Hartstongue - #LundyGuillemots2019

How many of photographs have we taken? How many do we ever see?

When you can't visit nature, revisit your past.

I spent 10 of the last 14 summers filming Guillemots on the west coast of Lundy. Not because it was my job, but because I loved them. I loved their social and anti-social behaviour. I loved to see their chicks grow from eggs into cheeping, wing-flapping two-week olds. And once I got to see a chick drop into the sea, 'falling with style' is apt for these 'Droplings'.

My job was running the bar in the Marisco Tavern so I never really had time to share the videos that I produced. Lockdown has given me the opportunity to revisit these cliffs in my mind to share my experiences on YouTube.

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLctZoTi9V5LxlGuTO8MEQMJIszKzRpTGG

https://www.facebook.com/events/286689329399547/

Last autumn, I finally produced an article about this research that I'd been promising Prof. Jenny George since 2008. This is available on the Lundy Field Society website: "Ecology of Common Guillemots on Lundy: Chick Provisioning 2008-2019" (View online) Writing this article was one of the hardest thinks I've ever done and in my rush to get this article finished I forgot to acknowledge all the people that helped my over the years. Particular mention must be made to Tony Taylor, David Price and Tom Dickins who inspired me to continue this research, and my wife Shelley Sherman, who supported me throughout this time.

17/04/19 , 29/04/19, 03/05/19, 07/05/19 - were my first trips to St Philip's Stone in 2019, which is between Jenny's Cove and Three-quarter wall on the west coast of Lundy. This was where, in 2005, the first Puffin chick was seen on Lundy for 29 years after the RSPB-led Seabird Recovery Project successfully eradicated the rats that were eating the Puffin eggs and chicks. I starting filming this ledge in 2008, when I was able to help Claire Blet-Charaudeau and Kate Marshall with "A study of the factors influencing breeding site selection and attendance of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica on Lundy" (View online)

10/05/19 My Guillemot study ledge 10th May 2019, https://youtu.be/aiIgLXogB5I (1m00s)

15/05/19,19/05/19, 20/05/19, 22/05/19, 24/05/19 Further visits to establish how many eggs were present in this season.

27/05/19 This is video from 27th May 2019, part of my 10 season study into Guillemots on Lundy. There are 15 eggs underneath the adults in this clip, but they are not easy to see.

https://youtu.be/U7xei3tcrEQ part 1 of 2 (29m59s)
https://youtu.be/1UAOxYNcYZ4 part 2 of 2 (29m59s)

31/05/19 Video from 300m away from the nest from a location near the Wendy Ann Mitchell memorial. Seabird research can be dangerous, Wendy was one of two people to die on Lundy due to seabird studies.

https://youtu.be/VPbFd7RjwGI Episode 1: Summary of 31st May 2019 including extracts from Felix Gade's book "My Life on Lundy" recounting the deaths of Wendy Ann Mitchell and Jonathan Sparrow. (11m06s)
https://youtu.be/xqA8oo-GoYU 1/2 31st May #LundyGuillemots2019 The first of two unedited videos from this day in 2019. A windy day so lots of camera shake. (29m59s)
https://youtu.be/1gxQK-pIMbo 2/2 31st May #LundyGuillemots2019 (29m59s)

03/06/19