As of 09:00, today, June 24th, there have been no more sightings of the TUFTED PUFFIN.
While Tufty has been taking centre stage this past week, the rest of the world has been chugging along. Here on the island it's no different.
A scattering of nonbreeding species have popped up for varying periods.
Included in that catagory are:
a GRAY CATBIRD that seems to be a migrant stop-over that never left;
a male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT who spends long periods singing very lustily;
an EASTERN KINGBIRD that's been profiting from an unusually number of white moths this past couple days;
one or more PEREGRINE FALCONS daily dining on Puffin and whatever else comes to talon;
a BLACK BILLED CUCKOO that had a fatal meeting with that falcon;
occasional, single BLACK GUILLEMOTS, including one that also had a meeting with Mr. Peregrine;
an OLIVE SIDED FLYCATCHER which was largely responsible for finding the T. Puffin;
one PHOEBE & one LEAST FLYCATCHER seen on the 18th;
a probable SKUA flyby on the 20th;
a couple GANNETS, briefly on the 17th, notable only because they have been especially scarce this season;
LAUGHING GULLS are daily now, 1-10 at a time. No nesting yet but it looks likely for one or two pairs;
a mystery duck slipped through ..... dabbler.... posssible female WOOD DUCK but suspected Black x Mallard cross.
The resident species are well advanced and, seemingly, doing fairly well.
The rocks hold a full chorous of peeping RAZORBILL & MURRE chicks and the burrows have their Puffins. We are very nearly at the peak hatch and food delivery and other child care activity is ramping up.
The SAVANNAH SPARROWS are busy with nestlings and a few youngsters are showing up. The population is looking better than it appeared early in the season but it still seems rather low.
SPOTTED SANDPIPERS are just beginning to act as if there may be chicks around but I haven't spied any yet.
The Spotties, like the Savannahs, seem low this year but they are likely within our normal population range.
The first brood of 4 COMMON EIDER ducklings appeared on the water over the weekend. It's still a shade early for here but there always seems to be one or two early hatches.
The Eider numbers are down somewhat from last year at approximately 60 nests. The all-time high was around 150 nests. The low end was just under 40 nests.
The Terns, especially ARCTIC TERNS, are back in approximately the same number as recent years but nesting effort has been much better. There will likely be chicks soon, although survival to fledging is still unlikely.(Hope I'm wrong on that one).
Overall, it's been a strong effort which points up the fact that the colony could still be rejuvinated. That's vastly easier than trying to restore a colony that has completely disappeared.
In terms of numbers, our nest census found approximately 185 nests. That number includes active, egg bearing nests as well as scrapes, empty nests & abandoned nests.
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