Ramsey Island RSPB Nature Reserve opens this morning.  Land on the island and explore at your leisure, take a boat trips around the island or see the best of both worlds and take a boat trip around the island in the morning then land on Ramsey Island for the afternoon.

The New Year began where 2011 left off, wet and wild! Winds of over 70 mph screeched along the coast last night and late this evening it is still blowing a Force 10. It makes life quite difficult at times; simply putting one foot in front of the other can be a huge physical effort for humans and is almost impossible for our chickens. It really has been quite brutal over the last 24 hours and that’s not a word I often use in association with the island. I did manage to get a few photographs today of the monstrous sea off the island’s west coast. It was breaking right over the top of many of the small islets to the south of Ramsey with the salt spray funnelling up and over the interior of the island. By crawling on my stomach and hiding the camera under my hood I managed to hold still and dry long enough to get a few shots. The camera is now recovering on the AGA and I’m warming nicely in front of the fire. Here’s to a cold, crisp and calm spell in the near future. Happy New Year.
Follow Ramsey Islands RSPB wardens Greg and Lisa Morgan on: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/ramseyisland/b/ramseyisland-blog/default.aspx

Things are quieter with just Greg, Dewi and I on the island and the wildlife is already taking advantage. Moulted seal pups are using the concrete harbour wall and steps to gain some respite from the spring tide swells. One has been in the same sleeping position on the metal grill leading down to the low tide landing for three days, a good fifteen feet out of the water.
The younger pups on the Aber Felin and harbour beaches are also enjoying the solitude, although they are totally unfazed by the comings and goings of the Gower Ranger and our visitors when we are open.

Pup numbers are decreasing quite rapidly now as we would expect by the end of October. There were only a dozen pups under three weeks old on the big Aber Mawr rookery yesterday. However, we had a definite flush of newborns again last week on the east coast beaches and several large, pregnant cows are hauled out in readiness of their imminent pups.

We were still hearing Manx shearwater calling over the house on Saturday night, which was very dark with the new moon. Fulmars have reclaimed their ledges on the island’s cliffs after a period of absence. They always disappear out to sea after the breeding season, where they complete their annual moult. It is great to see them soaring effortlessly around our bays again, filling the void left by our other seabirds during the winter months.

The island has a really autumnal feel all of a sudden, with dull days and dark nights and a decent amount of rain. We seem to have seen the last of the late Swallows and Wheatears, but birds of prey are takings advantage of a glut of moving skylarks, pipits and starlings with Hen Harrier quartering over the heath and Merlin, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine all out hunting.  ”
Take a look at Greg and Lisas RSPB blog page RSPB blog page

Sea watching is to the fore in autumn and this year was a good one by Ramsey standards thanks to several favourable weather
systems. Bird highlights for Sept and Oct were: Sabine’s gull 7 (4 ads and 3 juvs), sooty shearwater 12, Balearic shearwater 12, Leach’s petrel 1, Pomarine skua 5, Arctic skua 60, Bonxie 51, Common Scoter 107, Med gull 2, GN diver 3, Sandwich tern 158 and ‘commic’ tern 200+.
Away from the sea, highlights were black redstart (4/9), GS woodpecker (29/9-1/10), hen harrier (5/9 and 27/10), house sparrow (16 in total), red kite (15/9), ring ouzel (14/10), bullfinch (20/10 and 26/10), snow bunting (28/10), wryneck (4/9-13/9), whinchat (2 on 4/9) and tree pipit (15/9).
The first redwing and fieldfare of the year were both recorded on 14/10.  Movement of skylarks totalled 400+ west by end of October, with 15k+ swallows in same period (with late birds still moving on 28/10). Manx shearwaters were heard over the farmhouse on the night of 29/10 (around the new moon) and fulmars were back on ledges after their post season moult on 30/10.
The warm weather at the beginning of October saw the appearance of two hummingbird hawkmoths and other migrant moths, Vestal
and L-album Wainscot were trapped.  Risso’s dolphin were logged on both the 6 and 7/10

Both young ladies have won a tripfor themselves and their families to land on Ramsey Island for the day.  Well done girls the pictures are fabulous.