The teeny-weeny stuff

I have to start with the loud buzzing that went on around my head when I was trying to paint the exterior of the Radio Shack.  From the noise I guessed it wasn’t a bee – although there have been plenty of them around in the recent warm and sunny weather. 

The sound I was heard was sort of deeper, like a hum?  Then there was the way it zipped and then hovered that told me that I was being ‘buzzed’ by what is normally a traveller from a far – a migrant, day flying moth.  It was a Hummingbird Hawkmoth!  This is interesting as seems like a particularly early record for us, maybe this individual overwintered here?  Normally we start seeing them in May and they are a real treat.  Their wings beat at an incredible 70 - 80 beats per second and it’s that which allows them to 'hover' and in turn produces a loud humming sound.  See, that’s amazing!

Now, as I mentioned bees I thought I’d add this sighting of a Buff-tailed bumblebee feasting itself on a Hebe flower.  Did you know that Queen bumblebees hibernate?  This furry bee will have spent the winter alone underground and now that temperatures have risen she has emerged… and is hungry!  Hebe shrubs were planted around the island’s gardens and as they flower over the winter they act as very attractive nectar bars for early flying insects.

The greeny stuff

Walking through the woodland there are some wonderful patches of Jon’s favourite flower – primrose.

They are super shiny and bright yellow – that’s why they are often confused with buttercups.  Lesser Celendine have gorgeously glossy heart shaped leaves. I also think it’s amusing that such a cheerful flower is sometimes called pilewort which hints to its use as a treatment for haemorrhoids.   Still no matter which flower gets our vote, I’m happy to say that both are winners with early flying insects.

Another favourite plant is Ramsons (Wild Garlic).  At the moment the woodland paths are thick with emerging leaves.  When you push pass them you get an amazing garlic aroma, but it’s later in the Spring when they are most amazing – their white blooms turn completely cover patches of  ground, from a distance making it look like there’s snow! 

The feathery stuff

The cormorants are always the first sea birds to kick off the nesting season on the island.

Cormorants used to be a bird that I thought looked a bit plain and also rather sinister, with their dark feathers and reptilian appearance but oh how that has changed.   I can now see the gorgeous scalloping affect in their plumage and that eye –   such an amazing aquamarine colour with a ring of white star like flecks in the surrounding feathers.

We try not to disturb the nesting (and resting) birds so it’s sometimes tricky to see how the cormorant colony is progressing but this year we noticed the first nest being built on 6^th January and the first egg 20 days later.  Things all seemed to be progressing nicely, with adults starting their 4 week incubation of their eggs but then we had another spell of awful wet and then very windy weather.  As often happens, many of the birds struggled but they appear to be back on track now – phew! 

Earlier I mentioned migrant moths, well one migrant bird that we always look forward to welcoming back is the tiny Chiffchaff.  Some individuals might overwinter here but it’s when we start hearing their repetitive ‘chiff chaff, chiff chaff’ song that we know they are here for sure.  They must be one of the easiest birds to identify with your eyes closed and are a sure sign of Spring.

The salty stuff

Seals! OK, there’s going to be a lot about the seals because I like seals.

Seals are super cool and I find them incredibly calming and therapeutic to watch.  This fascination is pretty useful as there are people out there – yes Looe Seal Group and Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, who love them too!   I take hundreds of photos of seals and send them to Cliff at the Looe Seal Hub and the team try to identify each seal from its unique seal patterns – incredible, right? 

Sometimes I’m lucky to get some really close up views.

This photo is of a seal whose head popped up in the water a few meters below where I was working.  The water was beautifully clear so I could see its flippers moving as it kept its body vertically in the water and looked at me.   Moments like this, when you ‘connect’ with a wild animal are so special.  Still I remembered to get the camera out and take some ID shots.  I’m proud to say that some seals I can recognise immediately.  That’s often because their fur patterns are very distinctive and I’ve been seeing them here for over a decade! Some seals are like old friends who visit every now and then, some stay for a while and others just briefly pop by.

Often when a seal is new to the island they aren’t sure where everyone hangs out.  As the tide drops the seals haul themselves out of the water on to the best rocks, where they hope they can rest undisturbed… only ‘newbies’ often don’t know which are the best rocks.  So the other day I guessed we had a new seal as I watched it inquisitively swimming in shallow waters below Jetty Cottage.  And sure enough, after a couple of aborted attempts it hauled out right below me.

Sure to be coming soon…

Noisy oystercatchers, smelly ramsons, beautiful butterflies and more seals – of course!