The Easter bunny has come early to the Isle of May, delivering us the first Shag eggs of 2026! 🥚🎉🥚

Here's to a bumper breeding season in 2026🤞🙏

#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology
@ukceh.bsky.social

Mapping winter distribution of seabirds The current project is looking to map the wintering distribution of European shags that breed on the east coast of Scotland and England by collating reports of colour-ringed birds over the winter mont...

More information on the Shag project can be found on the @ukceh.bsky.social website: www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/...

It's a massive collaboration between organisations, ringers, sites and observers!

@theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @smp-seabirds.bsky.social @steelyseabirder.bsky.social #ornithology

Scottish shag makes unusual 319-mile trip to Hull The young seabird, ringed on the Isle of May in Scotland, was spotted at Victoria Dock in Hull.

Over 34,000 Shags colour ringed (inc >23,500 on Isle of May) in Scotland + Farne Islands since the 70s to understand their winter ecology, including the unusual locations during February's storms when many sadly died.

Please send sightings to shags@ceh.ac.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#seabirds

📸Harry Scott

📸Richard Steel

This Sly Fox: It went all the way

@ukceh.bsky.social @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @smp-seabirds.bsky.social

Infographic summarising the 2025 Atlantic Puffin breeding season on the Isle of May. It shows two key metrics: breeding success of 0.75 chicks per pair (above average) and adult survival of 82%, which is on the long-term average. The graphic includes simple icons and highlights that adult survival is an important indicator for long-lived seabirds. Source: UKCEH.

Last but not least in our 2025 Isle of May breeding summary:

Puffins nest in burrows, raising a single chick each summer before spending winter at sea. They take ~3 years to mature & can live for >30 years.

📊Breeding success: 0.75, above average
📉Adult survival: 82%, average

#IsleOfMay #Seabirds

@ukceh.bsky.social @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @smp-seabirds.bsky.social

Infographic summarising the 2025 Common Guillemot breeding season on the Isle of May. It shows two key metrics: breeding success of 0.72 chicks per pair (average) and adult survival of 83%, which is below the long-term average. The graphic includes simple icons and highlights that adult survival is an important indicator for long-lived seabirds. Source: UKCEH.

How was the 2025 season for Guillemots on the Isle of May?

📊 Breeding success: 0.72, average
📉 Adult survival: 83%, below average

Adult survival is crucial for long-lived seabirds, so even small changes matter. Long-term monitoring helps us track how they respond to a changing world.

#seabirds

@ukceh.bsky.social @smp-seabirds.bsky.social @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @steelyseabirder.bsky.social

This #WorldWildlifeDay, we’re celebrating the seabirds of the Isle of May — from Puffins & Guillemots to Razorbills & Kittiwakes.

These cliffs support thousands of breeding birds, a powerful reminder to protect our marine wildlife & coastal habitats. 🐦🌊

#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology

@ukceh.bsky.social @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social

Despite facing ongoing challenges from avian flu (amongst other things), the Isle of May Kittiwake population continues its upwards trend from a low count of 1,712 nests in 2013. 🐦📈

#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology #breedingsuccess #productivity #island #wildlifescience #conservation

@ukceh.bsky.social @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social

Shags have had a tough few years on the Isle of May following a large mortality event in winter 2023/24 and a smaller event earlier this year.

Thankfully both 2024 and 2025 saw above average productivity, so hopefully the population can recover in time. 🐣

#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology

@ukceh.bsky.social
@theseabirdgroup.bsky.social @steelyseabirder.bsky.social

The 2025 #seabird breeding results are in from the Isle of May:

Razorbills fledged 0.63 chicks per pair - right on the long-term average. Even better: 91.2% survival, well above the long-term average of 83.9%

Strong productivity + excellent survival = a really encouraging year for #Razorbills. 💚

Puffins and Shags seem to have been hit hardest by recent storms, with many reports of birds washed ashore. This includes one Isle of May Puffin that was ringed as an adult in 1995, making it at least 34 years old!

#stormChandra #seabirds #winterstorms

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The image contains a header at the top reading "Wanted: Shag resightings". Below this is a picture of a Shag weraing a blue colour ring with the code "UXE" and a text box of the information needed if you see a colour ringed Shag. This information is: date, location, colour of the ring, three letter code, and a photo if possible. All the information can be emailed to shags@ceh.ac.uk

Lots of reports of dead seabirds in the aftermath of recent storms. Please keep an eye out for any dead colour ringed Shags and send details to shags@ceh.ac.uk

#seabirds #ornithology #winterstorm

After 9 days of strong easterlies they will not have been able to feed adequately along the east coast and have made a desperate flight for calm conditions. Suspect these are the lucky ones to have survived so far

As @aberladybirder.bsky.social says if you can report to shags@ceh.ac.uk with any shag colour rings we'll send back a full sightings history.

I'm looking forward to the 2027 conference even more now

I was concerned by the first photo with them upright on their objective lenses. Always gives me the fear when i see them perched like this and that a slight miss-grab will send them tumbling. Glad to see bins posture rectified in second image😰

New Year, new job. Come and join the @ukceh.bsky.social team on the Isle of May
ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/CEH_Ca...

Demographic responses of North Atlantic seabirds to seasonal ocean warming | PNAS Climate-driven ocean warming is profoundly reshaping marine ecosystems, with cascading effects on biodiversity and trophic interactions. For migrat...

Warming oceans are having widespread and often negative effects on migratory seabirds, new research involving UKCEH shows.

The study compared seasonal sea surface temperatures with seabird numbers to quantify effects on reproduction, survival & population trends. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

🧪1/

A kittiwake ringed as a chick by @ukceh.bsky.social on the Isle of May in 2023 has been reported from Greenland. Our tracking studies over the years have revealed that many of the Isle of May kittiwakes pass Greenland on route to wintering off Newfoundland @theseabirdgroup.bsky.social

Back on the Isle of May for more shag ring reading. Pleasant conditions at roost time

Seabirds are more likely to ‘divorce’ in bad weather Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, according to a new study involving the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Importantly, birds that remained with the same partner tended to lay eggs earlier, which is strongly tied to how many chicks they rear 🐣.

See our news story: ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...

Read the full paper: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#seabirds #ClimateChange 🧪

A European Shag.

🐦‍⬛ | Wild seabirds are more likely to split up in windy weather, according to a newly published study led by #EdNapier.

The paper reveals that environmental conditions before the breeding season appear to have an impact on mate faithfulness.

Full story ➡️ orlo.uk/Zfiqf

#MustBeNapier