Pups, whales and blogs.

Isle of May Seal Pup no. 2 born yesterday

Isle of May Seal Pup no. 3

Mum of Seal Pup no. 3

A sea mammal day here today. An early morning expedition out to Rona and I found grey seal pup no. 2 and no. 3 for 2013. No. 2 was maybe a day old and wriggling like a good'un while no. 3 was still wet and not moving much but had a fine pair of lungs.
On the way past I checked on no. 1 who seemed to be growing well.

Seal Pup no. 1 - enjoying the sun.

The seal numbers are going up daily and in perfect timing for our isle of May Seal Weekend next weekend 28/29 Sept. There are still places on all the boats, may Princess and RIB Osprey from Anstruther and Seabird from North Berwrick.

Later this evening at the other end of the island I spent 20 minutes in the company of a minke. Well it felt like that, as a smallish minke vigorously pursued fish less than 100 yards off the South Ness along the tidal plane and close enough inshore to here the hoosh as it surfaced. But then suddenly it dived and disappeared as minkes will do leaving me a little bereft.

Finally as a minor aside, after .2 1/2 years and 455 posts we hit 100,000 pages views today according to blogspot. I don't really trust the statistics that these blogs produce and a half of the page views are by my mother anyway but it still means that quite a few people have been reading the blog and finding out more about the fabulous Isle of May - so thank you. 

Entertaining Jules

 Jules the rescue seal is still around Kirkhaven and does seem to like human company. He will now come up to the jetty when I stand there and bob out to get a closer look. He then dives under and races around under the water chewing seaweed and doing rapid spirals in a whoosh of excitement. Yesterday when I was waiting for a boat I had a bit of a chat with him and then wondered if he would fancy a toy. There was old creel buoy washed up on the shore so I picked it up and hung it over the side of the jetty. Jules quickly came over to investigate. He did what all seals do and first of all touched the buoy with his whiskers which are incredible sensitive and can be used to find food in darker water Once he had given it a good whiskering he then spent the next 15 mins flipping, poking, dragging, and bobbing the buoy around the harbour. It was a shame that he only stopped when the boat came in. I don't know which of us was more entertained!

Back on - husks, geese and barges

So I am now back on the island and have had a day of getting to know what has been going on while I was off. Firstly autumn is making its presence felt. The colder winds mean more clothes on, the plants are giving up the struggle and withdrawing to their roots for the winter leaving their beautiful husks left standing. 

 The light intensity seems to change with the lower angle of sun, the colours seeming to be especially rich in the early morning.

 And today a continual flow of geese passed over the island, a sight and sound against a blue sky that tugs the heart for maybe an ancient long-forgotten reason.

But the main action of the day is the start of the building of the new visitor building. This is going to be a big operation, probably the biggest operation since the island was taken over in the 2nd world war and had a hutted encampment built on it. The first barge came in today....just. There were inches to spare as it edged up to the jetty, at the 3rd attempt. With very limited time before the tide went out the 22 tons of machinery and materials were unloaded at top speed. And that is just one of the many. Of course we will keep you up to date with progress as the building evolves.

Coming on - rough but do-able

 

Coming onto the island for a shift always takes a reprogramming on mind and today was no different. It can be hard dragging yourself away from home life and the family and today it was harder with the weather iffy so the day started with an early morning phone call to Colin, skipper of the RIB Osprey, to see what he thought. "Rough but do-able" was the verdict so it was into the car for the trip to Fife and Anstruther for a 0930 sailing. Living in the middle of Scotland means that almost invariably the sunshine increases as I head East but this is tempered by increasing gusts of wind. Passing through Cupar and I could start to feel it on the car. For me the best part of the drive is when the road reaches the top of the ridge at Pittarthie and you get the first view of the island. Of course it hasn't changed but somehow it always looks different and you get the first idea of what the sea is doing. As you go through the settlements you savour trees and common birds that are rare on the island, rooks, house sparrows and magpies. In Anstruther and there is the usual rush of a sprint round the Coop for food for my stay, nipping in to the public loos where it is 30p to spend a penny and they don't do season tickets, and picking up any island post from the delivery office.
 The surprise is that though I thought I was the only one going over the boat is packed with builders and it takes time packing all their gear and getting them kitted out in waterproofs and life jackets. It is their first trip to the island and they don't know what to expect. But they soon get the hang of it as soon as we get outside the harbour entrance. It is still blowing hard and the swell is running. Lucky for us we are going with it and so only get quite wet. Colin is a master at handling a boat in these conditions, constantly reading the waves and adjusting the speed and direction to give a smooth crossing. At times, at the bottom of troughs I can see nothing as the tops of the waves are above our heads. Despite the spray there is still time to see a few razorbills ducking under, a ragged gaggle of pinkies battling the wind and most surprisingly a scattering of meadow pipits skimming the waves looking for gaps in the wind and water to make progress on their autumn migration .The biggest waves are at the North end of the island where current meets wind but once round that we enter the lee of the island, surprise a few seals on the North Ness and scuttle along the sheltered east side and swing into Kirkhaven. And suddenly I am back on the island and straight into dealing with contractors questions, meeting volunteers, noting boat times and gradually getting up to speed with the island. So what is happening out here now ? More of that tomorrow but for the moment I pass Jeremy on the jetty as he heads off the island for a break ...and a right good soaking on the journey back - even rougher but doable. 

Sooty Shearwaters

Last Tuesday there was a brisk wind from the north. We had had a little rain too. The swell buoy was measuring in at 4.5 metres. No boat was coming that day.

After pottering around the island in the morning I decided to go for a walk to see what birds I could spot.

I took out the telescope and headed north.  

I got out to the north horn and was scanning the sea. I was delighted to spot a pair of Brent Geese. A fine bird. Only a few days earlier they had been in Arctic Canada and had flown past Iceland and had made in to their European wintering grounds.

While looking over to the north I spotted a feeding frenzy. This is where birds find a good shoal of fish and dive in. It was mainly Kittiwakes but Gannets were also diving. I also noticed dark coloured birds flying around. As I scanned the water I could see there were more and more. 

They were Sooty Shearwaters with the odd Manx Shearwater. I set about trying to count them. Some were on the water and others were lifting. Many sat with their wings held up. I could count at least 160 in the flock.

Sooty Shearwaters differ from Manx by being slightly larger with dark bellies and a pale underwing. Their flight is more jerky and distinct. These birds winter in the northern hemisphere and breed on the islands in the South Atlantic. 

A flock of 160 is small compared to the flocks of many thousands I've seen in the Pacific but it is a large flock for the North Sea. I counted another one of these bumper flocks in 2011.

Later on I saw another flock of 40 and with other birds I logged a total of 276! If I'd done an intensive watch I would have no doubt counted more! 

Sooty Shearwater - an ocean traveller

Seal pup

We're all reallllly excited out here because we have our first Seal Pup of the new new season.

I found the pup on the 11th but I suspect it was born on the 10th because I found an angry female holding her own near where I found the pup the day before.The pup would not have had an easy first 24 hours as she came along in storm with a nearly 4 metre swell!

This pup was born a full week earlier then last season. It may well be the earliest pup for the island. Further research will be required to ascertain this.

The Art Collective group show: Connections Between People and Land

  

Documentary photographer Celine Marchbank first came out to the island in April to look and photograph the goings on on the island. Though the project is still work in progress the first pictures are being displayed in an exhibition in London now.

The is show is runs until the 29th September Oxford House, Derbyshire St, Bethnal Green. The opening times are from 9am -10pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm at weekends.

 

If you are in the area please drop by. I did the last time I was passing through Bethnal Green. It is a very classy exhibition with a diverse selection of work. For more  information see the link below.

http://www.theartcollective.com/exhibitions.php