Well the summer has moved on (what summer you may ask!) and the first batch of chicks have fledged which leaves us with the last batch of 10 chicks and they range in age from 4 days to 14 days. 

The full time wardening will wind down from the week-end after next i.e. 15th August.  At that stage the youngest chicks will be about 2 weeks old and will be flying well.  The fence will stay in place for a short time and we will continue to warden and monitor on a part time basis until they are fully fledged.

The wardening conditions over the past week or so have been very mixed and today we had long periods of rain.  When I was there today, sheltering in the tent from the rain, I ran out as I could hear and see that there was unrest with the Little Terns.  At first I thought that there was a bird of prey flying around the nesting enclosure, the barring on its underside reminding me of a Sparrow Hawk.  It was joined by another of its species and then a third.  These birds were flying at a more leisurely pace than a bird of prey and i could see a distictive shape to their tail.  They were not at all put off by the attacking terns, indeed they appeared to follow and attack the terns.  Despite rain covered optics, they turned out to be Arctic Skuas and these birds harass other birds until they drop their food which they catch in mid air, this is known as 'food piracy'.  5 of these birds spent time on the beach and left as the tide became full.  It was a pity that the viewing conditions were so poor, I have never had these birds fly over me so close!