The Atlantic coast
Today was a chance to walk the wild west Atlantic coast of Westray. When the waves roll in and crash it’s exhilarating.
I’m looking for Puffins on the short cliffs but they’re out to sea, bobbing on the waves in small flotillas. I start to look for Arctic Skuas hunting but they aren’t here, either. Far out to sea I can see the Mainland, the largest island of Orkney. Above the horizon I can see processions of Common Guillemots, or Aaks as they’re known here. They fly in long chains, a way of protecting themselves against being robbed of their fish by Arctic Skuas.
Here’s how Arctic Skuas hunt Common Guillemots for their fish:
I watch procession after procession until one passes closer to the coast, even though it’s still well out to sea. Here’s one of the Aaks with a much larger than normal fish. How can it possibly expect to feed this to a chick?
Their breeding productivity seems slightly up from last year but still well down on what it needs to be to maintain the population. Auks live so long that even a small percentage decrease means 1 in 25 has died of old age and not been replaced.
We need to protect life in the oceans to protect our seabirds.