A trip to the Rue, Fog, and saying goodbye to Rathlin

6 May

A lovely sunny day that brings us high numbers of visitors. The last of the young ravens has left the nest. We witness more egg-taking on the part of the ravens, and several puffins and guillemots get eaten by the Black-backed Gulls and the Skuas. Quite a few puffins about.

In the evening, Tom takes us down to the Rue point in his car. We walk out to the lighthouse and look at birds. We hear a water rail, see stonechat, reed bunting, wheatear, snipe, turnstone, eider, shelduck, common gull, herring gull. Beautiful sunset at the lighthouse. 

Spring Squill

After that, Lesley treats us to a beer at McCuaig’s. There are snipes around the cottage, and finally I also get to hear the display flight sounds properly.

7 May

Beautiful sunny day. Rick and Hazel show the moths they have gathered during the night with a moth trap (a strong light and some egg boxes). We get to say fascinating species like the Fox Moth (both the male and the female), the Ermine Moth and the Red-Green Carpet Moth (which appears to be just green on Rathlin – maybe they don’t have red carpets here?). After that, and as a way to say goodbye to the island, I run the Kinramer South trail once more. Then we go to the centre and find some early visitors who have come from the Manor House. They are lucky to see the birds. From 10am the fog rolls in and after a while we are completely enveloped in it. we can still hear the thousands of guillemots, but the stacks they are on are invisible.

We can just make out the kittiwakes, fulmars and razorbills on the ledges. And with some luck, the fog lifts just a bit and shows us the odd puffin. We do our utmost to show these elusive puffins to the visitors, and especially the children are very happy when they catch sight of them. After 4pm, when the visitors have gone, the blue sky is steadily revealed again and the stacks emerge from the fog.

We have another hour of enjoyment from looking at the birds. The two adult ravens sail over, but are not after eggs today. They might just have stashed enough the other day. A Great Skua can be seen holding a bird down under the water and then plucking it. The others around it do not seem disturbed at all. Nature functions in strange and not always comforting ways.

A Peregrine flies across the far cliff and then disappears somewhere. We have seen none of her or his spectacular hunting dive flights here, but of course these have happened. Liam has told me that the peregrines eat puffins too on Rathlin, as there are not many pigeons (their favourite food).

We go home for tea, cooking and eating. Rick and Hazel come over to sit with Matt, Lesley, Sina and me and look at some seabird photos, both Rathlin ones and some from Shetland and New Zealand. Quite funny ones of young puffins with crazy haircuts (the nest feathers), and many albatrosses, fulmars, shearwaters and petrels.

I do most of my packing and then off to bed.

8 May
Sadly, this morning I said goodbye to everyone and left Rathlin.

Una (left) and Lesley (right) waving me goodbye

It has been a wonderful time. The island worked its magic on me and I met some wonderful people. Highlights of course were the seabird centre and the stacks, with the chattering guillemots, the razorbills, guillemots, fulmars and puffins. Also, awesome great skuas, gannets, ravens, (whose last chick finally fledged this weekend) and peregrins.

Listen to the Rathlin sounds here (poor video quality, but you can make out the buzz of the guillemots, the call of the kittiwakes and the trilling wren):

Other highlights that I will treasure in my heart:
The beautiful landscape bursting into song with the summerbirds coming in. The exhilaration of trail-running and swimming in the Mill Bay. The companionship in the evenings at the cottage and McCuaigs Bar. The friendly islanders and especially the Magnificent McFauls.

When you read this, I am on my way home, on a train across Scotland.
Dear Alison, Liam, Sean, Una, Julia, Rick, Hazel, Wendy, Penny, Matt, Lesley, James, Tom, Seamus, and Sina: may the spirit of Rathlin always be with you!