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After what seems to have been weeks of bitter Siberian easterly winds, we finally get a welcome Sunny respite.
The river birds are frisky and Penny and Duke I'm told were mating yesterday, this is good news as the run up to nesting time is not far away. We have a spring tide at the end of the month, and I expect them to start nest building then.
Trust members and regular River and beach walkers Mr and Mrs Nicol, brought me another Guillemot found on the beach. In spite of my best efforts it died after expelling the same foul smelling inky black fluid as the previous rescued Guillemot. There have been several deaths of these sea birds over the past few weeks.
Trust Members have been observing some seabird casualties over the past few days. Maybe it's the result of the strong Siberian wind pushing the birds from East to West last week.
Gerry and Belinda picked up a Guillemot yesterday from the beach near the Golf view hotel. I put it in the brooder under some heat and gave it some re-hydration fluid in the hope of saving it, however it died through the night.
Today George Berryman another Trust member, witnessed the death of another seabird on the east beach, looks like a Little auk. The Guillemot had no external injuries but passed a black foul smelling inky fluid, makes me wonder if it was something it ate, causing an illness?
Still full of the Man Flu, so will have to content yourselves with a Look back at some of the more rare visitors to the River, like the high contrast Long Tailed duck in 2011, and the Guillemot last year.
Just before Christmas I took a few shots of the Goldcrest, darting around the pines and dense bushes below the Merryton bridge. These are the bushes that must be left alone and untouched for the sake of the wildlife !!!!
High tides this week, and I thought I was seeing things when this unusual bird was paddling upstream on the River. I have never seen one before and thought it might be a young Puffin, it was only when consulting my bird book I realised it was in fact a Guillemot. Perhaps it was a young one or lost in the recent bad weather.
It was busily looking for fish and came very close, completely unperturbed,(short video below).
