It's not all about the birds.

A little added value is collecting data on other taxa. This year we took a moth trap (and set it in two different locations on separate nights).

Both nights were extremely productive with over 50 species of moth identified, and others still to be correctly named.
The most numerous were Dark Arches (119), Antler Moth (37) and Garden Tiger (28).

Free flying butterflies included Painted Lady (abundant), Meadow Brown (10) and Small Blue (3+). Other insects included Violet Ground and Black Sexton Beetles, Yellow Dung Fly, Marmalade Hoverfly and White-tailed and Buff-tailed bumblebees.

The Moth class in session.

Some of the science

On our visits we try and add value to everything we do. Sometimes this can be simple things like measuring and weighing birds - proxies for fitness and condition - whilst other things can start out simple but become more difficult.
One thing we thought we had mastered from last year was determining the sex of individual birds. This year we felt we had to start all over again.

The top shows what we consider to be a male, and the bottom image a female. It all has to do with the presence and extent of white under the wing. The top image shows white all across the wing with definite fringing on the primary coverts. The bottom image still has the patch of white feathers close to the body, but is lacking the extensive white fringing.

Fine you might think, but consider the next two:

Male or female?

We decided 'this' needs more work - the reference texts didn't help much either. So, next year we intend to take more photographs and remove selected feathers for definitive sexing analysis via DNA  so we can produce guidelines for ourselves and others with regards to sexing Storm Petrels. 

Ageing them is another thing altogether.....

The 2019 season

This year a team of nine travelled and were on the island from end-July to the beginning of August (five nights in total). We pitched tents in the normal spot - next to 'old George MacKays house'. The first night of ringing we were at White Cairn (which we call 'The Maze' - no idea why; see picture) and were stopped early due to heavy rain at 1.30 am. However, we still managed to capture 79 birds.

The Maze with, if you look closely, nets set and furled ready for night time captures.

The second night we were back on The Maze and managed a full night. We caught in excess of 260 birds (same night captures are not counted in totals) with two birds carrying Portuguese rings. With the wonders of technology by mid morning of the same day we had found that one had been ringed on 22nd July 2018 and the other 21st July 2019 - 38 days previously - both near Faro in southern Portugal (definite confirmation to follow).

When not ringing Storm Petrels we go off catching Great Skua chicks - simply by walking about and looking for them.

Here two skua checks have been ringed and are now being checked for body condition  and good health.

Sometimes they can get quite large, being not short of fledging. Fortunately for them, unfortunately for us, it is usually us shredding a little blood. All this walking about over the island does have its advantages. For those who have returned it reinforces just why we come every year.

The following night we reverted to a ringing site close to the camp site as, for three of us, it was their last night (as work dictated their departure the following morning). This night we caught another Portuguese bird as well as one from Norway; besides over 240 carrying British rings.

Daylight gave rise to more skua ringing - for some there first - both for bird and ringer.

The following night we were back on The Maze - with two more Norwegian birds - and then back at the camp site for our last night.
In all we managed 1285 new ringed Storm Petrels, 124 UK retraps (birds ringed at previous visits to Nan Ron), 43 UK controls (birds ringed elsewhere in the UK, details still to come) as well as the three Portuguese ringed birds and three Norwegian.
For Great Skua we ringed nine new birds and recaptured 16 rung previously in the year.

The Team:

Steph (I love my job), Bob (fixer), Liz ('gis a job), Gerry (it's not all about the birds), Danni (alleged meteorological guru), Tom (the faint smell of lynx?).
Missing because of work Josh, James and Tony.