Radde's warbler and other news

 This bird below might have taken a wrong turn, it normally travels in autumn from southern Siberia where it breeds to south-east Asia and southern China where it winters, but instead has found itself on the Isle of May is pouring rain and a howling wind. It is called Radde's warbler and it is only the 7th island record. Such is the life of the long-distant migrant. The interesting bit is that originally it was thought that birds that end up in the UK have something wrong with their navigation system but now it is thought that actually a small part of the population migrates in the opposite direction to normal as a way of establishing new wintering areas. So this one is really a trailblazer.

 It is a cracking little bird, I know it looks a bit of a funny shape in the picture above but that is the strength of the wind getting under its tail!

And in other news......despite the appalling weather the builders are pushing on with the works on the foundations of the new visitor centre against a backdrop of Kirkhaven all foamed up.

Jeremy admiring the waves.

And meanwhile the seals are getting on with it. Below is the open day seal pup that everyone got to see in the scope, pup no. 2. Today I caught it at the milk bar, and each day it seems to get bigger while its poor Mum seems to deflate. It only has another 4-5 days and then it will be on its own so it is making the best of it at the moment.

And a new arrival pup no. 6 just born on Rona this morning.