Going a bit ringing crazy in this post, first lets start with the peregrines.
Being three or so weeks old, the Peregrine chicks are big enough to ring, enter Richard and Giselle. Upon arriving at the north end pair of nesting peregrines we were disappointed to see that there was one duff egg, however two chicks were alive and kicking and ready to be rung.
One messy nest littered with the peregrines pickings.
One fluffy, noisy peregrine chick.
Giselle fitting the ring.
Perfect fit, one unimpressed looking rung peregrine chick.
The peregrine chicks have now fledged and have been seen on various occasions perched out on the east side rocks under the watchful eye's of mum and dad.
Choughs were also on the agenda as they too were getting to a ring-able size. Weeks earlier we had been round to the chough nests to mark the eggs to hope deter any egg collectors from nabbing the eggs.
Knowing roughly when the eggs were laid and how long the incubation period generally is we then timed our next visits to co-inside with the ringing of the chicks when they had reached the right size. Some nests are far too dangerous to just scramble into so once again 'icky' Steve worked his magic, like the S.A.S storming an embassy Steve was in and out in a flash with the hostages safe and ready for ringing.
Once the chicks were safely down it was now up to Richard and Giselle to ring them, but these aren't just any old ordinary rings. Three colour rings and one metal BTO ring are places on each chick, two on the right, two on the left. These form different colour codes depending on which colour is placed where on each leg (e.g yellow over black right leg, green over BTO left leg). As part of a large scale survey this helps to distinguish each chough, give information about where they were from and rung, and where they are next seen.
Leg, wing and weight measurements where then taken. Females having generally smaller measurements than males in each.
And last but not least the razorbills and guillemots.
Like Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" here's Steve being watched by a gang of razorbills, managing to keep his cool he makes note of ring numbers put on new birds, eggs not yet hatched, chicks too small to ring and deceased chicks (hopefully not any).
One razorbill egg, not much of a "nest", eggs are laid straight onto bare rock. These were under rocks and boulders right at tideline, easy enough for the young too plop out the nest into the water once fledged....... Unfortunately for some chicks born on cliff ledges its a 20 meter belly flop out off the nest and like a rubbish slinky bounce off the rocks until they find their feet, these birds are build like tanks.
Another job was too, if possible, read any rings on adult birds and make note of the letter / numbering. Some were possible to read straight through binoculars but having photographic evidence of ring numbers can help if later reference is needed.
Once adult birds were rung it was a quick toss up into the air to get them airborne and a safe flight into the sea five or so meters away.
(Out of context this next picture does look pretty weird but I thought i'd include it anyway to finish off the "launch sequence")
"Hallelujah I can walk again, praise the lord"
