1st, a Guillemot on the 1st and 2nd and a Razorbill on the 2nd and a dozen Sandwich Terns on the 2nd. Also the first Merlin of the autumn on the 29th and two Reed Warblers on the 1st. For lots of info about what's been seen in the county follow the Pembrokeshire Birds blog at http://www.pembsbirds.blogspot.com/.
Dave M had a bird experience of the smelliest kind this week. The Fulmar young have been fledging and in the strong winds one had been blown back onto land where it was unable to take off again. Dave managed to grab it and hold it at arms length - their defense mechanism is to spray you with thick, stinking fish oil. This is a brilliant defense against Gulls - the oil clogs up their feathers and they soon learn to steer clear of Fulmars! This one stood up to it's unpleasant reputation and covered Dave in rancid yellow oil. Once it had been checked over for injuries and thrown safely off a cliff (the best way to get these bird airborne again!) Dave had to spend the rest of the morning scrubbing his hands...which didn't get rid of the smell! So if you visit Skomer in the next week and wander why the Assistant Warden smells faintly of rotten fish guts, please don't cast aspersions on his personal hygiene!! 
Is the smell really that bad? Some people have told me that it even made them nauseous, but that seems a bit of an exaggeration...what's the smell like, exactly?
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