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wonders of nature Scottish Seabird Centre Members’ magazine
A fond farewell:
Celebrating the life of the world’s leading gannet expert 30 The Forth Ferry 38 Our amazing young supporters
Scottish Seabird Centre and the environment Sustainability and the environment are at the heart of everything we do. We have produced this magazine in an environmentally-friendly way. However, to help save trees and to reduce costs, you can receive your magazine by email – just contact membership@seabird.org or call +44(0)1620 890202. Also, sign up to our enewsletters to be kept up-to-date with our latest news.
News
05 News from around the Centre
Features
08 Bryan Nelson 12 Gannet research 14 Bass Rock landing 16 Gannet sculpture 18 Mechanical gannet 20 Fantastic fulmars 22 Team news 32 Puffin Fest 34 Nature Photography Awards 36 Nurdles 38 Rising stars
Regulars
24 Gift Shop 26 Seabird Café 28 Volunteers 30 Boats 42 What’s on 44 Kids
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Scottish Seabird Centre, The Harbour, North Berwick, EH39 4SS W: www.seabird.org E: info@seabird.org T: +44(0)1620 890202
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03
Welcome from Tom Spring and summer have brought both happy and sad times for us this year. Our dear friend and supporter, Dr Bryan Nelson MBE, passed away at the end of June. Bryan will be hugely missed but he leaves behind very many wonderful memories and an amazing legacy; not only his books and his research, but the number of people he has inspired about the wonderful world of seabirds. The past season has also brought us a very successful Puffin Fest; the launch of our new Nature Photography Awards with brand new categories for its 10th year; the start of the new Forth Ferry between Anstruther and North Berwick and some brilliant partnership opportunities with local schools, colleges, artists and sculptors. Our exciting plans to further enhance the Centre and create the National Marine Centre for Scotland continue to develop and a proposal has now been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support – your visits, emails, ideas, support and engagement are always welcome.
Tom Brock OBE Chief Executive
Update from Laura As ever, it’s been a busy few months with lots of collaborative working with talented young people. A favourite for me was working with Ellie Hand-McCready, who transformed herself into tree mallow to promote our summer Alien Invasion programme. Ellie is certainly a name to watch for in the future!
It has also been brilliant working with North Berwick High School. Not only did their art department create the most amazing giant birthday card to celebrate the launch of Puffin Fest and our 15th birthday, but working with the S2 class on our parody of All About the Bass was lots of fun. A huge thank you to everyone involved. We have also been working with students from the University of Leeds who, under the watchful eye of the brilliant
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Keith Hamer, have been working on some amazing research on the Bass Rock gannets. Read Jude’s feature and make sure you check out her gannet research blog – it’s a fascinating read.
Laura Adamson Magazine Editor and Marketing Manager
04 Special thanks The Scottish Seabird Centre is an independent charity dedicated to inspiring people to appreciate and care for wildlife and the natural environment. Registered Scottish charity no. SC025837. Registered in Scotland no. 172288.
Special thanks and editorial contributions
Our work would not be possible without support and funding from organisations, trusts and other donors, statutory and private. Thank you to all our supporters.
Editorial contributions This issue contains articles from three valued contributors.
Photography credits Images bring our magazine to life! We would like to say thanks to the following photographers: Laura Adamson, Sean Bell, Peter Bennett, Keith Broomfield, Gareth Easton James Grecian, Paul Hackett Tom Langlands, Tony Marsh Rob McDougall, Craig Newton.
The images of Bryan Nelson are taken from On the Rocks, Bryan Nelson (Langford Press)
Bryan Nelson Dr Joseph Bryan Nelson, FRSE, MBE was the world’s leading expert on gannets.
Following a degree in zoology at St Andrews, between 1960 and 1963 Bryan lived on the Bass Rock, now the world’s largest colony of Northern gannets (Morus bassanus). Bryan, and his wife June, lived in a wooden hut within the ruined medieval chapel on the site of St Baldred’s 6th century cell, working on gannet behaviour and ecology (D Phil from Oxford). This amazing adventure formed the basis of his 1978 gannet monograph and inspired further research. The article for our members’ magazine was his last and kindly supplied to us by June. Read this on page 10.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Jude Lane Jude is a PhD student at the University of Leeds studying the behaviour of Northern gannets during the breeding season. Prior to starting her PhD she worked for the RSPB, monitoring and protecting breeding hen harriers on upland estates. The aim of her research is to increase our understanding of gannet behaviour when they are out at sea on foraging trips. Read all about it on page 12. Jason Sweeney Jason grew up in Lancashire but moved to the Scottish Borders 15 years ago. This move gave him the opportunity to combine his interest in wildlife with his metalworking skills. Jason draws inspiration from the abundance of local Scottish wildlife, creating stainless steel sculptures for a worldwide client base. He sculpts a diverse range of wildlife of varying sizes and form from salmon to stags, lobsters to gannets and many others in between. See his amazing gannet sculpture on page 16.
05 News Here’s the must know news from Seabird HQ!
News from around the Centre
Poetry corner Thank you to member, Moira Dillet, who kindly sent us this poem.
15th birthday celebrations Pupils from Law Primary School helped us celebrate our 15th birthday in style on Thursday 21 May. We had a jam-packed day of birthday activities with the Edinburgh Sketcher hosting art sessions and the Centre’s mascot, Tammie the Puffin, leading puffin picnics. Visitors were treated to free birthday cakes, as the Seabird Volunteers had baked hundreds of cakes for the celebrations.
Lovely Geese These days, gorgeous geese Always make me smile! I have been waiting, patiently, Just to see, the lovely geese, For a while – Suddenly, the birds are everywhere, Gladly, I simply stare!
Hundreds of grey, glorious Geese, are dotted, all around the grassy area Frantically, the beautiful birds, are feeding – Just to replenish their Needy, little bodies once again. Once again, Just to, amazingly, fly – Fly high, into the Blue yonder, Beyond the plain! Mrs Moira Dillet SHOTTS Lanarkshire
The Wild about Scotland bus also made a very special stop in North Berwick. Funded by Clydesdale Bank in partnership with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Scottish native species outreach bus made its first visit to the Centre. Tom Brock said: “We have had an incredible 15 years at the Seabird Centre: we are constantly evolving to ensure that we provide a five star facility for both locals and visitors, as well as achieving the charity’s objectives of inspiring people to appreciate and care about Scotland’s amazing wildlife. “The official opening of the Seabird Centre on 21 May 2000 by Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay, was a day of great celebration. We would like to say a huge thanks to everyone for their invaluable support over the last 15 years. We couldn’t have opened or survived without the support of our local community as well as our volunteers, trustees, staff, members and visitors. “We now look forward to building on our education and conservation work as well as further benefiting North Berwick and East Lothian.”
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
06 News
News from around the Centre Puffling rescues In July we urged East Lothian residents to keep an eye out for pufflings and the Seabird team were involved in two rescue missions.
Puffins and their pufflings leave their burrows during July, heading out to sea for the winter. The adults will not come ashore again until they return to breed next spring. However, after leaving their burrows on the island of Craigleith, just offshore from North Berwick, some pufflings become disorientated by lights from the mainland. Their first ever flight may see them flying into town and seeking somewhere dark to hide from predators, such as gulls, often underneath cars and under plants in gardens.
Seabird Centre Boat Office Manager, Claudia Gehrig, spotted a puffling on North Berwick High Street on 19 July. The startled puffling hid under a car so a call was made to the Scottish SPCA. After coaxing the puffling, named Phil, into a long net, it was taken to the Seabird Centre where it was later taken out on a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) where boat guide, James Leyden, ensured Phil made it safely back out to sea. James was also involved in a second rescue mission with Polly the puffling. On 27 July, North Berwick residents, Sandra and Ronnie Williams, of Lord President Road, were alerted to a puffling in their garden by their dog, Alfie. Sandra said: “We realised it was a puffling and so managed to catch it and kept it safe overnight in a box in the garage. We phoned the Seabird Centre the following morning and took it down there where staff looked after Polly until it was time to head back out to sea.� Polly joined a Three Islands Seabird Seafari boat trip where it safely joined other puffins on the sea between Craigleith and the Bass Rock. There are around 5,500 apparently occupied puffin burrows on Craigleith and around 55,000 around the Firth of Forth, with two adults and one puffling for each successful burrow nest.
Pufflings first flight:
You may see them flying into town and seeking somewhere dark to hide from predators, such as gulls, often underneath cars and under plants in gardens.
The Seabird Centre leads a number of campaigns focussing on the conservation of seabirds and the marine environment including SOS Puffin, a campaign to remove a giant invasive plant called tree mallow. This plant was preventing puffins from nesting and rearing their pufflings on the nearby islands of Fidra and Craigleith, causing a major population decline. Around 1,000 volunteers have helped with this project and, thanks to their hard work, local puffin numbers are recovering and biodiversity is increasing.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
07 News
Concern at seabird mortality projections A judicial review lodged by RSPB Scotland into the Scottish Ministers’ decision to grant consent for four offshore windfarms off the Firths of Forth and Tay began in May, and the Seabird Centre called for further research to be undertaken to ensure that the risks to puffins and other seabirds are minimised.
The Centre has strong concerns that insufficient research has been undertaken into the annual mortality of seabirds as a result of the operation of the proposed windfarms. The Firth of Forth is of international importance for seabirds: notably the Bass Rock is the world’s largest colony of Northern gannets with over 75,000 apparently occupied sites and the Isle of May National Nature Reserve is the largest puffin colony on the east coast with around 46,000 apparently occupied burrows. However, it has been identified that the proposed windfarms will kill seabirds on a regular basis.
Some estimates suggest that over 2,500 seabirds, including puffins and gannets, will be killed annually from being hit by the blades of the turbines. However, other estimates suggest that total seabird mortality will be much higher. Tom Brock said: “To help reduce climate change, we recognise the need for renewable energy developments at appropriate locations. However, we are extremely concerned about the potential impacts that a development of this scale (335 large wind turbines) will have on the large number of internationally important seabird colonies in the vicinity. “Key decisions are being made when there are significant knowledge gaps: this is something that must be tackled head-on. It is essential that relevant research is undertaken as a priority to ensure that these important decisions are evidence-based and risks to Scotland’s seabirds are minimised.”
Jean-Michel Cousteau is backing our plea for further research. Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Multi-award winning environmentalist, Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, who has undertaken four decades of pioneering work around the world’s oceans, is backing the Seabird Centre’s call for further research. Jean-Michel Cousteau said: “For many of us who have dedicated our whole lives to protecting our planet and seek solutions to deal with climate change and renewable energy, we look for progress to make a difference for humans and all species. But not all efforts are equally progressive. “A renewable energy ‘solution’ as proposed in Scotland at the Firths of Forth and Tay windfarms comes at the potential expense of critical seabird populations. This is not progress. It is not a solution. It trades off one problem for another that is unacceptable. “For every action there is a reaction and that is what is happening here. People protect what they love. And, the seabirds of the Scottish coast are truly loved.”
08 Feature
use words – he became a gannet with his whole body being used to demonstrate the gesture that he had so accurately identified and described in his research.
Tom Brock reflects on the life of our trustee, special advisor and the world’s leading gannet expert, Dr Bryan Nelson.
“When he described the call of the kittiwake, the whole lecture theatre echoed at high volume with his eeringly accurate imitation of that distinctive call. “There was absolutely no chance of anyone falling asleep during one of Bryan’s lectures! You were entertained, educated and inspired.
Following a degree in zoology at St Andrews, between 1960 and 1963 Bryan lived on the Bass Rock in a wooden hut within the ruined medieval chapel on the site of St Baldred’s 6th century cell, working on gannet behaviour and ecology (D Phil from Oxford).
At the end of 1963 Bryan headed to uninhabited islands in the Galapagos to study red-footed, masked and blue-footed boobies. In 1967 he sailed to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to study the then unknown, jungle tree-top nesting Abbott’s booby which breeds nowhere else in the world, and the brown booby. He also studied the wonderful colony of Australasian gannets at Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand. He produced a 1,000 page monograph on the world’s gannets and boobies. Other books include a volume on the Pelecaniformes and one on the biology and ecology of seabirds. Dr Nelson played a key role in the creation of the Scottish Seabird Centre and was a trustee of the charity from 1997 to 2012. In 2013 he was appointed as Special Ornithological Advisor. He was awarded an MBE for his work on seabirds in 2006. Tom tells us: “I first met Bryan in the late 1970’s when I was an undergraduate zoology student at Aberdeen University. Up to that point I had been vaguely interested in animal behaviour but Bryan brought the whole subject to life and totally inspired me along with everyone else at his lectures. “Bryan’s lectures were certainly never boring and they were something that you really looked forward to. Appropriately for someone fascinated by communication and behaviour, he himself was an outstanding communicator. When he described skypointing behaviour in gannets to a lecture theatre full of students, he didn’t just
“Bryan had high standards and high expectations of his students. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and woe betide anyone who was even the slightest anthropomorphic in their descriptions of animal behaviour. It certainly had the desired effect and to this day, I can still hear Bryan’s voice when I am proof reading copy for a leaflet or a new display. “For me, Bryan was a mentor, a friend and, in so many ways, an inspiration. “It was wonderful to meet up with him again when I joined the Scottish Seabird Centre. Bryan was involved from the very early days of the Centre and he clearly saw the opportunity to inspire and inform an even bigger audience about the amazing world of seabirds – especially the gannets of the Bass. He was a trustee of the Centre for 15 years, hardly ever missing a meeting despite having to travel the furthest. “He supported the Centre in many ways. It was wonderful to see him talking to our staff and volunteers, inspiring and educating them in the same way as he had done with generations of students. To this day, our staff and volunteers pass on that knowledge and enthusiasm to the tens of thousands of visitors to the Centre every year. “In the last few years Bryan was our Ornithological Adviser – we were so fortunate and privileged to have the world’s gannet expert to call on. Bryan will be sadly missed by us all but what an amazing life and, in so many ways, what an incredible legacy.”
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Dr Bryan Nelson:
Friend, inspiration and mentor
10 Feature Gannets, our largest seabirds, have several features that make them different to other seabirds and, indeed, to other members of their family in the Tropics.
Unlike most seabirds, gannets usually mate for life, which can be thirty years or more, and retain the same site.
Established gannets may return to the Bass in February after a mere two months at sea. Returning early allows a male to reclaim his site and mate, before new birds can stake a claim. The site, just the distance around a nest that can be reached by a jabbing beak – which explains the uniform pattern of a gannet colony – is vital for breeding success. Apart from disturbance or death, it is never left unattended. Sometimes severe fighting, with damage from the sawedged beak, can occur during establishing or maintaining it. The nest, built and maintained throughout the season with guano, seaweed and grass, plays a vital part in keeping the single egg and chick from falling off a cliff ledge or above the slime of the often wet colony on flatter ground.
The final article by Dr Bryan Nelson.
What makes gannets special? Male and female are almost identical. As part of cementing the pair bond, the male attacks the female by biting her nape and the female appeases by turning her head away. They then stand breast to breast with outspread wings and fence their bills. Throughout the breeding season, whenever a bird returns to its mate, this bill-fencing is repeated. The birds use a sky-pointing display when one wishes to leave the nest to ensure that both birds do not leave simultaneously. Compared with most seabirds, the gannet egg is relatively small, incubated under the web then transferred to the top just before hatching to avoid damage. The chick is small but grows quickly on a diet of oily fish, such as mackerel and herring, which it takes from the adult. After about 92 days, it is heavier than its parents. The early white down is replaced by mainly black plumage, perhaps keeping it safe from attack by its parents which are almost entirely white, except for black wingtips and golden head.
Thriving community: Gannet numbers on the Bass Rock have increased from about 5,000 in 1900 to 150,000 or more.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Unlike most seabirds, the young gannet, after flying, jumping or falling off the cliff hopefully onto the sea, is then on its own. It must live on its body fat while perfecting its fishing technique. It is at this stage that gannets suffer high mortality from starvation. Successful young will return to the Bass Rock to breed after three or four years. Gannets have a much wider feeding range than other seabirds, maybe flying hundreds of kilometres to find fish. The long narrow wings and aerodynamic body enables them to travel quickly and economically, whilst flying in chevrons also saves energy. They can dive deeply, with wings folded as they hit the water and then propel themselves using wings and feet. The bird closes its nostrils under water. Waterproofing is maintained with oil from a gland at the base of the tail. Unlike other seabirds, gannets seem to be thriving; numbers on the Bass Rock have increased from about 5,000 in 1900 to 150,000 or more, possibly because they are protected. They have no predators but death can occur from fishing hooks, nets, or from oil spills and pollutants.
Male and female are almost identical. As part of cementing the pair bond, the male attacks the female by biting her nape and the female appeases by turning her head away.
Gannet research With our seas under constant pressure from fisheries, development and climate change it is important to know as much as we can.
13 Feature Jude Lane is a PhD student from the University of Leeds studying the behaviour of Northern gannets during the breeding season.
The aim of my research is to increase our understanding of gannet behaviour when they are out at sea on foraging trips. Aside from the fact that I get to work so closely with these beautiful seabirds, there are two aspects of my work which are particularly exciting.
The first is that I am looking at their flight in 3D, so not just where they are going but how high they are flying throughout the duration of their trips. The second is that I am looking at the behaviour of immature birds that have not yet started breeding, which has not been done before. Seabirds are excellent indicators of how healthy the marine environment is; they are reliant on the sea for food yet breed on land, making them relatively easy to monitor and study. With our seas under constant pressure from fisheries, development and climate change it is important to know as much as we can about seabirds so that we can safeguard their populations and the species on which they depend.
Check out Jude’s blog: gannetresearch.wordpress.com The spectacular Northern gannet, the largest seabird not only in the UK but in the whole of the north Atlantic, is an ideal subject for studying and monitoring. It is big enough to carry miniature data logging devices but it also breeds in large numbers at some colonies which are relatively easy to access, like the Bass Rock. Researchers have been tracking gannets from the Bass Rock using miniature GPS devices for almost two decades, to find out more about their behaviour during the breeding season. GPS devices, which use the same technology as your car’s sat nav, can record the position of a bird every two minutes. Using these GPS devices, researchers have shown that gannets sometimes make round trips of over 540km to find food. They have also shown that males and females travel in different directions from the Bass Rock in search of food.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
One of the biggest gaps in our knowledge of gannet foraging behaviour, and the focus of my PhD, is how high they fly. If we can establish how high gannets fly, not only can we improve our understanding of how they search for food but we can also improve our assessments of how likely they are to collide with potential offshore wind farm developments. Working alongside other researchers from the University of Leeds, I have been fitting gannets with GPS devices and altimeters so that we can learn how high they fly whilst they commute to foraging locations, search for prey, dive, and commute back to the colony. It is exciting research and a real privilege to get to work with such incredible birds. If you’d like to read more about my research and what it’s like to work with the Bass Rock gannets then check out the Gannet Research blog on the Wildlife section at www.seabird.org
14 Feature Steve Newman is a travel writer and photographer who enjoyed a landing trip on the Bass Rock earlier this year.
A great experience:
Steve Newman’s Bass Rock Landing adventure The Bass Rock is the largest Northern gannet colony in the world and described by Sir David Attenborough as one of earth’s twelve wildlife wonders.
There are over 150,000 gannets on the Bass and the scientific name for the Northern gannet, Morus bassanus, derives its name from the Rock. The birds were traditionally known locally as ‘Solan Geese’ and as with other gannetries, such as St Kilda, the birds were harvested for their eggs and the flesh of the young chicks which were considered delicacies. The lower ledges of the Bass are home to shags, razorbills and guillemots whilst puffins also nest in the ruins of the castle and prison below. The trip over to the Rock from the harbour at Dunbar can give you cormorants, a selection of gulls and numerous seaduck such as eider. On the way over the boatman will also start ‘chumming’ for you and you can great shots of the birds diving into and under the water.
The top of the path at St Baldred’s Chapel is as far as you are allowed to go and the birds are very tightly packed here so you do get an excellent view of their behaviour and more often than not a selection of chicks in the various plumage stages of their development. Nesting space on the Rock is at a premium and many birds now nest no more than a few feet above the tide line. Their nests are so strong through being cemented together with excreta and spittle that they very rarely succumb to any waves that do wash over them. You must be prepared though for that lovely ‘eau de seabird colony’ fragrance that lingers here all the time as well as the wonderful, incessant ‘cack, cack, cack’ noise. Looking up, the sky is black with birds. One of the greatest experiences of my life was in a RIB circumnavigating the Rock, hugging its walls with the birds flying around above us like thousands of midges silhouetted against an evening sky. For further information on Bass Rock Landing trips and other Bass Rock boat trips visit www.seabird.org
There are no facilities on the Bass so it’s a good idea to take food, drink and warm clothing. There is a safe area where you can leave kit but there are no toilets. Sturdy walking boots are recommended and warm waterproof clothing is advised, as the weather can change suddenly.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Packed tight:
Nesting space on the Rock is at a premium and many birds now nest no more than a few feet above the tide line.
Described by Sir David Attenborough as one of earth’s twelve wildlife wonders.
17 Feature Jason Sweeney is a sculptor who enjoyed a very exciting commission this year, which wowed the team at the Seabird Centre.
Up-close-and-personal:
Jason Sweeney’s gannet creation Jason’s sculptures are created from stainless steel. They are cut from flat sheets and beaten into shape with a hammer, then welded together, the finishing touches provided by grinding and buffing. The whole process, is carried out by Jason by hand, ensuring that every piece he creates is truly unique. The Gannets was a private commission that is due to be installed later this year. A wedding gift from a bride to her groom, both of whom share a love of this iconic seabird.
Jason has joined many sea fishing and sightseeing boat trips from Eyemouth where he has observed and photographed gannets but he had never been close enough to study them in detail until he made contact with the Seabird Centre and Maggie Sheddan. Maggie is the Senior Bass Rock Landing Guide and she was able to bring Jason up-close-and-personal with gannets, for the first time. He always likes to work from life where possible to ensure the accuracy of the physiological form of his pieces and the relationship, position and scale of their constituent parts.
After many discussions with Maggie and the opportunity to gain a close view of the birds, Jason began the process of designing and creating the sculpture. The next stage was a client discussion to ensure that his vision matched that of his client’s and that the scale suited the location. A final design was then drawn up and agreed. One gannet soaring at the top and the other two in slightly different phases of their dive, the classic pose that make gannets so iconic. Jason sent photographs of the12ft high finished sculpture that he took at St Abbs Head on the Berwickshire coast to Maggie in order to show her the finished work. She was so taken with the piece that she invited Jason to take it to North Berwick to have it photographed at the Seabird Centre. The sculpture was on display in the Seabird Café throughout August and September. For more info visit www.jasonsweeney.co.uk.
Maggie Sheddan is the Senior Bass Rock Landing Guide and she was able to bring Jason up-close-and-personal with gannets, for the first time.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Bringing a mechanical gannet to life
The fabrication and welding apprentices used their skills to shape replacement parts and weld and braze them into place on the intricate bird structure.
19 Feature Engineering apprentices from Edinburgh College dealt with an unusual animal rescue operation as they used their skills to bring a feathery robot back to life.
Daniel Dewar and Sean Devine worked with their lecturer Terry Healey to perform extensive repairs on the Scottish Seabird Centre’s mechanical gannet, which is on display in the Discovery Centre.
We asked the students to repair our broken bird so it could head back into action and continue raising money for the charity and educating visitors. The fabrication and welding apprentices used their skills to shape replacement parts and weld and braze them into place on the intricate bird structure. Now fixed and back home, the gannet springs to life when a donation is made, making the distinctive gannet call, rotating to show the inner workings of its skeletal structure and revealing a metal fish struggling in its beak. It is ideally located close to our interactive Bass Rock cameras, where visitors can zoom in on the real life gannets on the Bass Rock.
Tom Brock: We would like to say a huge thank you to Terry, Daniel and Sean for all their hard work. We are very grateful to Edinburgh College, and will look forward to collaborating with them on future projects. Daniel and Sean are on the second year of a four-year modern apprenticeship in fabrication and welding. They visit the college’s Midlothian Campus in Dalkeith two days a week to receive training that they can apply to their job roles at Scotia Security. Daniel said: “This has been a great chance to put the skills we have learned through our course into practice. This was the first time we’ve done a job for somebody that will be seen outside the college, and you take a lot of pride in your work.” Ross Milligan, the college’s Curriculum Manager for Engineering, said: “This was an exciting and unusual opportunity for our students to work with the Seabird Centre. The students and Terry have worked hard to refurbish, repair and get the mechanism working again, and now it is as good as it was when it first built. Our fabrication and welding students usually work on water tanks, spiral staircases, gates and railings, but projects like these give them a taste of the more unusual ways they could use these skills in the future.”
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Tom Brock said: “It is brilliant to have our kinetic gannet sculpture back in operation. It has always been a very popular attraction. The Bass Rock has had a phenomenal year, being named the world’s largest Northern gannet colony and also BBC Countryfile Magazine’s Nature Reserve of the Year. To have our mechanical gannet back in the Centre is the ideal way to celebrate. “We would like to say a huge thank you to Terry, Daniel and Sean for all their hard work. We are very grateful to Edinburgh College and will look forward to collaborating with them on future projects.” The gannet was originally designed by Jim Bond, an artist who specialises in kinetic sculpture, and was described by Terry as like something from TV’s Scrapheap Challenge, as the artist had welded die nuts into the skeletal structure, used a spoon in the working mechanism and used bolts to create the feet. The gannet has been entertaining visitors to the Scottish Seabird Centre since it opened in 2000.
20 Feature Our friend, PR-guru and wildlife expert, Keith Broomfield, introduces the world of our seabird friend, the fulmar.
Wildlife wonders:
Although the fulmar looks a bit like a gull, it is in fact a petrel and is related to the albatrosses. The bill is quite different from that of a gull and consists of a complicated arrangement of horny plates with a tubular nasal protuberance. Another characteristic of the fulmar is the stiff-winged gliding flight and they like nothing better than to wheel in the air currents with hardly a beat of the wings.
Fantastic fulmars Being spewed upon by a fulmar is one of my more memorable, albeit unenjoyable, wildlife experiences. It happened many moons ago when I was ringing young gannets on the Bass Rock.
Keen to get a photograph of the fulmar, I approached too close and it duly projectilevomited a foul concoction of fishy oil over my jacket. It is a rather unsavoury defensive ploy adopted by fulmars to deter predators and I can certainly vouch for its effectiveness. I was reminded of my Bass Rock fulmar encounter only recently when I visited the impressive seabird breeding cliffs at Fowlsheugh, just south of Stonehaven. There were quite a few nesting fulmars beneath the cliff tops, although I was well out of regurgitation range. The old Viking word for fulmar means ‘foul-gull’ and the bird has long had a reputation for this unorthodox way of protecting their nests. Indeed, it is thought that an attempt to reintroduce four sea eagles to Fair Isle in 1968 may have failed partly because of fulmars. The eagles began to prey upon the fulmars, who in turn were quick to hit back with their deadly deterrent. Ornithologists soon found a male eagle with matted feathers that was heavily soiled in fulmar oil. It died a few weeks later.
Fulmars feed on a variety of oceanic foods ranging from zooplankton to offal and discards from commercial fishing vessels. With our fishing fleets now moving towards a new discard-free catching regime, it will be interesting to see what impact this has on our fulmar and other seabird populations. On my way back from Fowlsheugh, I dropped by at St Cyrus National Nature Reserve, north of Montrose. It was great to come upon several patches of yellow-flowering cowslips by the edge of the sand dunes. A member of the primrose family, they seem to be becoming increasingingly scarce. Out at sea, I could see common terns fishing, their heads pointing downwards in focused concentration as they scanned the water’s surface for small fish. When I first visited St Cyrus over 30 years ago, little terns used to nest on the gravel raised beaches. They are the most exquisite birds and it is a real pity that they no longer breed on the reserve. I did, however, spot a couple of ringed plovers just above the high tide line. No doubt they had chicks nearby. As I looked up across the beach, I couldn’t help but reflect that this part of eastern Scotland has some of the finest coastal scenery in the world and an unbeatable natural richness to boot. This article was first published in the Dundee Courier.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Fulmars feed on a variety of oceanic foods ranging from zooplankton to offal and discards from commercial fishing vessels.
23 Feature We have welcomed some new members to the Seabird team!
Team news!
New Education Officer Andrew Grieveson, from Edinburgh, joins the Seabird team with a background in zoology and education. Andrew graduated from Cardiff University in 2006 with a BSc Hons in Zoology, and he achieved his PGCE Secondary Science with Biology from Bangor University in 2013.
Andrew has worked as a science teacher in a number of schools in England, Wales and Scotland, leading extra-curricular science and wildlife related clubs and societies. He was most recently a science teacher at East Lothian’s Ross High School, in Tranent. Andrew said: “I’m feeling really excited about being offered this post. I have always had a passion for wildlife and zoology, and it’s a thrill to be able to promote these subjects to our young visitors. “I’ve already seen lots of enthusiastic people visiting the Seabird Centre and they all seem to have learned a lot about the importance of our coastal environments as well as enjoying their experience.
New Administration Assistant Carrie Bevan joined the Scottish Seabird Centre as Administration Assistant in May 2015. With a varied background in chemistry, communications, marketing and more recently bringing up two lively children, she brings a wide range of transferable skills to this role. Carrie moved to North Berwick in 2000, the year the Scottish Seabird Centre opened and after enjoying many visits to the Centre she is very happy to be part of the team. Farewell to Charlie Charlie Marshall started with the Seabird Centre in 2007 as our Fundraising and Business Development Manager. The team has too many great stories for us all to mention, but none of us will forget his participation in the Ice Bucket Challenge or the way he would help anyone who asked. We will miss you Charlie!
“I love teaching and being able to introduce new ideas and concepts to young minds, and this job allows me to combine this with my love of nature and conservation. I’m looking forward to continuing this important work and creating some great lessons and activities for our future visitors!”
Join us:
We are always looking for talented people to join our team. Keep an eye out at www.seabird.org for vacancies.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
24 Gift shop Our Gift Shop Manager, Marion, takes us through a few highlights from the current items available.
Retail therapy:
Stylish, aromatic, tasty, moreish, must-have.
Ortak Orkney Islands – a place of ancient Norse and Scottish history – a land of dramatic seas and landscapes, is the home of Ortak. From modest beginnings in the late sixties in a quiet Kirkwall street, its founder, Malcolm Gray, created a company which grew steadily to become one of the UK’s leading designers and manufacturers of gold and silver designer jewellery.
In May 2014 the brand, including the intellectual property rights, as well as the original designs and patterns of the jewellery moulds and drawings were bought over by a group of new investors and the company Ortak Ltd was formed.
Ailey Mae Chocolate Ailey Mae’s Raw Chocolate was started with the desire to create delicious chocolate made from simple, high quality, real ingredients. All of Ailey’s chocolate is handmade in North Berwick. Flavours available in the Gift Shop include peppermint, mango, Himalayan pink salt, rose and pistachio, sour cherry, cashew and vanilla, maple and pecan, Steampunk coffee, coconut, cardamom and lime, roasted hazelnuts, raspberry and salted caramel. Priced at £3.50 for 50g bars.
Ortak have re-located to new premises, still within the Royal and Ancient Burgh of Kirkwall, and they continue to produce high quality, affordable jewellery. The expertise of the staff ensures that the traditional silversmith skills and exceptional customer service are still very apparent. Ortak designers use modern technology and their dedicated research of history and fashion to create gold and silver jewellery collections. In our Gift Shop we offer a stunning range of nature themed designs, which are also available on our online shop.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
McKelvie Candles When Granny McKelvie was married in Linlithgow in 1888 candles were still the main form of lighting in most of the miner’s homes of her community.
By the time her daughter Agnes married in Fife in 1920, oil lamps had taken over as the lighting source saving much labour for the McKelvie household. Candles have come a long way since Granny McKelvie’s day. Although no longer a main source of light, they continue to grow in popularity and use. In 1990, one of her grandsons was behind the development of what has become McKelvie Candles, created by hand using the finest ingredients to give a fragrance, long life and quality she would have loved. Whether you want to create an atmosphere in your home that’s welcoming and sociable, calm and soothing, or maybe evoke nostalgic memories, there’s a McKelvie Candle that will fill your home with long-lasting fragrant enjoyment. Candles are priced £9.50.
Whisky Sauce Co. The Whisky Sauce Co. was born out of a passion for good food and a love of whisky. They are proud of Scotland’s past, and its present, and the team proudly waves the flag that says their whisky sauces are made on home turf, in the heart of Tayside.
They believe that quality ingredients make for quality sauces and their sauces are free from artificial colourings, flavourings, and preservatives, leaving more room for their favourite ingredient, Scotch Whisky. Like a mature malt, they find they get even better with age, and they’ve got over two decades of experience making quality food with the finest Scottish ingredients. Priced at £2.95 for 125ml.
Don’t forget, members get a 10% discount in our Gift Shop!
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
26 Café Help support the Seabird Centre and the MCS – and enjoy a little tipple!
From the Notebook
Regular visitors to the Centre may have noticed we now offer a very special range of themed beers: formed in 2012, by two guys with a passion for wildlife and real ale, From the Notebook Ltd is all about celebrating the diversity of British wildlife with another of their passions – beer!
The beers are sold individually or in an attractive three bottle gift pack:
The style, flavour and colour of the beers they produce, reflect the major characteristics and traits of the creatures they represent – hence idiosyncratic beers. Every bottle sold provides a donation to a UK wildlife charity, organisation or trust and will also go towards supporting the Scottish Seabird Centre. The sale of beer from the Seabird series helps the work of the Marine Conservation Society, the UK charity for the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife and as it’s sold in the Seabird Café and Gift Shop, helps support our conservation and education work at the same time.
Arctic Tern An easy to drink IPA which belies its strength. A hoppy nose and silky smooth finish. (6.0%) Kittiwake A Golden Ale, bright in the glass with a rounded subtle and gentle flavour. (4.0%) Puffin A best bitter with an initial sharp bitter taste leading to a caramel and lingering feel. (3.8%) Eider A dark beer with malty tones throughout and a subtle chocolate malt taste. (4.2%)
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Christmas Shopping Evening
Date for your diary! Don’t miss our exclusive members’ only shopping evening on Thursday 19 November. Not only will you get a 15% discount on items (some exclusions apply) but there will be the chance to sample delicious local produce, meet some of our suppliers and enjoy a little treat or two. Join us from 18:00.
Raise a glass: Cheers! Enjoy a toast and support the Seabird Centre.
Date for your diary: Don’t miss the Members’ Shopping Evening for great deals and special treats.
28 Volunteers Sandy Forrest, Chair of the Volunteers, takes us through their latest work and makes a fresh appeal.
The Volunteer Group of the Scottish Seabird Centre continues to amaze me with the range of their skills and knowledge – our latest challenge is to find Volunteers with fluent language skills who can help by translating the Discovery Centre description sheets. Once we have the new English versions we will be able to complete copies in Cantonese, Mandarin, French, German and Russian.
Perhaps amongst the members we have language experts who could expand our list, to cover at least the main languages of Europe. If you could help, please get in touch with the Seabird Office on 01620 890202 or info@seabird.org with your contact details. On espere que vous allez repondre! Since the last magazine, the Volunteers have held their AGM, where Jenny MacDonald was appointed to the Vice Chair position. Jenny has already deputised for me at the Thursday morning meeting, reporting back to the Volunteers at the Seabird Café meeting. A very healthy balance was reported at the AGM by our Treasurer, Harry Barker, which will enable us to make donations towards specific projects for the Discovery Centre. Our balance has been augmented by the events held more or less monthly, such as a Coffee Morning, Midsummer Music, Jazz Night and Coriander Evening. We also played a key role in the Centre’s 15th birthday celebrations, baking hundreds of cakes for visitors to enjoy. Later in the year we will be holding an event on Fireworks Night; a talk by Sara Dodd on the art of making pictures out of dried seaweeds; plus a Christmas Coffee Morning on 12 December, so watch out for the dates and details – we need your support!
Our main activity however, remains the meeting and greeting of visitors in the Discovery Centre, where we try to enhance the visitor experience by highlighting the live pictures from the cameras and assisting people to operate them. The summer months have brought stunning action from the islands, showing the young of all bird families in close up, to the delight of staff, Volunteers and visitors young and old! As many of the birds are beginning to leave us now to return to the water, we have started looking out for the first seals on the Isle of May. Mary Tebble, having moved aside from Vice Chair, now has a table in the Scope Deck at weekends, where she chats to visitors as they leave the Discovery Centre. This has proved an invaluable position as Mary is able to collect feedback from visitors which she passes on to the relevant teams, as well being able to promote membership of the Centre and becoming a Volunteer. She would love to welcome additional people to this activity, which would enable her to extend the hours of operation. It is certainly possible to be both a member and a Volunteer – many of us are! We are always looking for new Volunteers to increase our coverage of the Discovery Centre, particularly at weekends, thus freeing up staff to give talks on the birds, seals or the fish tank. Do think about joining us, even if you live at a distance and only visit occasionally. We do work hard but at the same time we have a lot of fun, and enjoy being with friends of a similar mind-set, that of caring for the environment and the animal life around us.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
What we’ve been up to!
Celebrate!:
We baked hundreds of cakes to mark the Centre’s 15th birthday.
Adventures across the Forth
Colin Aston:
To be able to travel between Fife and East Lothian in under an hour is brilliant for locals and tourists, a unique experience, which we look forward to building on in the future.
31 Boats At the time of going to print, the Forth Ferry will have finished for the season, but we wanted to give you some information on this trip and also ask any members who hopped on board for feedback!
The Forth Ferry undertook its maiden voyage on the 7 August 2015. The hope is that we can build on the success of the first season and run this excursion again in 2016, while also forging closer tourism and community links between East Lothian and Fife.
This new excursion has its roots in a long and rich history, with boat trips between North Berwick and Fife dating back to at least 950AD. The ‘Pilgrims’ Ferry’ transported religious worshipers across the Forth to visit the relics of Scotland’s patron saint at St Andrews. At its height, some 10,000 pilgrims made the crossing every year.
Seabird Centre to establish the new ferry service, which will enhance access across the estuary and give improved access between destinations in Fife and East Lothian.” Although not subsidised, the project has been made possible by partnership working between SEStran, East Lothian Council and North Berwick Harbour Trust with European funding support. Thank you to piper, Claudia Gehrig, who welcomed the first passengers.
Now the journey on offer is quite a different experience with passengers able to travel on the custom-built, 55-seat, Seafari Explorer, which was launched by Seafari Adventures and the Scottish Seabird Centre in March 2013. Colin Aston, Managing Director of Seafari Adventures, said: “We have been working on the plans for the Forth Ferry for some time and it was fantastic to launch our maiden voyage on 7 August. To be able to travel between Fife and East Lothian in under an hour is brilliant for locals and tourists, a unique experience, which we look forward to building on in the future.” Tom Brock said: “At the Seabird Centre we are committed to offering our visitors exceptional experiences and this trip between two beautiful seaside towns will be a wonderful asset for locals and visitors. “Reinstating this 1,000 year old ferry service will benefit both communities and strengthen the links between East Lothian and Fife.” Cllr Russell Imrie, Chair of SEStran, adds: “SEStran believes that the Forth Estuary should be a highway, not a barrier, which is why we have worked with Seafari Adventures and the
Cllr Russell Imrie:
We are proud to be involved in a project that both reinstates historical links and establishes a new and improved service for local residents and visitors alike.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
32 Feature Scotland’s second festival of puffins has been declared a great success as around 13,400 puffin fans visited the Seabird Centre between 15 and 25 May.
A great success:
Puffin Fest!
Puffin Fest featured a jam-packed programme of puffininspired and environmentally-friendly activities for people of all ages, and the festival was officially opened by BBC wildlife expert Euan McIlwraith on Friday 15 May, with the support of Tammie the Puffin and piper Claudia Gehrig.
Some of the most popular events included photographic workshops with award-winning photographer Tom Langlands; Puffin Parties with Forth1; Puffin Express boat trips; creative sessions with the Edinburgh Sketcher and artist Mandy Thomson; and guided walks with East Lothian Council Countryside Ranger Service. Percy the Puffin shows, provided by The Drama Mill, were a particular hit with younger visitors. Also during Puffin Fest, the Seabird Centre hosted a celebration for SOS Puffin: an invasive plant, tree mallow, had clogged puffin burrows on the islands of Craigleith and Fidra. This resulted in the puffin populations on these islands crashing. In 2007 the Centre launched an appeal for volunteers to cut down the tree mallow and now around 1,000 volunteers have taken part. Their hard work has resulted in the puffin population on Craigleith increasing to 5,500 apparently occupied burrows (aobs) ie the number of breeding pairs, and Fidra has 1,000 aobs.
Tom Brock said: “We built on the success of our inaugural year and it’s brilliant to see everyone’s hard work pay off with a 9% increase in visitors and people attracted to North Berwick and East Lothian from near and far. “I would like to thank everyone who visited, supported and worked at Puffin Fest and I am sure that, amongst all the fun and games, everyone took away some of our vital messages as an environmental charity about the importance of conserving and protecting Scotland’s seabirds for future generations.” Caroline Vevers, Events and Exhibitions Officer at the Scottish Seabird Centre, adds: “After the success of the first Puffin Fest it was an exciting challenge to compile a programme that would appeal to visitors of all ages, wildlife fans, locals and tourists. I believe we delivered a fantastic 10 days of fun and highlighted North Berwick as one of the best places in Scotland to see our clowns of the sea.”
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Thank you to Euan McIlwraith for officially opening Puffin Fest. Thank you to the art department at North Berwick High School for creating the giant birthday card.
34 Feature The Scottish Seabird Centre Nature Photography Awards are in their tenth year and to mark this anniversary there are two new categories!
To celebrate the Year of Food & Drink, the Centre has introduced the category Nature’s Foragers where entrants are invited to consider our natural larder and how different species engage with it. The challenge will be to compose an image that can say something about the diversity of natural provisions available or the canny way some wildlife find their lunch.
The guest judge for this category will be Hebridean author Fiona Bird who has written Kids’ Kitchen (Barefoot Books, 2009); The Forager’s Kitchen (Cico Books, 2013) and Seaweed in the Kitchen (Prospect Books, 2015). Manuela Calchini, VisitScotland Regional Partnerships Director, said: “The Year of Food and Drink is all about celebrating our outstanding culinary delights and unique dining experience. It’s fantastic to hear that the Scottish Seabird Centre has incorporated this message into their 2015 photography competition. Food and drink is such an integral part of our lives so I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunity for entrants to get snap happy and capture that prize-winning picture.”
Fiona Bird adds: “I am delighted to be invited to judge the foraging category. We should all relish the opportunity to explore and taste Scotland’s natural larder. Most foragers eat locally and every forager eats seasonally; they are of course mindful that if they pick all of the spring blossom there won’t be autumn berries, and the birds and the bees will lose out too.” In addition, budding film makers also have the opportunity to enter for the first time in the Nature Condensed category. Entrants in this category will create a maximum of one minute’s footage, focusing on any of the themes outlined in the photographic categories. These are: Landscape, Scottish Wildlife, Worldwide Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Creative Visions of Nature and World Flora – under 16s can also enter in all categories. Nature Condensed will also have a guest judge, Laura Miller, News Anchor from STV Edinburgh. Laura Miller said: “I am delighted to be involved in the Scottish Seabird Centre Nature Photography Awards 2015 in, this, their tenth anniversary year. The competition is the perfect platform for local amateur photographers, young and
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
old, and it showcases a wealth of talent. I feel privileged to be judging the inaugural ‘short film’ category and can’t wait to see this year’s entries.’’ Following the success of last year’s awards, which had over 430 entries, the judges for all other categories are Scottish Natural Heritage’s awardwinning photographer, Lorne Gill, professional freelance photographer, Graham Riddell, and Scottish Field Editor, Richard Bath. The deadline for entries is Sunday 18 October: following this, the judges will meet to decide on a shortlist in each category. The shortlist will then be on display from Friday 20 November in the Seabird Centre and online for the public to cast their vote until Sunday 21 February 2016. In each category there will be a winner selected by the judges as well as a winner selected by the voting public. Winning photographers have the opportunity to secure a whole host of fantastic prizes – visit www.seabird.org
Tenth international photography competition
Competition timeline: Sunday 18 October 2015 Deadline for entries Friday 20 November 2015 Shortlist exhibition opens and public invited to vote Sunday 21 February 2016 Voting closes Thursday 25 February 2016 Award ceremony at the Scottish Seabird Centre Friday 26 February 2016 Winners’ exhibition open to the public
Sarah Archer reveals all:
Scotland’s great nurdle hunt
37 Feature Marine litter is a growing concern – from large ‘islands’ of plastic, to tiny plastic beads in cosmetics. But have you heard of nurdles?
Tom Brock: The Isle of May is of international importance for puffins so to hear of them ingesting nurdles is very alarming news. It is vital we do all we can to resolve this issue.
If you look closely, and I mean very closely, you might spot tiny plastic spheres on beaches around Scotland.
With the help of data collected by volunteers, Fidra has been encouraging companies around the Firth of Forth to commit to preventing nurdle loss. But this isn’t just a problem in the Forth, nurdles are being found on beaches across Scotland.
But what are they? These seemingly harmless plastic pellets (or ‘nurdles’) are the raw material which, when melted together, make most plastic products – from plastic toys to computer keyboards. Accidental spills from factories or during transit sometimes happen meaning nurdles are washed into waste pipes, ultimately ending up on our beaches. Nurdles, about the size of a lentil, can be mistaken for food by birds, fish and other marine life. The nurdles then remain in their stomachs preventing them from feeling hungry and leading to starvation. This isn’t the only problem. In sea water, nurdles attract toxic chemicals that can be transferred into the animals’ tissues. In March, it was realised some puffins on the Isle of May had also mistakenly eaten nurdles. The Isle of May is one of the country’s largest seabird breeding colonies. Tom Brock said “The Isle of May is of international importance for puffins so to hear of them ingesting nurdles is very alarming news. It is vital we do all we can to resolve this issue.”
Sarah Archer, Project Manager at Fidra said, “We want all companies handling pellets in Scotland to pledge to prevent nurdle loss. And to do that we need the help of volunteers.” If you’d like to hunt for nurdles, The Great Nurdle Hunt’s website has tips to help you search. Findings can be reported from anywhere across Scotland and will be added to the Nurdle Map. www.nurdlehunt.org.uk
Small but deadly:
Nurdles, about the size of a lentil, can be mistaken for food by birds, fish and other marine-life.
And that is exactly what The Great Nurdle Hunt, set up by local charity Fidra, aims to do. By working with industry, Fidra highlights how putting measures in place can prevent nurdle spills.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
38 Rising stars
Julia Wilson added: “The best bit for me was seeing the pupils’ faces when they were filming at the Seabird Centre. They knew that this was the fruition of all their hard work and effort… and they were loving it.”
The Seabird Centre teamed up with North Berwick High School on a very special project.
When asked about the ‘All About the Bass’ project, musicians Kate Bunney, Esme Callander, Erin Mwembo, said: “We all thought it was a great experience and was seabird-tastic! It was really fun and it turned out better than we thought. We all hope that everyone enjoys our song and that it makes it an even better year for the gannets!”
In 2015 the Bass Rock was confirmed as the world’s largest Northern gannet colony and also named BBC Countryfile Magazine’s Nature Reserve of the Year. To celebrate, the Seabird Centre asked North Berwick High School if they would work on a parody of the award-winning Number 1 song All About the Bass by Meghan Trainor.
Another pupil, Harvey Turnbull, enthused about his experience: “It was all brilliant. I was on Roadie duty at the end helping to lift the huge lenses and camera stands. It was so professional and we can’t wait to see the finished video. It was a memorable way to end S2 and we all ended on a real high.”
A second year English class, led by Seonaid Hudson, set about devising the new lyrics. Three pupils from the S2 ‘Band Jam’ class, with support from the Head of Performing Arts, Julia Wilson, learnt the accompaniment to the song on keyboard, bass guitar and electric guitar for the live backing. With the help of audio-visual technician, Paul Brignall, the soundtrack for the Bass Rock version of the song was recorded, with its gannet, guga (young gannet) and North Berwick references and lyrics.
Tom Brock said; “When we came up with the idea of the song parody I don’t think we ever envisaged that we would get such a professional and brilliant result. The team at North Berwick High School did an amazing job helping us create this video and it is an excellent example of partnership working. A huge thanks to everyone who made this possible.” Thanks to everyone from North Berwick High School who made this video possible.
The class was then invited to the Seabird Centre to create a music video to accompany their song.
Class: Jack Bailey, Gordon Baptie, Harry Bateman, Daisy Budd, Ellen Clark, Georgia Coull, Samuel Drain, Alexandra Easson, Holly Edwards, Emma Flynn, Lewis Greenwood, Roslyn Griffiths, Eleanor Guthrie, Keira McCluskey, Ella McIntosh, Ciaran McSherry, Richard Montgomery, Kirsty Morrison, Campbell Notley, Krystian Smith, Cameron Spencer, Caitlin Street, Harvey Turnbull, Hamish Walker, Kieran Walker, Claire Williamson.
Seonaid Hudson said: “I thoroughly enjoyed working with my class on a different kind of project. We worked together, re-writing the lyrics and working out the best way to fit new words, like guga, into the music. I was so proud of everyone and the way they embraced this challenge – especially as this was an English class and not a choir. “There was certainly a lot of laughter and enthusiasm and we learned that working together is very rewarding. It was a lovely way to draw S2 to a close and working with the Scottish Seabird Centre, a wonderful place right on our doorstep, was a privilege”.
Musicians: Kate Bunney, Esme Callander, Erin Mwembo. Staff: Seonaid Hudson, Julia Wilson, Paul Brignall, Jane McCormack, Lauren Rodger, Gill Casson, Robin Andrews.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
All about the Bass! Tom Brock:
The Bass Rock has had an amazing year. As the world’s largest Northern gannet colony, it really is All about the Bass!
41 Rising stars Do you know a young person who should feature in our magazine? Please get in touch: marketing@seabird.org
Transformed into tree mallow Dunbar teenager, Ellie Hand-McCready, helped us with the launch of our summer Egghead programme this year, making the most of her amazing skills. Ellie is a budding make-up artist with over 10,000 followers on Instagram. We set her the challenge of transforming herself into the invasive plant tree mallow to help launch the summer programme for Professor Egghead the Alien Invasion.
The results were stunning! A huge thank you to Ellie for helping us out, and for doing such an amazing job. A star in the making!
Collections of a different kind Melanie Gould is a seabird fan who has a collection quite unlike other people her age. Here she tells us all, including how she hopes to turn her hobby into a career. My name is Melanie Gould, and I am a 14-year-old animal lover, and skull and bone collector.
I collect animal skulls and bones to learn more about animals and how they work. I have learned so much about animals from looking at their skeletons. I currently have 200 different skulls, ranging from a horse, to a great bustard, to a coyote, and a few complete skeletons that I hope to re-articulate in the future. I also am very interested in taxidermy and I have a few items of taxidermy too. When you are looking at the skeleton of an animal, you can often tell roughly how old the animal was when it died and you can see how that animal has adapted over time to survive in today’s world. There are a huge range of skulls and skeletons out there and no two are the same, just as no two animals are the same. This makes collecting really exciting for me, as it means every single item I collect is completely unique. I have always loved animals, and I would never harm any animal for its skeleton, I am a great supporter of conservation. I have been very lucky to have been supported by so many amazing people, including Maggie Sheddan from the Scottish Seabird Centre. Maggie has been really amazing in supporting me in my work, and has recently sent me a puffin which I will be cleaning up very soon, as I am getting some Dermestid beetles, which are beetles you can buy that eat dead flesh. I have wanted a puffin for a long time, as they have really incredible skeletons and skulls, so I am really grateful. In the long-term, I hope to become a Zoologist, specialising in Osteology, so my hobby is also my study and research material.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
42 What’s on Keep an eye out for updated details of events on www.seabird.org at our What’s On section.
One Born Every Minute Saturday 3 October to Sunday 29 November Included with admission Free for members
From October it is Seal Season at the Scottish Seabird Centre and this year we are asking visitors to keep their eyes peeled for seal pups being born by using the interactive live cameras in the Discovery Centre! Visitors have the opportunity to see over 100 seal pups being born on our cameras and they can follow the whole journey from the birth, through weaning and finally to the pups becoming independent and going out to sea by themselves. Throughout Seal Season we will be running a competition to see who is quick enough to spot a live birth on camera. It can sometimes take only a minute for the mother to deliver her pup so you have to watch closely. For anyone who is able to spot a new born baby seal we will give you a seal adoption pack as a prize. We will also print a picture of your seal pup, frame it and let you name the new arrival. We will add it with pride to our Seal Nursery Board with the date, time of birth, and the name of the spotter.
Pirate Weekend Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 10:00 to 17:00
Bonzo Art exhibition Wednesday 2 September to Tuesday 10 November, Picture Gallery
Included with admission Free for members
Free
All weekend we need help trying to track down one of the biggest pirates of the sea, also known as the great skua. Their pirate crimes include deliberately harassing our beloved gannets to steal a free meal. They also readily kill and eat smaller birds such as puffins. Help us follow the trail of clues to find this aggressive hunter. There will also be arts and crafts, pirate treasure hunt, face painting, smoke cannons and tug ’o’ war. 13:00 & 15:00 Pirate games and sea shanties.
Walk the plank Stormy seas Hunt for treasure in the exploding sea chests 14:00 Fancy dress competition – who will be judged as the best dressed pirate!
After graduating from Kingston University with a degree in illustration followed by a PGCE from The London Institute Of Education, Rachel spent 18 years as a full time teacher of art in London, Derbyshire and Edinburgh, before taking a career break to become a mum. Her work is inspired by her love of observing the ‘every day’ and this exhibition illustrates little snippets from East Lothian life, during the changeable summer of 2015. Members’ Shopping Evening Thursday 19 November 18:00
Date for your diary! Don’t miss our members’ only shopping evening on Thursday 19 November. Not only will you get a 15% discount on items (some exclusions apply) but there will be the chance to sample delicious local produce, meet some of our suppliers and enjoy a little tipple or two.
Check out www.seabird.org for further updates. Shiver me timbers:
Pirate weekend is back, 17–18 October.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Lots of fun:
Events not to be missed!
44 Kids Fun pages for young and old. Enjoy!
Help Tammie the Puffin get out of the burrow and head out to sea
Did you know we run a volunteer project called SOS Puffin to help puffins on the islands of Craigleith and Fidra! Tree mallow blocks the puffin burrows, preventing the puffins returning to breed. Volunteers head out to the islands to chop down the tree mallow. Around 1,000 people have helped us with this project and because of their great work puffin numbers are increasing.
Make your own sea painting The marine environment is beautiful and needs our protection. Create your own stunning sea painting.
1 Draw a line across a sheet of paper about a fifth of the way down. This is the horizon line. Take your pencil for a walk across the page under the line, making large sweeping movements.
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
2 Add further wavy shapes until you’ve nicely balanced the space.
Find the hidden seabirds
Did you know there are over 500,000 seabirds around the Firth of Forth islands and the Bass Rock is the world’s largest Northern gannet colony! If you have a photo or video footage of any amazing seabirds, make sure you enter our 10th Nature Photography Awards. See page 34 for more info.
Cormorant Guillemot Oystercatcher Sandpiper Fulmar Gull Puffin Shag Gannet Kittiwake Razorbill Turnstone
3 Using cool colours that remind you of the sea, like pale and dark blues, greens, turquoise, violets and bluish-purples. Paint each colour inside the lines you’ve drawn.
4 Paint the sky in one flat colour. A pastel blue can look effective. You can even add your own dolphins, fish and seabirds!
Scottish Seabird Centre magazine
Fragment from ‘Picture of a Hollywood Swimming Pool’ (1964) by David Hockney.
Party time! Stand out from the crowd with a party that will inspire! From £10.50 per child 01620 890202
www.seabird.org 01620 890202
Image © Sean Bell / Scottish Charity no SC025837
OPEN ALL YEAR DISCOVERY CENTRE · BOAT TRIPS · CAFÉ · GIFT SHOP
TWO NEW CATEGORIES
KIDS 10th Nature Photography Awards 2015 Are you under 16 and have an image or short film of the natural world that could wow our judges? Enter our photography competition! Don’t miss your chance to feature in the exhibition, attend the awards ceremony and win a coveted prize.
Visit www.seabird.org for further information. Closing date: Sunday 18 October 2015. 01620 890202
Image © Anna Smart / Scottish Charity no SC025837
OPEN ALL YEAR DISCOVERY CENTRE · BOAT TRIPS · CAFÉ · GIFT SHOP
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Competition Aquatic fun for all the family! It’s competition time! This issue we have teamed up with enjoyleisure, East Lothian’s leading sports and leisure provider to offer 5 lucky readers the opportunity to win a family swim pass, valid at any of the enjoyleisure swimming pools across the county. For the ultimate aquatic adventure head to Dunbar Leisure Pool! With a beached area, wave machine, flume, water characters and pool side café it’s a swimming adventure the whole family can enjoy. If you’ve got younger infants, you may wish to go to Aubigny Sports Centre in Haddington which has a dedicated children’s pool; perfect for introducing children to the water. For a more leisurely swim; head to North Berwick which offers stunning views of North Berwick Law or alternatively create a splash at the Loch Centre, Tranent or Musselburgh Sports Centre. For your chance to win, simply answer the following question:
Which swimming pool has a flume? Simply email your answer to info@seabird.org along with your name and address by 31 October 2015. Postal or phone entries also accepted.
Perfect Holidays and Holiday Home Ownership Lodges with Hot Tubs Caravans • Camping Cabins For Families • For Golfers For Walkers or just for getting away...
Grange Road, North Berwick EH39 5JA 01620 893 790 • 07779 167 253 carlene@gilslandpark.co.uk • www.gilslandpark.co.uk
SUPERIOR SUPERIORHOMES HOMES SUPERB SUPERBLOCATION LOCATION COME TO COME TOCALA CALANOW NOW
S S C The Elliot showhome – upgrades shown at additional cost
The Elliot showhome – upgrades shown at additional cost
Only you can decide when the time is right to make the Only can decide the time is right to make the move of you a lifetime, into awhen spacious, enviably located new
NEW PHASE OF PHASEDETACHED OF 4 NEW BEDROOM 4 BEDROOM DETACHED HOMES NOW RELEASED HOMES NOW RELEASED
move a lifetime, a spacious, enviably located home. Butofthe best timeinto to come to CALA is always now.new home. But the best time to come to CALA is always now.
PRIORY MEADOW, PRIORY MEADOW, NORTH BERWICK, EH39 4QE NORTH BERWICK, EH39 4QE
N 4 H
CALL 01620 621 775 CALL 01620 621 775 CALA.CO.UK CALA.CO.UK
SEAC_SEPT The image shown is taken from the Elliot Showhome at Priory Meadow and features fittings, décor, flooring and soft furnishings which are not fitted as standard in a CALA home. These are used to suggest possible finishes you could adopt in your own home and would be an additional cost. Please consult a Sales Advisor for further details. CALA Homes was SEAC_SEPT The image shown is taken from the Elliot Showhome at Priory Meadow and features fittings, décor, flooring and soft furnishings which are not fitted as standard in a CALA voted Housebuilder of the Year (more than 150 units) at the Scottish Home Awards 2015. home. These are used to suggest possible finishes you could adopt in your own home and would be an additional cost. Please consult a Sales Advisor for further details. CALA Homes was voted Housebuilder of the Year (more than 150 units) at the Scottish Home Awards 2015.
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