The Bullers of Buchan

Surprise,  surprise the rain forecast for this morning didn’t come our way and it was a much better day than expected.  I took the opportunity to visit the Bullers of Buchan for the first time since last summer.  It’s there, on the cliffs, that seabirds return  for the breeding season.

Fulmars and kittiwakes are the first to arrive and there were a good number of kittiwakes on show.  Next to return are razorbills, guillemots, cormorants and shags.  Eventually last to put in an appearance are the puffins.

Last year after the first outbreak of bird flu there were several gaps on the cliffs as so many seabirds had died from the flu.  There was another outbreak late last summer so I’m expecting to see fewer birds once again this year.

Over the past  months most of the birds washed up on the beach at Cruden Bay were guillemots.  Far fewer razorbills, cormorants and kittiwakes were brought in on the tide but worryingly there were quite a few puffins.  Given that it is a small colony of approximately 50 birds it is to be hoped that numbers haven’t been decimated.

This morning I saw several razorbills, lots of kittiwakes, a few fulmars and a solitary shag.

It will be a week or two more before I go in search of puffins, waiting for a dry spell to ensure the paths up to their burrows on the cliff edges are safe to walk on.  I don’t stand at the cliff edges anymore, retreating a yard further back each year.  I now am 70+ yards away from the edge ;-)