Back on the Isle of May for more shag ring reading. Pleasant conditions at roost time

Importantly, birds that remained with the same partner tended to lay eggs earlier, which is strongly tied to how many chicks they rear 🐣. See our news story: ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med... Read the full paper: sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #seabirds #ClimateChange 🧪

🐦‍⬛ | Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, according to a newly published study led by #EdNapier. The paper reveals that environmental conditions before the breeding season appear to have an impact on mate faithfulness. Full story ➡️ orlo.uk/Zfiqf #MustBeNapier

Seabird scientists from UKCEH in Montpellier earlier this month, presenting their latest work. Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts www.cww2025.org #CW2025 #UKCEH 🪶🌊

Just launched, spmapper is a new marine spatial planning tool from UKCEH! By estimating where and how much seabirds eat, spmapper can help with siting new offshore windfarms and protection areas. nerc-ceh.github.io/spmapper-pkg...

Results are in for the Isle of May seabird breeding season. Fulmar breeding success was 41%. An average season with the long term mean at 40% @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @smp-seabirds.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social

Important progress by @bennett-sophie.bsky.social on the immensely challenging topic of estimating abundance and breeding success in burrow-nesting seabirds using Bioacoustics doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

The post breeding season fieldwork has begun with shag ring resighting on the go. Please send any colour ringed shag sightings from the UK east coast to [email protected]

We are back on the Isle of May for the final bit of breeding season monitoring. Fulmar checks are now complete. We'll be sharing all the Isle breeding season results very soon. @smp-seabirds.bsky.social @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social

Exploring the intersection of art and marine science with Neil Banas and friends. Check out marvellous oceanic origami, stop-motion animation and more here origamiplankton.org 🧜‍♂️

We've got a new website to collect the ventures of the Waterways Collective (waterwayscollective.org), a group of artists and scientists who came together in 2024 to see where we'd get following wild #salmon journeys up into the Scottish #landscape and out into the #Atlantic.

The final 5am watch of the season

UKCEH researchers Kate Searle and Chris Pollock recently spoke about UKCEH modelling at a workshop in Leiden. Networking and discussing with European researchers on using models to predict offshore windfarm impacts on wildlife, to develop more joined-up solutions across national boundaries

New paper on avian flu in seabirds from an Edinburgh Uni PhD student published! Edinburgh University has been working on the Isle of May with UKCEH and other partners to investigate the effects of this virus among seabirds. Read about it here: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

The view today on a kittiwake trip duration watch. The puffins seem curious too

Epic day yesterday with watches, puffin fledgling rescue, puffin chick weighing, kittiwake logger deployment and puffin netting from 5am to 9.30pm. Similar vein today with everyone out for 5am with mire kittiwake watches and concurrent puffin netting. We'll have a fair bit of seabird data by the end

Using #genetics to sex #Seabirds? 👉 New #openaccess #Methods note published today (optimize don't reinvent👍). No PhD student is an island: huge thanks to co-authors, collaborators and funders. #ornithology @ukri.org @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social doi.org/10.1007/s126... @springernature.com

Stunning evening on the cliffs

Odd plumaged puffin. White nape feathers and washed out bill

Our base for today. From 0300-2330 we are conducting a guillemot & Razorbill feeding watch, following diet and feeding rate

New #UKCEH dataset published on how breeding seabirds spend their time and energy. These data will help us to model the potential impacts of any changes in seabird behaviour in response to new offshore windfarms catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/documents/07...

Isle of May #seabirdpride 2025. @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social

Cracking sky tonight

Kittiwake puppetry. Still windy on the west cliffs giving the kittiwakes conditions to 'play' in the wind

After weeks of easterly winds it's quite a shock when we return to the prevailing westerlies, especially of this strength. Fortunately not too many losses so far

Finally the first Kittiwake egg! Three days later than last year and ten days later than average. Only five later dates. Due to birds being in poor condition or the dry conditions making nest building difficult? Maybe time will tell

One of the few annual social nights on the Isle. 30min costume creation and ready for Eurovision

With the very low levels of rabbit grazing on the Isle of May this year the Thrift is flowering in greater profusion than it has for at least 15 years. A Sea Pink island

First Fulmar egg today on the Isle of May. Two days earlier than last year and four days earlier than the long term average.

One of the season's highlights with an art exhibition outside the Bird Observatory last night. @aneurinhughes.bsky.social Liz Myhill, Leo Du Feu, Kittie Jones, Jane Smith & Johnnie Foker. Their 10th season of visits to the Isle together

Finally we have the first incubating guillemot on the Isle of May. Two days later than average but nine days earlier than last year

Easter Eggs! The Isle of May has its first Razorbill on egg. The earliest for ten years and 8 days earlier than average. @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @smp-seabirds.bsky.social

After the outbreak of myxomatosis last year decimated the rabbit population we wondered if we'd have an Isle of May Easter bunny this year. But this one appeared this morning. Happy Easter

High attendance of auks on the cliffs this morning. Good numbers of colour ringed birds sighted to start the task of calculating over winter survival. Seemed appropriate to listen to the Guillemots band while entering data back at base

Yesterday marked the official start to the full-time 2025 seabird monitoring for @ukceh.bsky.social on the Isle of May. Season 54! The day was spent storing a van load of supplies before a sunset check of the cliffs

1/6 Tidal stream environments are unique marine habitats characterised by fast tidal currents. Knowledge of how #seabirds use these areas for foraging is scarce. @tomgale98.bsky.social is at #BOU2025 presenting work on understanding drivers of habitat selection of Shags in these environments...

The first time the kittiwakes have touched land since last August. Most have been across the Atlantic and back since then

They are back. The first puffin of the year was seen ashore this morning. A typical date and probably big numbers in the next few days.

The Isle of May breeding season is officially underway.We have our first shag on eggs!A clutch of three was seen putting first egg date back a week.This is the joint third earliest on record and 28 days earlier than the long term average (& 39 days earlier than last year).They have had a good winter

The team taking a well earned break. A guillemot catch and a complete hide refurbishment in one morning

Back on the Isle of May for the first trip of the Spring. Field kit all out for the season and greeted by puffins, guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes on the approach

Last minute prep ahead of the start of spring fieldwork on the Isle of May next week. Moulding rings in the hope of adorning some guillemots for long term survival studies.

Not often we're on the Isle of May reading rings with it snowing. Not enough to lay, unlike the mainland which is quite white

Hope to head out to the Isle of May tomorrow if weather is kind. Quaffing this tonight seems appropriate

The team are back on the Isle of May looking for colour ringed shags.Each sighting is invaluable in tracking where they go & when.We've already discovered that migrants survive better than residents but residents have higher breeding success.There's more to learn.Report sightings to [email protected]

Superb cloud formations while out attempting to read shag rings in the Firth of Forth

Guillemots have been ashore on the Isle of May. They are on the ledges at dawn staking out their breeding sites before departing to feed. While puffins, razorbills and kittiwakes stay offshore through the winter Guillemots & Fulmars come and go as the weather allows

We are often asked when our season starts, but it never really ends as we are continually following some of our study species. We've been on Idle Of May since the start of January looking for colour ringed Shags. Birds roasting in reasonable numbers after last winters crash

While @aberladybirder.bsky.social is on the Isle of May others members of the team were around the inner Forth. Why? you ask. Looking for colour ringed shags to understand which ones are resident and which migrate (yes shags migrate too). We'd love your sightings too. Report to [email protected]

UKCEH Seabirds has made the migration here. You're one stop shop for all things about seabird research & news, the Isle of May and all things related to our work.