A party and a new team member

Yesterday morning I took the new long-term volunteer (Molly) to Bull Hole to show her the Guillemot and Razorbill sites. She is taking over from Aaron, who left on Friday to start a new job in the Brecons. On Thursday night another BBQ marked the end of his stay.  With fog drifting over the island we sheltered in the old farm - long ruined, but with Perspex canopies providing protection from the elements. We also used the occasion to draw our Euro 2012 sweepstake, which Sarah (the assistant warden) enthusiastically organised, writing out teams and collecting money from even the most reluctant football followers.

The farm, with the ruined farmhouse on the right

Of course, being the most interested in the tournament, myself and Dave ended up with two of the teams least likely to win - Sweden and Poland respectively - and my attempt to swap with Tom for Ireland was quickly stopped - teams and people were already matched up in Sarah's notebook! The night grew later, the jokes more inappropriate and the drinks stronger - in the end I turned in at three, leaving the others chatting by candlelight in the mist-swathed farmhouse. So Aaron left before a Guillemot had hatched (although he saw a Razorbill chick on his last survey); when I got to Bull Hole on Friday a Guillemot chick was inevitably the first thing I saw, just outside the survey plot.



The farm from the west

The upshot of all this is that Molly is taking over Aaron's sites at Bull Hole at a time which is both rewarding (watching new hatchlings never fails to bring a smile to your face) and challenging (daily visits are needed to get accurate hatch dates, so that chick ages can be monitored properly). She seems enthusiastic, and was lucky enough to see two new chicks almost immediately as I showed her the sites. Having spent the last month or so on Skokholm, there is a lot for her to get used to - there are many more people on Skomer, and a different set of jobs, including giving introductory talks and dealing with day visitors.

Razorbills at Bull Hole through the telescope (a bit blurry!)

With Molly settled in at the hide I made my way round to the Wick, passing a family of Ravens near Skomer Head, cronking and spiralling acrobatically in the rising wind. The sea surged around the land below the spot from which I view the cliffs, and the Razorbills were sitting tight in the cold. Puffins lined the cliff tops and flew in off the sea, many with gleaming silver sand eels for their young, sometimes almost stationary where they tried to progress against the wind. In the end I gave up - the conditions were just too blustery to get a clear view of the cliffs through my 'scope - and I returned to a hot cup of tea and the BBC coverage of the Jubilee celebrations (with additional and entertaining commentary from the volunteers who joined us for the occasion).

English Stonecrop in flower at the Wick

This evening I had my first swim for a week or so, and with rain and high winds forecasted for the rest of the week perhaps the last for a while; the Razorbills close to the landing stage watched my progress with interest, and it was enjoyable to be back in the water, albeit in a fairly heavy swell!

Thrift in flower near the steps, and (below) Razorbills on the cliffs