Brunnings Guillemots are relatively small and plump black and white seabirds and members of the Auk family that includes Little Auks, Puffins and Razor Bills. They are fast fliers flapping their wings at around 300 beats per minute. Not for them the graceful flight of Gannets or Fulmars with their 2 metre plus wing spans that enable them to ride the wind effortlessly.
Guillemots are dive specialists. Their stubby wings enable them to dive to depths of 100metres in the sea and to swim with the agility of Penguins, in search of small fish which incidentally they only catch one at a time unlike Puffins who are often pictured with many small fish in their mouths. A Puffin's lower beak has sharp serrations that point backwards and a hooked end to their tongues that enable then to hold fish firmly against the back of their mouths. Guillemots can also hold their breath for 2-3 minutes.
Guillemots lay a 'pear shaped' egg on very narrow ledges on the cliff face. The pear shape means that the eggs roll round in circles rather than rolling off the edge of the cliff ledges, The eggs are incubated on their parents' feet and they take it turns to incubate and to leave the nest site to feed. Currently the birds here are incubating, it will be another couple of weeks before the 'fluff balls' of newly hatched chicks begin to merge.
Once hatched the chicks are primed to stand at the back of the ledge but with chicks everywhere space becomes a premium so at 2-3 days old the parents encourage the chicks to take a leap of faith and jump. With no wings the chicks tumble down the cliff face. They may bump on the rock face but because their skeletons are not yet fully formed it's rear for them to be damaged. Many fall straight into the sea where their Fathers will quickly join them and feed them for a few months and teach them how to dive. The chicks are at their most vulnerable when they free fall to be predated by Gulls or Skuas, hence the parents needing to find and join the chicks as soon as possible. The females take no further part in parenting and fly out to sea until next year. Guillemots pair for life.
The chicks once they leave their Fathers spend 2 – 4 years at sea, growing and maturing, only returning to these cliffs after 4-5 years to breed.
Attached are a small selection of the best photos of these feisty seabirds.
So numerous were the Guillemots on the water that it was impossible not to disturb them – some running and flapping like mad to take off while others took the dive route!
A wondrous morning in the company of this thriving population of Guillemots.
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