Enough doom and gloom, dome pretty flowers. It is peak Thrift flowering here now, mainly confined to cliffs & walls away from bunny nibbling. No botanist so never seen 'white' Sea Pinks before but found this clump

Finally, the first Kittiwake egg to complete the set for our main study species. A week later than last year and 8 days later than the long term average. Let's hope there is food around in a month when they start hatching. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology NatureScot David Steel The Seabird Group

Amazing to watch this guillemot lay this morning. The one in the middle. An all too rare sight this year and no male present alongside is unsual. Odd to see a guillemot egg without any markings. #SuperSeabirdSunday UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology The Seabird Group NatureScot

Exciting and positive seabird news from the Isle of May with the first puffins seen carrying fish which tells us they have chicks. The same date as last year and two days earlier than the long term average. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology The Seabird Group NatureScot David Steel

The wet weather has turned the guillemot ledges to squalor but the kittiwakes are enjoying collecting all the damp vegetation and mud for nest building

Look closely and you might see a tiny shag chick. Hatched in the last few hours. The first of the year.

A pleasant distraction from seabirds, a Goatsucker (Nightjar) was found this morning napping on the rocks on the island. The first record since 2017 Isle of May Bird Obs

Note to British Birds. 0 group Sandeel & Silver Y moth form part of diet of Rock Pipit on Isle of May. Two fish brought in 5min. I think it's a safe assumption that the sandeel were dropped by a puffin rather than rock pipits are foraging out at sea.

Huge numbers of kittiwakes actively feeding off the west cliffs now. Such a reassuring sight that there is food out there

Isle of May puffin count is out. Good news is the coynt is up from 2017, but cause for concern as we believe a drop in last couple years

Visitors flock to the Isle of May to catch sight of #puffins - and there are now more of these popular #seabirds than 7 yrs ago. A count by NatureScot & UKCEHseabirds on the nature reserve in Firth of Forth has shown no. of occupied burrows is up 33% ceh.ac.uk/press/puffin-n…

We've noticed way more auks in poor feather condition this season. Particularly Razorbills with rump areas worn down to the 'undercoat'.Also this Guillemot with tail feathers nothing more than the shafts.Presumably further signs of poor feeding conditions during the moult period.

Most folk were busy yesterday taking pics of their dogs outside halls around the UK, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology team were checking puffin breeding success on the Isle of May for 2024.The results are in. At 77% that is a gain of 2% on the long term average. Puffins maintain the seabird majority

An excellent listen. Hear about the history of the island and the latest seabird news from the Isle of May, including an exclusive on the 2024 puffin breeding success. The Seabird Group UK Seabird Monitoring Programme BTO NatureScot

🔎 Puffin patrol on the Isle of May: 52,000 Podcast episode now available! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: audioboom.com/posts/8545141-… #seabirds UKCEHseabirds NatureScot Seabird Surveys UK Seabird Monitoring Programme BTO

When baby puffins, known as pufflings, fledge, they walk from their burrow to the sea. But sometimes they get stuck behind walls or other structures ⚠️ That's when UKCEHseabirds puffin patrol can help! 🎧 Hear more on our podcast audioboom.com/posts/8545141-… #FieldworkFriday

🚨 My final #seabirds PhD paper is finally out in Animal Behaviour! 🚨 We were looking at how returning to breeding sites in the winter relates to energetics and distribution of #guillemots on the #IsleofMay ❄️🐧 ⬇️ tinyurl.com/yerahx2v (1/4)

Welcome to #CoimbraSeabirds at the incredible Universidade de Coimbra 🎉 Let's make some seabird history! 🪶 "We accepted the challenge by Liz Humphreys, and are delighted to organize the 16th International The Seabird Group Conference for the first time in Portugal" Jaime Ramos

Huge thanks from all at UKCEHseabirds to Jaime and the whole team at Universidade de Coimbra for an excellent #CoimbraSeabirds conference. Fantastic talks and social events in a brilliant location. The Seabird Group

Thanks to all at ECOTOP & The Seabird Group for organising such a great conference. Lovely to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, & learn more about the amazing breadth of seabird research going on around the world!! Also enjoyed my first poster session #CoimbraSeabirds