Myself and Kev B were lucky to have the opportunity to visit the Isle of May this year, alongside Frank and Shelagh from Watchtree Ringing Group, Mike from Carlisle and Bob from Durham.
The Isle of May is a National Nature Reserve and the UK’s second oldest Bird Observatory, situated in the mouth of the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Teams of up to six ringers, birdwatchers and other naturalists are able to stay at the ‘Low Light’ for week-long periods to monitor the flora and fauna. It’s perfectly situated to track Autumn migration from Scotland and Scandinavia.
The start of the week was mostly warm and sunny, and we caught a small but steady stream of Willow Warblers using mist nets and Heligoland traps. Juvenile Puffins and Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were caught by hand while still flightless. The previous group mentioned that there had been 3 Short-eared Owls, so we tried to catch these at dusk, succeeding on the third attempt. At night, we aimed to catch some of the island's newly discovered breeding Storm Petrels.
The second half of the week took a turn as Storm Betty hit the mainland with easterly winds gusting over 35mph, putting a stop to much of our ringing efforts. We received news that we’d be stuck on the island an extra day. As luck would have it, the easterlies had pushed early migrating birds out over the North Sea and on the morning of the final day the mainland was obscured by thick sea mist, making the Isle of May the first and only landfall for any birds caught by the wind. We had Pied Flycatchers with 18 ringed, mixed with Tree Pipit, Redstart, Red-Backed Strike, Icterine Warbler and Barred Warbler. Our extra day stuck on the island turned out to be the best!
Thanks to Mike for organising the trip, and the warden David Steele for bringing us tea and milk when we’d run out.
Holly
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