Back at the start of July I took up the reins in the island's Fulmar breeding productivity project, a study which involved walking the North coast cliffs daily and noting the stage of progress of a pre-selected bunch of Fulmar nests.
Fast forward a month, and it's now become more of a daily emotional challenge than a productivity study, as scruffy balls of fluff gain feathers and begin to turn into pristine, ocean-bound flying machines. It's been nothing less than magical watching the adult-chick interactions of a bird I only ever previously shrugged off as an overgrown Herring Gull lookalike.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH5CifZvEFeYhnDlJCsYu5QS-r7kNifNjlNyKd2ksyzwYw5YAWz2iUJP8-5VgwILgRUg_gUCA1YYQUarhFqV8EtmFGHPhJZXSyNh-2YaZjT3j1ep_7KhTeuO8TBYM0POlTBx27hDXBibE/s1600/Fulmar.jpg) |
15 days old |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3f_-2z1w6pyKqvjKYTG2492SMWMvXkqAuIG1zbXMvZXw9KUR2prBk9aGJX0Zf39dmjLcFsepdgdgjkS_4yMDzewkv1YpC2xiD_Sw50ME2_Xw7GjY5TSp0Onc0j20gnQsiTnlA2FwMA34E/s1600/Fulmarchick.jpg) |
36 days old |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7quBG8qB0dD2n_kBxoIpza-VvF85K6-c26hNSkkqqGD2py63dfS9S0IXyvfFQuYyA2m8Zn4Go1XCcQasQ0KE90jY1sto4l5dpKJ5OLI1xIb9D0LJ1BWsiR6x4cvXnL8Bi-IXMYziF3KQ3/s1600/Fulmar1.jpg) |
43 days old |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictcS-_ooymLJaaxDDpVOyo7KlFuLEg06eqPUVNyjh5R4O_S75_4aNMjRS3j11PuSMZHfVTAYBT3imkQT2S06V028dlmjkBc2EjmPwKar0FTZ0aB2n1SsPgvHA57HUUsZO1ZUBXWSNzT3w/s1600/Fulmarchick.jpg) |
53 days old- ready to go to hit the ocean |
As of today, 22 chicks have already fledged, and the final six will no doubt leave in the coming week, following in the wake of the now departed Puffins and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The cliffs just won't be the same without these mellow, majestic beauties flying around my head...
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