A spot if shag ring reading to finish the day

Bit of a drizzly day but lovely sunset

With impeccable timing we've arrived to find our first study species on eggs
,laid today. Spot the Shag. Given the devastating winter for the east coast shag population its no surprise this is a month later than 2023 but earlier than we were predicting given how few have nests.

And so it begins. The 2024 breeding season fieldwork started properly today with the team arriving on the Isle of May. Sunshine and guillemots. The hieroglyphics commence with guillemot ring recording. These have survived the winter. UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Barely 3 weeks since the end of winter fieldwork we are back on the Isle of May for the start of the breeding season.Heartening to see kittiwakes and puffins ashore in good numbers. Still a lack of shags tho

After a very tough autumn and winter for Isle of May seabirds its good to know the first puffins are around the Isle on a typical date. The one species we've no idea how they've fared given they stay way out to sea in winter.

Thanks for all your hard work over the winter

Look closely and you can see a shag at sunset

Last visit of the winter to Isle of May looking for colour ringed shags. If only the rest of the year is like this. It actually feels warm

Since October I have recorded 21 #ColourRinged Shags at Port of Blyth . However, the January records show that only our regular wintering birds remain. So where have the displaced birds gone? Please continue to report any C/R Shags to [email protected] NERings Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club

Interested in the disease ecology of avian influenza in seabird populations around the UK? First of two post-docs to join our ECOFLU project now live. Get in touch for full info. Closing date 31st January edin.ac/41waifC

Seal rescue on the May today. Calum Scott 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 found a weener with this tight around its neck. After a bit of wrestling it was removed and wound shallow and clean so should be ok. Too much #marinelitter

It's been a busy day. Between dawn and dusk shag ring reading we've check the island for dead birds from recent storms, downloaded trail cams focused on guillemots returning, saved a seal, cleared a track of storm debris and unloaded a boat

First trip of the year to the Isle of May. Still very few shags coming to roost though a slight improvement on December trip. At least Fulmars on the cliffs in good numbers. Impressive sunset with Edinburgh ablaze

Its been an incredibly tough time for our European Shags as the east coast population has potentially been decimated this autumn with the series of storms we experienced as UKCEHseabirds has been finding out. The blog has the full story: isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com

The whole Seabird Group committee under Dr Liz Humphreys has taken the group forward a phenomenal way and I'm delighted Dr Alex Bond is following on. I can't think of anyone better to continue the great work

European shag numbers on the Isle of May have been badly hit by recent storms. We are appealing for reports and photos of ringed shags to be sent to [email protected] UKCEHseabirds Francis Daunt #seabirds

Great piece on one of our more overlooked study species
theguardian.com/environment/20…