Life of the Skerries

Guest blog:
My name is Rhiannon Baker and I am currently one of the 2018 Tern Warden’s on the Skerries. It’s my first year on the Skerries and WHAT a tern season it’s been!!!

The terns first appeared on the Skerries on the 1st week of May; the first arrival of the Arctic terns on the 4th May and common terns on the 5th May.

Arctic tern

​The first tern eggs of the season were found on 22nd May.

​The first chicks were seen hatching on the 12th June

Arctic tern chick

Arctic tern adult with two chicks

​First fledgling was seen on the 6th July

And having roseates with chicks this year is amazing!
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Since arriving at the end April this year myself and Ben (the other Skerries Warden) have been carrying out various tasks throughout the season.

At the beginning putting out nest boxes, making and placing out roseate decoys and carrying out gull clutch counts and puffin burrow counts.

Roseate tern decoys

During the season we’ve been carrying out tern clutch counts, chick feeding surveys and fledgling counts (for both terns and gull species) and deterring gulls from predating tern eggs, chicks and fledglings.

An Arctic tern chick from the chick feeding survey

​A pair of herring gulls

Other highlights have included unusual visitors to the Skerries such as chough, eider ducks and a hummingbird hawk-moth.

Chough

Eider ducks (male - left and female - right)

Hummingbird hawk-moth

Also, the rescue of the shelduck ducklings from the tern colony.

Shelduck ducklings

Fulmars and kittiwakes have been regular visitors

Fulmar

The roseate terns have been at the Skerries this season and have 2 chicks now very close to fledging; which is very exciting; as if they fledge successfully, it’ll be the first time in over a decade for the Skerries.

In addition to our daily tasks we have both been vlogging and blogging:
 - Ben who has been doing weekly videos = Birdman Ben:- https://youtu.be/jn7loF0iigY
-  Myself with daily blogs available at https://t.co/IpnR7BRo7P

I have also been moth trapping (depending on weather conditions) and carrying out intertidal surveys in 5 bays on the Skerries.

Also carried out many beach cleans; removing any plastic or balloons that washed up on the Skerries.

​The 2018 Tern season on the Skerries is not far from drawing to its conclusion now; with some of the common and Arctic tern fledglings leaving the Skerries to start their long migrations. Our peak tern fledglings count this season was 1,105 (potentially a lot more fledglings; this is the minimum total counted at one time).

Arctic tern fledgling

​None on this would have been done without the fantastic support of Trinity Lighthouse Trust, The RSPB and the Roseate Tern Life Project, so a massive thank you to all for the support given to make it this all possible.