Isle of Man Ornithological Trip, 1965

Thick ice in the gulf of Finland caused a little difficulty on Sunday morning but soon the ship was in clear seas; with the open seas and the subsequent rocking of the ship, the first signs of sea-sickness began to appear. The evenings were entertainingly spent in general knowledge quizzes, raffles and concerts, whilst days were spent lounging on the sun deck.

Promptly at 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday Morning, the ship docked at Tilbury; thus, a most educational and enjoyable trip had come to an end. Any would-be Communists had certainly been deterred from making any rash steps, but all were pleased that they had risked their necks behind the iron curtain.

R.C.D.

For the third time Mr. Craine was kind enough to take a party of five boys, consisting of G. M. Barton, N. C. P. Marsden, S. A. Bough, M. A. Groundwater, and A. S. Moss to the Isle of Man, on an ornithological trip last Easter holidays.

This year we were able to spend four enjoyable days at the Calf of Man Bird Observatory. The Calf of Man is a small island of about 600 acres off the South Western tip of the Isle of Man. It is inhabited only by the warden and his assistant of the Bird Observatory. Unfortunately weather conditions were not very good for bird trapping, as a strong, cold, NorthWesterly wind blew for much of the time, halting bird migrations. There is a large shag colony on the Calf of Man, accessible after a scramble down a cliff. We went there on two afternoons and were lucky enough to catch three adult shags while they were sitting on their nests. We ringed all three. One night when it was very dark, we went out to where some gulls were roosting. There, with the aid of a powerful torch the warden of the Bird Observatory caught four herring gulls and ringed them.

After our stay on the Calf on Man, we went back to the Isle of Man and spent another week there, catching and ringing birds by the River Silverburn, which passes through Castletown. The birds are caught in "mist nets", spread at strategic intervals, as they come down to drink from the river. Once when ringing near the sea-shore we were lucky enough to catch a Redshank in one of the nets. A few days before we arrived Mr. Craine had caught a Sparrowhawk, which is quite rare on the island, in one of the nets. Unfortunately the weather was very bad for trapping purposes, and the total number of birds ringed was only 89, although there was a wide variety of species.

One morning we went to Tromode near Douglas and caught a coal-tit, and saw some long-tailed tits. We had two trips round the island, both times visiting the Ayres in the North of the island; here we saw about thirty gannets fishing just offshore, and we also had some good views of sandwich terns. On the East Coast, at Maughold Head, we saw some black guillemots. This is about the only place where these birds can be seen on the island. We visited an old quarry in search of a raven's nest, but found instead a chough's nest in an old lime kiln.

Unexpected hospitality greeted us in the form of Captain J. D. Craine as we boarded the King Orry to return, and we enjoyed the luxury of his cabin for the journey.