Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog

Life Skills

18/9/2017

As my last post suggested, autumn is very much the time of migration. This is particularly true for birds. They are positioning themselves ready for winter. However, there are other important activities going on at this time of the year. Many birds have bred; what happens next is particular to the species but many abandon their young. It is then up to the young to perfect the life skills which ensure their survival into the next year. Many young birds are unsuccessful.

Here is a Kestrel female which has captured a small vole. For this bird it is looking promising but winter will be a difficult time for Kestrels should we get snow since food can be particularly difficult to find.

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May Break

3/9/2017

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Just back from a week spent on the Isle of May, staying at the Bird Observatory. August can be a special time to be on the island however the hoped-for fall of migrants did not happen. The nagging west/south west wind put paid to that. Out of the wind we enjoyed the long spells of sunshine. That said, there was plenty to enjoy from the still breeding Fulmars, the burgeoning Rabbit population, and the building numbers of seals preparing to pup and then start the next generation.

Some small birds were passing through. As expected, the most numerous species was Willow Warbler with youngsters dominating the count. Here is one making that extraordinary journey to Africa for the first time.

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Life Skills

May Break

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