Life on an island is sometimes rough: Walking up and down fields in zigzag counting gull nests all day long is rather exhausting and repetitive, wheel borrowing luggage to and from the farm is quite tiring (our tractor is still wheelless, see picture) and having to eat the same old stuff for days because you have run out of fresh food is a bit awkward.
But there is a big B U T. The island is looking absolutely amazing at the moment - the blue bells, white campion and thrift are flowering, the puffins are whirling in the evenings, and once in a while a nice migrant pops up or you get a glimpse of a very well camouflaged breeding bird .
Male Ruff on Moorey Mere on the 8th of May. Thanks for the great picture goes to Susan Quinton
By the way, have you guessed what nest they were?
Nest 1: Short eared owl
Nest 2: Herring Gull
Nest 3: Water Rail
Nest 4: Oystercatcher
Bee
Warden
The island looks so beautiful, as does the Ruff.
ReplyDeleteLoved the nest quiz too, great to see Short-eared Owl and Water Rail nests!
The island is is fantastic at this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteIs it really worth repairing the tractor, wouldn't a quad bike with trailer be more practicable, more economic to run and easier to repair?
AdeInWales
Yes we were wondering that as well but we need our tractor to launch our boat. The quad bike can't drive into the sea!
DeleteWould love to visit Skomer to see the birds, especially puffins. If you visit now (middle/end of May) do you get to see the puffins, or are they all in their nests/burrows?
ReplyDeleteOne of the partners is now in the burrow incubating the egg but there are still plenty of birds around. They need to switch over at some point!
DeleteNice shots of the nests, the list doesn't correspond to the images though,
ReplyDeleteOystercatcher and herring gull are switched!
Thanks for your comment. I checked the pictures and they are in the correct order. We saw an Oystercatcher coming of nest 4. Oystercatchers don't make a proper nest, they often only have a scrape in the soil. Whereas Herring Gulls line their nests with small material.
ReplyDelete