Seal Pup Peak

 It has been another week of mixed weather, including glorious sunshine, strong northerly winds, and plenty of rain, meaning we have only had 3 visitor boats since our last blog post.

A fiery sunset over Abermawr on the 19th © Alys Perry.

Beautiful sunshine and calm conditions on the 17th © Alys Perry.

A double rainbow over Ramsey Sound after a rain shower on the 11th © Alys Perry.

Our main tasks over the last week have been admin and maintenance. Nia, Scarlett, and I have removed large amounts of old chicken wire from the arable plot, fenced the path below the farmhouse, undertook some stonewalling, and angled grided the rust off the bungalow roof before re-painting the panels.

Removing the rust from the bungalow roof panels on the 18th © Nia Stephens.

We were treated to a visit on the 14th by Rick our favourite Thousand Islands Slip Master and his wife Moira. We would like to wish Rick the best of luck for the coming weeks and we are very much looking forward to catching up with you both over the winter!

Rick and Moya enjoying the sunshine on Ramsey © Alys Perry.

Weekly Wildlife Round-up

There are now only 3 Manx Shearwater fledglings left to fledge from our productivity plot on the island after a check on the 20th. We suspect that by next week the last 3 will have fledged and be on their way to the waters off Argentina!

We have now reached the peak of the seal pupping season on Ramsey with a record of 173 seal pups on our 10 study beaches on the 15th of September, with 98 pups recorded on Abermawr alone. The numbers are still very high though with 150 pups as of our last count on the 21st.
 
One of the seal pups on Aberfelin sporting a lovely 'double chin' on the 10th © Alys Perry.

© Alys Perry.

© Alys Perry.

Although cases of twins in grey seals are extremely rare we belive that we might have a set of seal pup twins on the harbour beach. Niether Nia or I witnessed the birth so we are unable to confirm this news for certain but these pups appeared on the harbour beach on the same morning and are being fed by the same female. 

The pair of possible twins feeding from a female on the 17th © Nia Stephens.

The possible twins sleeping inbetween feeding on the harbour beach © Nia Stephens.

Besides from the seals plenty of migrants are still dropping in with records of Blackcaps, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Robin, Goldcrest, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat and Willow Warbler during the last week. 

Grey Herons are becoming more regular now with records almost daily on Abermawr and around the Central ponds. Skylarks are also starting to appear again with records on the 15th and 16th.

More waders are dropping into the fields and flying over including, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Curlew, Whimbrel and Common Sandpiper.

As for birds of prey, one of the resident pairs of Peregrines has been seen reguarly hunting over the East Coast. 
Whilst a Marsh Harrier was recorded over the island on the 20th and 21st.

A Peregrine perched on the East Coast on the 10th © Alys Perry.


Until next week

Alys Perry
Assistant Warden



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