Unusual Guillemot

 This unusual Guillemot has been present on the Isle of May for the last three seasons. I've looked for it a few times but had not seen it until the researchers said it was present yesterday. Calum and I went up to the cliffs and despite the poor conditions I managed to capture a few images of the bird.

 The bird has an orange bill and orange feet. It lacks the black pigment in it's bare parts. These birds are not unheard of in the wild and aberrant birds of many species are known. It is a very nice bird to see indeed.

The Guillemot shares a ledge with a Razorbill

A close up of the head

 It has orange feet with black ends to the webs.

The bird has been affectionately named 'Penguillemot' by the researchers because of it's unusual appearance.

What's going on this week then?

The seabird counting has finished for the season for now so with less fieldwork, but we are keeping busy with more visitor related things on the Isle of May NNR.

The May Princess crowd disembark and get a cold welcome from the Terns

A small sailboat stops at The Alterstanes for a spot of Lunch

It was a very busy weekend for boats coming out with lots of tourists visiting the island. At least eight boats were in the harbour at high tide on Sunday safely moored behind the May Princess.

Calum an I have been very busy tidying up the paths after all the rain that has fallen. Holyman's Road is almost passable again. The path edging is now finished along Three Tarn Nick .As well as watching the Terns Paula and Lucie are getting on well with scraping the doors ready for a fresh coat of paint.

The Swallows built this nest in the Bath House but unfortunately left soon after.

But hopefully this bird will fair better as it's sitting on 4 eggs in the freezer room. This is the first breeding attempt for twelve years on the island. The last pair raised two chicks.

Isle of May Seal Day

It's nearing the end of the season now. The tourist boat only has just over a week to run and though the visitor numbers are dropping, the numbers of grey seals start to increase as the males and females gather to give to mate and birth. September sees the opportunity get a look at these fascinating mammals and learn a bit more about their lives in the North Sea.

On Sunday 25 September, a seal expert will be on the boat explaining about the seals as the boat passes their haul out spots on the rocks at the ends of the island. Once the boat lands visitors will be able to visit the two viewing points set up on the cliffs, where there will be viewing scopes and experts on hand to answer questions about the seals.

For young people, and not so young people, the South Horn will host stories and songs about seals and selkies from Scotland’s rich mythological tradition. Selkies (also known as silkies or selchies) are mythological creatures found in Scottish, Faroese, Icelandic and Irish folklore who can shed their skin and turn from seals into humans.

The average first date of a seal pup is around the 22nd September. I've been out looking every day but have had no luck so far. There are however some very big haul outs of very big bulls all around the island. I can also hear them wailing as I walk about the island. The seal pupping season will be in full swing after we all gone away for the season. We will be replaced by the seal researchers.

Sailings to the island will be on the privately operated May Princess from Anstruther harbour, leaving at 11.00am, as well as the Scottish Seabird Centre boat from North Berwick at 11.10am.

For details on Anstruther Pleasure Cruises, who operate the May Princess from Anstruther, see the website http://www.isleofmayferry.com/, email info@isleofmayferry.com or phone 01333 311808. The Scottish Seabird Centre boat runs from North Berwick, for more information see the website http://www.seabird.org.uk/ or phone 01620 890202