Moths and Razorbills

A view over the bay from the Harold Stone

As I write heavy mist shrouds the island, so that I can see little out of our kitchen windows beyond the wall of the courtyard.  Luckily I managed to survey most of my Razorbill sites before the cloud drifted in off the sea; I have five new chicks at High Cliff, and two at the Wick.  The parents guard them closely, tucked in under their bodies with a tiny beak occasionally visible, poking out between the wing and the back of the adult.  One or two were still casting of sections of white egg shell as their parents fidgeted, adjusting themselves from incubating an egg to looking after a chick. 

The Guillemot eggs are not due to start hatching for another day or so, and then I will have a few intense days keeping track of all the changes!

A tracking device is attached to an adult Razorbill

While eggs are hatching on the ledges, research into the behaviour of adult birds continues for the Ph.D. students at North Haven.  At the moment, as well as carrying out work on the behaviour of Shearwaters and Puffins, they are attaching tracking devices to Razorbills which allow them to investigate the movements and feeding behaviour of the birds.  Sarah and I joined Akiko, Andrea, and their supervisor Tim as they went over to the Garland Stone to find adult birds to attach the devices to.  The tracking systems used are small and light, and do not harm the birds – they are designed to fall off naturally if an individual is not re-caught.  Razorbills nest in rocky crevices around the coast line, some on inaccessible cliff faces; others on grassy slopes that are easier to reach.  Close to the Garland Stone several inhabit some of these easier-to-reach locations, and with the help of a wire to hook the birds by the feet they can be gathered from their hiding places, have the devices attached, and be released within a few minutes.  The birds remain surprisingly calm while being handled – once their heads are covered with a light cloth bag they lie still and relax (although the unwary can be caught out with a sharp nip from their formidable beaks).  I watched on as the others worked – special licences and careful checking of methods are required before someone is allowed to undertake this kind of activity.  The GPS device is attached to the back of the bird, a small plastic tube that records water depth goes onto one leg, and a BTO ring is also attached.  Thus equipped the birds are weighed and released, flying low over the grass and back out across the bay.

A Razorbill is weighed before release (below)

It was a pleasant, sunny evening, with views north to Ramsey, and a warm breeze off the sea.  I sketched the same view on my day off last weekend – the rough attempt below is a crude representation, but gives a feel of the bay, Ramsey, and the Clerks and Bishops islands off its westerly tip. 

A sketch of the view from Pigstone Bay towards Ramsey Island

Another summer activity is becoming more fruitful as the weather warms – the daily routine of putting out the moth trap is producing dividends.  Below are a few of the catches from a couple of days ago – released after identification.  In the third photo the moth is vibrating its wings – a method of warming itself before take-off.

White Ermine moth

Spectacle moth

Lychnis moth

Knot Grass moth