Captain Coquet’s Corner: Full steam ahead
Puffins say thanks for all the support for the RSPB during the Festival
Full steam ahead for 2013 season
After one of the worst weather events experienced on the Northumberland coast for many years spring, the birds on Coquet Island have finally settled down and the island has come alive with the clamour and business of building nests, courtships and egg laying!
Despite being a month late in taking to their burrows, the puffins found time to say a big ‘Thank You” to all those honorary puffineers on the mainland for all the support shown during the Puffin Festival and for helping the RSPB care for Coquet.
This year is a Puffin Census year when the RSPB wardens count the puffins to see how many there are and to check how they are doing. One bonus of the storms earlier in the season is that the sea has remained cooler than usual – something that sandeels like……. and puffins like sandeels, so food is plentiful!
The eider ducklings have already started heading for shelter and good feeding in the mudflats in harbour, escorted by the adult female ducks (“aunties”).
Back on Coquet, the terns have established their territories and reclaimed Coquet Island as their own once more and have been reminding the wardens with pecks and guano attacks to watch out whilst they carry out their duties!
RSPB Puffineers on a brief trip to the mainland during the Festival
And the guarding has begun, with extra staff brought in to safeguard Northumberland’s only true nature sanctuary where birds come first and the only footprints on the sandy beach are those of eiders, terns, kittiwake and black-headed gulls.
