There are a good selection of seal pups on Petticowick now, 13 counted today, with the oldest being about 3 weeks old, and the youngest we saw being born at around 1pm this afternoon! The oldest pup on the beach, pictured below, is about 3 weeks old, which means that they are about to be abandoned their mother, who will return to the sea to eat after 3 weeks of not feeding herself. This mother certainly seems to have been successful in feeding her pup given how fat they are looking! Apart from their impressive girth, you can tell that this is an older pup because they are starting to moult their white baby fur, with the waterproof grey fur starting to show around their face. The mother of this pup was also seen mating with the resident beach master of Petticowick, another sign that she will return to sea soon. Lizy

Grey Seal mother and large pup beginning to moult



Grey seals mating on beach

We've had a lovely day watching seals and talking to visitors today at Petticowick. There are 10 pups currently on the beach, and from the vantage point of the cliff above we can get good views with binoculars and telescopes without disturbing the seals. Lizy

National Trust for Scotland Rangers and volunteers watching seals with visitors

Grey Seal mother and pup on Petticowick beach

The seals have arrived!

Whilst checking on our land up at Lumsdaine this week I was happy to discover the first seal pups of the year, with 15 born already.  In this picture you can see a mother with her pup, and in the background a large bull (male) seal.  In the last couple of years pups have been born on the beaches at St Abb’s Head itself, so we are excited to see if they will be back again this year. Watch this space for updates!

Remember that Grey Seals are vulnerable to disturbance at this sensitive time of year and interfering with the pups can cause them to be abandoned by their mothers. If you are concerned about a seal (it looks very thin or has an obvious injury) then please call the SSPCA (Scotland) RSPCA (England) or the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Number for advice and help.

BDMLR RESCUE HOTLINE:

01825 765546 Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

07787 433412 Out of office hours and Bank Holidays

RSPCA hotline (England & Wales): 0300 1234 999

SSPCA hotline (Scotland): 03000 999 999

Grey Seals Halichoerus Grypus

We had a lovely day yesterday at our community gorse bashing event, the weather was nice, and more importantly we got lots of gorse cut down, so thank you very much to the generous people who spent part of their Sunday helping us to look after the reserve. Pictured are Rachael and Keith at the half way point of the day, with lots of gorse cut down and ready to be put into bags for later burning. Lizy

Much gorse chopped down!

It's been a good morning for migrants here at St Abb's Head with good numbers of birds coming in from the sea. There are plenty of the commoner species such as Blackbird and Robin, along with some of the first Redwings and Bramblings (pictured) we've seen this winter. Also spotted around the Mire Loch and walled garden this afternoon: 2 Black Redstarts, 4 Ring Ouzels, 3+ Yellow-browed Warblers, and early this morning a single Great Grey Shrike was reported in the lighthouse garden, although we couldn't find it this afternoon. Lizy

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla

The weather has been beautiful here at St Abb's Head today, and we made the most of it by spending the morning outside clearing up the road up to the lighthouse. Many thanks to our wonderful volunteer Margaret who came out to help today. Lizy



Margaret working on the lighthouse road



A beautiful autumn sight here at St Abb's Head, the ink-cap fungi have begun to deliquesce around the edges of the car park. Deliquescence is when this fungus starts to dissolve into a black ink-like substance which contains the spores for future generations of fungi. And as they grow around the edge of the car park you don't need to walk for miles or have a pair of binoculars to see them! Lizy

Ink-cap fungus deliquescing

It's looking very damp here at St Abb's Head today, but yesterday was a fine day, so I headed out to do our weekly butterfly transect, which we carry out as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. There are still good numbers of butterflies around, the most common being Green-veined (pictured mating) and Small Whites, and Wall Browns and Small Coppers. Also spotted on the survey were: Large White, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue and Speckled Wood. Lizy Smith.

Road update: The road from Petticowick up to the lighthouse remains CLOSED due to a rock fall early on Sunday morning. The road is closed to all walkers and vehicles for safety reasons. We are currently in contact with Geological Engineers and hope to have some more information by the end of the week. Please do not attempt to walk or drive along this stretch of the road for your own safety.

Diversion signs have been put up on footpaths for those wishing to walk between the lighthouse and Petticowick (highlighted in green on the map below). For those unable to walk as far as Petticowick there is still parking available at Petticowick, but this is extremely limited and we ask that you only use it if you are unable to get to this end of the reserve on foot, in consideration of those who cannot. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Lizy

Unfortunately we have had to close the road from Petticowick to the less-abled car park at the lighthouse due to a landslip early this morning. After a night of heavy rain part of the rock face has fallen onto the road, and we are concerned that more could follow. Please do not try to use this section of the road until we have carried out safety checks on the remaining rock face. Many thanks, Lizy Smith

Picture of road closed after Petticowick car park

Wildflower admirers take note, the fantastic spring/summer displays of flowers are just coming into bloom at St Abb's Head. Pictured here is some Thrift, other highlights are Sea Campion, Bird's Foot Trefoil and Thyme, all of which together make up a beautiful tapestry of colour on the clifftops. They look especially stunning in this beautiful sunshine we've been having!Lizy

View north from Petticowick, with Thrift flowers in foreground

I was checking on our land at Lumsdaine this morning, and got some amazing views back south towards St Abb's Head. There were lots of spring flowers out including orchids, cowslips and bluebells, a perfect morning! Lizy

View from Westerside Dean to St Abb's Head

Earlier this week I was alerted, by a concerned member of the public, to some drone footage on YouTube. The footage, taken in mid April, clearly shows that the drone is causing disturbance to breeding seabirds. The drone operators were committing offences on two counts. Firstly, it is an offence under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 to use powered vehicles, including drones, on land without the landowner’s permission. And secondly, it is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 to disturb or harass a bird at its nest, or prevent it getting to its nest. The drone operators had passed two signs informing them that the area is a "no drone zone" between 1st April and 31st July, and explaining why. The incident has been reported to the police.

There is no doubt that drones offer us amazing perspective on the world, which is why we haven't gone for a complete ban as some organisations have. But it is important that they are used responsibly to protect the wildlife that we work to conserve, and also the visitors who come to enjoy the wildlife.

Please let us know on (018907) 71443 if you spot anyone unpacking drones or flying drones from our land. Thank you. Liza.

The weather is finally warm and dry enough for us to start our spring and summer repairs of the road to the lighthouse. Maintaining this road means that people who cannot manage the walk from the car park at the nature centre up to the lighthouse will have the chance to drive up and enjoy the amazing views and wildlife. Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers Bill, Margaret and Chris who spent their morning doing this hard physical labour. Lizy

Chris and Margaret repairing potholes

The primroses around the Mire Loch are looking beautful, especially with the sun shining on them! Lizy

Primroses Primula vulgaris near the Mire Loch

Cuckoos have arrived back for the summer, I just heard the first one of the year calling behind our office. The picture is actually from July last year when I spotted this young one along the track to the lighthouse, but they are about, so keep your eyes peeled. Lizy

Juvenile Cuckoo

If you've been wondering why there are so many dead rabbits to be seen on the reserve...




Text of picture reads: Please be aware that there is a disease called Myxomatosis effecting the rabbits on the reserve. This is fatal to rabbits but cannot be transferred to humans or to dogs. The disease is endemic in the rabbit population throughout the UK, and has periodic local flare-ups.
When we see carcasses, we hide them out of sight as much as we can, but it is impossible for us to keep the area totally clear. We do not remove the carcasses entirely, as they provide a good food source for scavengers in the area.
Sorry if this detracts from your visit to St Abb’s Head, but the situation is outwith our control.

Spring has disappeared again! I was up on the cliffs doing some monitoring when I got caught in this surprise hail shower which turned the cliff-tops white for a short while! Interesting weather for the start of April.  Lizy

View of hail covered stacks at St Abb's Head

Today has turned a bit miserable, but yesterday was a stunning day here at St Abb's Head. Large numbers of seabirds, including guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmar were back on the cliffs, and the sun was shining. We even spotted our first bumblebee queens on the reserve, a tree bumblebee and a buff-tailed bumblebee, busy looking for nests sites. Lizy

I came across a sad sight today while I was carrying out a survey on one of our beaches. This is the remains of an auk, tangled up in ribbons which had been tied onto the bottom of a balloon. This is the 4th balloon I have found littering the reserve in the last two days.

It is tragic to think that a balloon, which probably amused a human for only a few minutes or hours before being forgotten, can go on to have such serious consequences for wildlife. It's not only birds like this auk which have been entangled and starved/drowned, turtles, whales and dolphins can eat balloons, mistaking them for jellyfish, blocking their digestive systems and causing them to starve to death.

If you like balloons all is not lost though. Check out the link below to a leaflet from the Marine Conservation Society, it outlines the dangers that balloons pose to marine wildlife and then gives some excellent ideas of how to minimise the damage, such as using latex balloons which will eventually biodegrade, and not filling them with helium, so they won't float away and become litter. They also have some great ideas if you are planning to use balloons as part of an event! Lizy

https://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/pollution/dont%20let%20go.pdf

Auk entangled in balloon ribbon

The weather has been impressive here today at St Abb's Head. Luckily this morning was bright and I managed to get out and get a few pictures of the reserve covered in snow, a rare sight! Lizy.

Snowy view of the Mire Loch

View from the Lighthouse Road

While up doing a badger sett survey on our land at Lumsdaine I was lucky enough to spot a couple of badger footprints at the entrance to a sett. The footprints are just to the left of the patch of sunlight. Like all of the mustelid family, which includes otter, stoat and wolverine amongst others, badgers have five toes. It looks like there are only 4 toes from this picture, but the smallest toe sometimes doesn't leave an indentation in rough ground. Lizy

Badger footprints outside sett

It's been feeling decidedly chilly the last few days, with sharp winds reminding us that winter is not over yet. The gorse bushes that grow around the western end of the Mire Loch, however, are not letting the freezing winds hold them back. Their bright golden flowers definitely add a bit of warmth to a cold walk. On a sunny day like today you can just smell the sweet coconut smell which the flowers produce, bringing back memories of warm, sunny days in May when flowering is at its peak, and the scent infuses the air. Lizy

Gorse Bushes

We got some interesting footage the other night after finding a dead song thrush behind the office.  We put the trail camera out, hoping that perhaps it had been a sparrowhawk kill, and that the sparrowhawk would return to claim its prey, but it never did.  Instead we got video after video of a wood mouse/mice, feeding on the corpse after dark. In the video you can see the mouse feeding from the neck of the song thrush, with the bird's tail sticking out to the left. Over the course of a few nights the entire thrush was consumed. Gruesome but fascinating!  Lizy.

Despite the recent cold weather there are definite signs of spring in the air. Great tits are starting to sing their characteristic "teacher" call, and snowdrops and winter aconites are starting to flower around the car park and our office, adding a welcome splash of colour to the sometimes cold and damp days here at St Abb's Head. Winter aconites are not native to the UK, and are known as "spring ephemerals", meaning that they only grow for a short period of time, in this case early in January and February, and then die back to just their underground parts during the rest of the year. January might seem like an inhospitable time to flower, but this allows the aconites to flourish in the light on the woodland floor, before the trees get their leaves, blocking out the sunshine. Lizy

Winter aconites near the car park

It's been a windy day here at St Abb's Head, but that didn't stop our loyal band of volunteers coming out to get some work done. Today we were repairing some damage done to the track as a result of some recent fencing work. Many thanks to Bill, Jean and Margaret for their time and hard labour!  Lizy

Jean and Margaret repairing the track

We have had some seal pups hauling out on the beaches at Wellmouth and Burnmouth Harbour (just after you come down the stone steps about half a mile along the coastal path from the village end). This will no doubt happen more often as the breeding season progresses. Grey seal pups are left to fend for themselves at 15-21 days old, their mothers going off to mate and to feed (they don't feed whilst suckling, and can lose half their body weight). The pups, which have tripled ...their weight from 15kg at birth to 45kg at weaning, have some reserves to keep them going, but they are not taught how to find prey, they have to work out how to do this themselves. After weaning they also moult their fluffy white coats. As you can imagine this is all pretty exhausting for the pups and so they spend a lot of time hauled out on beaches trying to conserve their energy. When you take into account that only 50% of pups will survive their first winter, it is really important that they are not put under any more stress than they already have to deal with.

Last weekend, I received a couple of phone calls from distressed individuals who had witnessed fellow visitors to the reserve going right up to seals hauled out on these beaches and taking selfies with the pups. Just imagine the effect this will have on the pups' stress levels. And/or it could result in the pups leaving those beaches altogether (they certainly have not been there since Monday). Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to man the site all the time to explain to people the effects that their behaviour could be having. We have put up signs, but people often ignore these. So please help us where you can - if you see people disturbing seals in this way, either on the reserve or elsewhere, please explain to the people disturbing them the effects their behaviour might have. Seals are protected under the Marine Scotland Act 2010, an it is against the law to knowingly disturb them. Also, point them in the direction of Petticowick beach, where there is all sorts of seal behaviour to watch - from a safe distance.


Here is our seal Code of Conduct for the reserve - please share far and wide. Let's all enjoy this wonderful wildlife spectacle - but in a responsible way!


Many thanks for your help. Liza.

I have had word that we have secured funding to enable us to carry out work on the footpath down to Starney Beach in order to get this re-opened. We had to close it a few years ago due to serial landslips above the path. Last autumn we carried out some drainage work in the hopes of preventing further slipping. This seems to have been successful so far, and the areas where the slips occurred have vegetated over pretty well, which helps the stabilise the whole area. However..., we won't be taking any chances, we intend to re-route the path slightly so that it doesn't pass below the area where the most slips have happened. We apologise for the fact that this path has and will be closed for so long, but we take our duty of care for the safety of our visitors very seriously, and we want to make sure that everything has stablilised before we open it to the public again. The plan is to carry out the work in the winter of 2018/19. The work on just this short length of path will cost about £30k which is being paid for by our Footpath Fund. If you enjoy walking at St Abb's Head and other countryside footpaths on NTS land, why not consider supporting this fund. Liza.


http://www.nts.org.uk/Campaign/The-Footpath-Fund

A nice wee piece from the Berwickshire News about the Community Action event on the reserve last weekend. Liza

http://www.berwickshirenews.co.uk/news/history-experts-dig-what-s-under-the-ground-in-coastal-town-1-4559247

Despite the spells of rain and high winds there were plenty of butterflies out around the Mire Loch this morning. Peacocks were probably the most common species present, along with Red Admiral, a single Small Copper and Wall Brown also made an appearance, while 3 Speckled Woods were seen near the Mire Loch dam. Many of the Red Admirals were seen feeding on the bramble berries which are out in abundance around the loch. Fruits like this are an important food source at this time of year when many flowers are finished, and no longer providing nectar.  Lizy

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta feeding on bramble berry

We had another good, if slightly wet and windswept, day up at the old lighthouse signal station today as we continued our archaeological dig with National Trust for Scotland archaeologist Daniel Rhodes. We finished excavating the last bits of the trench from yesterday, and mapped everything we found, before filling in the trench. We also had a good chat with some of the hardy visitors who had braved the weather. Below you can see the trench as it looked at the end of the excavation and after we filled it in and replaced the turfs. You would hardly know we were there! Lizy

Assistant Ranger Zander and I had a fabulous day yesterday, checking for bats around the reserve with ecologist Lindsay Mackinlay from Parnassus Ecology. We found several bat boxes containing bats, including pipistrelles and this roost of 11 Daubenton's bats. Lindsay also checked the roofs of our buildings and found bats in both of them, which is great news. It is illegal to disturb bat roosts (Lindsay has a license which permits him to carry out these sort of checks) so if ...you do suspect you have bats in a box or in your roof it best to leave well alone. However if you do have bats in a building and you need to carry out some work, you can contact Scottish Natural Heritage who can give you information on how to do this with minimal disturbance to the bats. For more information see the Bat Conservation Trust: http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/bats_and_the_law.html and http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/building_remedial_work.html
Lizy

Daubenton's bats in bat box

An excellent article by our Head of Natural Heritage Policy, Stuart Brooks.  Definitely worth a couple of minutes of your time. Liza.


https://www.nts.org.uk/What-we-do/News/Courting-protection-for-our-seabirds

Nearly all of the seabirds have fledged from the cliffs here, with just one or two late shag nests, and a few fulmar chicks, which are the latest nesting of our seabirds species. In the pictures below you can see a picture of a massive fluffy chick from 4 weeks ago, and a picture of a chick ready to fledge, which I took yesterday. In the second picture you can see all of the baby fluff scattered around the nest with the chick preening it's mostly adult feathers. Once these chicks have fledged that will truly be the end of the seabird season here at St Abb's Head. Lizy

Young Fulmar chick at the beginning of August

Older fulmar chick at the end of August, ready to fledge

Sunshine and showers on the head today, unpredictable weather for working outside in, but makes for interesting scenery. Lizy Smith

Double rainbow seen from foghorn

Thank you to all of the people who came out on our whale and dolphin watch yesterday. Although the marine mammals were rather scarce, there were excellent views of a beautiful leucistic/ albino kittiwake on the cliffs just below the watch. In the picture you can see the all-white bird with pink feet, next to both adult kittiwakes, and juvenile birds ready to fledge (with the black collar around the back of their necks). Unfortunately just as we were packing up at the end of the watch, a comotion was spotted out to sea, which turned out to be a great skua which had caught the white kittiwake and was drowning it. Sadly although the kittiwake put up a good fight in the end the skua won, and began to eat it. This is sad, but perhaps not unexpected. Even to the human eye the kittiwake was very noticeable, and so probably made an obvious target for the bonxie. Also leucistic birds can have weakened feathers, which could have affected the birds flight, and if it was an albino it may have had poor eyesight. Sadly this was probably a case of natural selection in action. To learn more, check out this website from the British Trust for Ornithology, where you can also report any birds with unusual plumage you see in your garden : https://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/behaviour/plumage/leucism     Lizy

White kittiwake on cliffs with other kittiwakes

Great skua next to the corpse of the white kittiwake it has just drowned

Happy #WorldRangerDay everybody.  Today is the day when we celebrate the vital work that Rangers across the world do to protect the environment, and commemorate Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty.  Here at St Abb’s Head we do a lot of important work protecting valuable habitats, and the wildlife that lives here.  From removing invasive species from our flower-rich grasslands, to counting the various bird and butterflies that make this place their home, to talking to the public to spread knowledge of how they can enjoy and protect the world around them, we are always busy working to preserve the places we love.

Seabird Monitoring



Attending public events



Controlling Gorse

We had a lovely afternoon at St Abbs Lifeboat Gala today - Zander and I were joined by Jack, Ernie and Jean who helped us man our stall. It was a tad breezy, but the sun shone most of the day, so we were not complaining. If you missed us today, why not come and see us at Coldingham Gala tomorrow! Liza.

Last week St Abbs was a venue for the Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail, with a band playing in The Old Smiddy Coffee Shop next door to our Nature Centre. The Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail is a professional development opportunity for outstanding young musicians who are considering a performance career in music. After being selected through an audition process, the young musicians are taken on tour across Scotland for four weeks through the summer. Part of the tour involves visiting National Nature Reserves, so that is why they came to St Abbs.


Here's couple of shots taken by one of our volunteers, Margaret Renstead, who also works in the coffee shop. And here's a link to the Feis Rois website in case you want to catch them elsehwere on their Trail http://feisrois.org.uk/index.php…


Liza.

Last week Rangers from various different locations all over West, Mid and East Lothian and the Scottish Borders came to visit St Abb's Head. About three times a year representatives from the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association (SCRA) organise a site visit somewhere in the region, and this time it was our turn. These meets are a brilliant way to network, share good (and bad) practice and find out what other rangers are up to. I'm pleased to say the weather was stunning, so they could see the reserve at its best. It made sitting on the bantry at Eyemouth eating fish and chips and ice cream a very pleasureable way to end the day!. Liza.

Our team here at St Abb's Head had a nice start to last week when we had a day of vegetation training with ecologist Lindsay Mackinlay. Volunteers Zander, Margaret, Jack and Jean came along for a whole day of learning how to identify some of the flowers and grasses growing on the reserve. It was a very educational day, but also fun for everyone involved, and we all had a great time wandering around in the flower rich grassland in the sunshine. Thanks to everyone who came along and made the day so enjoyable. Lizy

If you're planning on visiting Eyemouth tomorrow to enjoy the Herring Queen festivities, then you can come and visit us in the Eyemouth Hippodrome, from 10am - 4pm. We'll have some tables with lots of information, activities for children, and lovely, helpful people to answer any questions you might have about the reserve or our wildlife. Hope to see you there! Lizy

Our table at the St Abb's Science Day 2016

Sad news - I went to check on the progress of the gannet chick yesterday, and the nest was deserted - no adult and no chick to be seen. Who knows what caused it to fail - I suspect it was possibly a first time breeder as it started very late in the season. I have no doubt that they will try again next year, and possibly earlier in the season. Only time will tell. Liza.

It was a good day on the butterfly transect today here at St Abb's Head. Species spotted included Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Copper, Small Skipper, Common Blue, Grayling, Northern Brown Argus, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Dark Green Fritillary (pictured). We carry out our butterfly transect once a week, and it takes over 2 hours to complete on a sunny day when there are lots of butterflies! We have been monitoring the butterflies here for over 30 years and this kind of data is vital for scientists to learn more about the long term trends for butterfly populations. If you'd like to contribute to butterfly conservation then don't worry, you don't need to spend two hours a week for 30 years! The Big Butterfly Count is taking place from the 14th of July to the 6th of August, and they're asking you to spend just 15 minutes sitting somewhere such as a garden or a park and recording any butterflies you spot.  Head over to http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/ to find out more. Lizy



Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaja



Have you noticed anything different about the lighthouse in the last week or so? I received a call yesterday from a guy from the the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), who rang to to chat about parking arrnagements for maintenance contractors that will be coming up to work at the lighthouse next week.
 
Just in passing he mentioned that some contractors had be up there recently to shroud the lantern and replace it with small LED unit. The big old lantern, still sitting in a b...ath of mercury, has too many working parts to maintain it seems, and it is cheaper and more reliable to have an LED that flashes on and off. So the constantly turning lantern has been brought to a stop, and curtains have been placed around it so that it does not cause a fire by concentrating the sun's rays in one fixed spot on the headland.

I was amazed that I hadn't noticed any change, and a little bit saddened to think that we wouldn't be able to see those beautiful lenses constantly turning any more. I was also surprised that the shrouding hadn't been done with a little more ceremony. In my mind its a pretty notable event in the lighthouse's history, but I guess its more of a day to day operational change for the NLB. But there we are - its done.


Here are a couple of pictures I took today of the shrouded lantern with the new LED unit in front of it. Also picture I took of the lantern in the gloaming a couple of weeks back, and some pics I took a few years ago, when I was lucky enough to get inside the lantern room and see those magnificent lenses close up. Liza.