The Easter bunny has come early to the Isle of May, delivering us the first Shag eggs of 2026! π₯ππ₯
Here's to a bumper breeding season in 2026π€π
#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology
@ukceh.bsky.social
A puffin looking magnificent on the Isle of May last June
PUFFIN! One of Mr Wonderful's photos with his permission from the #IsleOfMay last June. #SuperSeabirdSunday
A puffin from 2025 on the Isle of May
#SuperSeabirdSunday meets #SundayYellow with Mr Wonderful's puffin pic against the lichen on the rocks of the #IsleOfMay
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.
πBreeding success: 0.75, above average
πAdult survival: 82%, average
#IsleOfMay #Seabirds
This #WorldWildlifeDay, weβre celebrating the seabirds of the Isle of May β from Puffins & Guillemots to Razorbills & Kittiwakes.
These cliffs support thousands of breeding birds, a powerful reminder to protect our marine wildlife & coastal habitats. π¦π
#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology
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. π¦π
#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology #breedingsuccess #productivity #island #wildlifescience #conservation
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. π£
#IsleOfMay #seabirds #ornithology
Todayβs #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Portrait. Apologies, no Valentine's Day connection! Razorbill on #IsleOfMay
The Isle of May lies about 11 miles off the coast of Fife where the Firth of Forth meets the North Sea. It measures approximately 1.5 to 1.8 km long and 0.5 km wide and covers an area of roughly 57 hectares (0.57 kmΒ²) so it's relatively small. There are high cliffs along the west of the island that are about 45m in height. The land slopes down to a rocky shoreline along the east coast. The island is a patchwork of grassy areas traversed by old stone walls. Pufflings eventually have to leave their burrows and find their way off the island and out to sea. They do this in the dark of the night to avoid predators, mainly gulls. Most make it in one go but others find themselves stuck behind the walls as it gets light. They then have to sit out the daylight and try again. There are a number of Wardens on the island who will give them a helping hand if they are found.
First taste of the big wide world!
This little guy was popped into a canvas bag to keep it from becoming stressed. The crew from one of the Scottish Seabird Centre boats released it into the sea on their way back to the mainland. A spectacular place to visit. About 200,000 seabirds ((puffins, guillemots, razorbills, shags, kittiwakes, arctic terns, various gulls) make the island home during the summer in order to breed.
I came across these shots today when searching files. This is an Atlantic Puffin chick (aka a Puffling). More info in ALT. Well worth a visit to the island. #Birds #Puffins #IsleOfMay #Nature #Photography #Nikon @seabirdcentre.bsky.social
βThanks for the rare road running North
And a day that gave its due,
From the mounting sun on the Firth of Forth
To the moon on the Larig Ghru.β
Hilton Brown (mid 1920s)
#photography #FirthOfForth #IsleOfMay #Sunset #Sunrise #golden #poem #HiltonBrown #PotD #Scotland #Fife #Crail
Puffins watching us watching them
PUFFIN! from 2021 on #IsleOfMay, one of Mr Wonderful's. #SuperSeabirdSunday
Booked. Always a brilliant experience that we look forward to.
It's amazing that such an immersive wildlife experience is on our doorstep.
#isleofmay
#birding
#scottishwildlife
#puffins
Gorgeous views of the Isle of May, a sanctuary for seabirds including fulmars, cormorants, razorbills, terns and my favourites, puffins.
#ThrowbackThursday to 11th June this year and a magical day on the #IsleOfMay watching all the fabulous sea birds, especially the #puffins. Hope to see you next May @steelyseabirder.bsky.social @visit-scotland.bsky.social
βDo not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.β
Dylan Thomas (1947)
#photography #landscape #seascape #Forth #IsleOfMay #sunset #poetry #DylanThomas #bird #flight #tanker #lamp #silhouette #horizon #PotD
An inquisitive puffin
#SuperSeabirdSunday you say? One of Mr Wonderful's puffin picks from the #IsleOfMay in June.
Fabulous puffin portrait
Mr Wonderful's amazing puffin portrait, my current phone screen saver to remind me of an incredible day #nature watching on the #IsleOfMay this June. #SuperSeabirdSunday
The #IsleofMay weather station recorded gusts peaking at 84MPH in the early hours of this morning. Quite impressive, although not the eye-watering 98MPH wind gust recorded at this same station during storm Γowyn. π«£#stormamy
Here's how the wind records are looking so far across #Fife in #Stormamy. The maximum gusts recorded so far on my station network:
#Lochgelly π¬οΈ 60.0MPH WSW at 18:34
#UpperLargo π¬οΈ 63MPH at 19:00
#IsleOfMay π¬οΈ 78MPH at 18:39 π²π²
Puffins ready to take their sand eels to the nests
#SuperSeabirdSunday with a circus of #puffins on the #IsleOfMay this June. My photo this week βΊοΈ Taken on my Nokia G11 with attached scope.
"Than Adriane wyth hys cumpany
Togydder come tyl Caplawchy.
Thare sum in to the lie off May
Chesyd to byde to thare enday.
And sum off thame chesyd be northe
In steddis sere the Wattyr off Forth"
(Wyntoun c. 1420)
#photography #IsleOfMay #Forth #Scotland #Scots #Chronicle #Island #Priory
Puffins in a line on the rocky outcrop. Isle of May 2020
Puffin Express driver late again π
#isleofmay
#seabirds #ukwildlife
#photography
#SuperSeabirdSunday
@steelyseabirder.bsky.social
The South Fog Horn being painted on the remote Isle of May off the coast of Anstruther. Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400 & Processed by @gulabiphoto #isleofmay #kodakultramax400 #anstruther #scotland #photography #foghorn #filmphotographer #filmisnotdead #filmisbetter #filmphotography #kodak
A group of puffin from 2021
A circus of #puffins on the #IsleOfMay early June 2021, my photo taken on my Nokia mobile through a scope. #SuperSeabirdSunday
The cost of parenting was beginning to showβ¦.
#isleofmay #lesserblackbackedgulls #superseabirdsunday #birdingscotland
The cries of the Kittiwake were heard all around the Isle of May this week. If ever doubtful of their name they call it to you from the skies and cliffsβ¦..
These fledglings contemplated life on the wing.
#isleofmay #naturescot #superseabirdsunday #kittiwake #birdingscotland
