Isle of May NNR - Annual Report 2019

Bex Outram
David Steel
2019
Published: 2022 

BIOLOGICAL RECORDING

Introduction to breeding seabirds

SNH monitors breeding seabird populations as part of its management of the National Nature Reserve as well as to report on the Special Protection Area (SPA) qualifying species.

Further seabird monitoring is carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), under contract to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).  Data from this monitoring work is integral to JNCC’s national system of long-term monitoring for seabird populations, as the island is one of four strategic monitoring sites in Great Britain.  The other three sites are Skomer, Canna and Fair Isle. 

SNH carries out the population monitoring of the cliff-nesting seabirds, gulls, eiders and terns.  CEH monitors the breeding success, survival and food intake of the auks, shags, fulmar and kittiwakes.  CEH, along with the Isle of May Bird Observatory Trust (IOMBOT), provides numerous other pieces of data invaluable to this report, such as the dates of first eggs and chicks and sightings of migrant birds, cetaceans and lepidoptera.

Population monitoring of cliff-nesting seabirds

Sections and timings

The detailed AIC methodology for the five cliff-nesting bird species (guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake, fulmar and shag) is set out in the Isle of May Monitoring Handbook (SNH, 2001, revised 2002 and 2011).  The island is divided into the same standardised count sections as have been used in previous years.  All species are counted once during the first week in June to capture a snapshot of the populations.  2018 saw the addition of counts from the sea, to allow those birds nesting in caves and areas unseen from land to be included in the population counts.  This added a new section to the usual ones: Section O – West Cliffs from boat.

The majority of the all-island count was carried out by Bex Outram between 1^st June and 6^th June.  In sections that were sensitive, data was provided by Mark Newell of CEH to avoid additional disturbance. 

Cornerstone plot counts

The counts of individual razorbill and guillemot during the AIC are converted to estimates of pair numbers.  The number of both razorbill and guillemot pairs breeding at the Cornerstone plot is monitored by CEH.  A count of each species was made at the Cornerstone plot at the beginning of every count session.

For each species, the number of pairs known to be breeding at Cornerstone was divided by the relevant Cornerstone count, for every count session.  This provided a “k” value which represents the difference between the number of individuals counted and the number of actual breeding pairs.  By multiplying this “k-value” with the number of individual birds counted during a session, the number of pairs can be estimated for that session.  Keeping raw counts to within a few hours of the Cornerstone plot count allows for the variation in attendance of adults on the cliffs.

Results of cliff-nesting seabirds

The overall 2019 counts for each of the five cliff-nesting species on the Isle of May are shown in Table 16.1.  Counts from previous years are also shown for comparison.  Table 16.3 shows the different section totals for each species.  A comparison from the previous year, percentage change, is seen in Table 16.4.  Breeding success and return rates are shown in Table 16.6 and Table 16.7 respectively.

Fulmar

The first egg was seen on 16^th May, the first chick was seen on 2^nd July, with the first fledged bird seen in late August.  The breeding success was 0.37 (chicks per pairs monitored), slightly below the long-term average.

Shag

The plots monitored by CEH showed a slightly lower than average return rate, 77.6%.  It has been a fairly successful season for shags, with an above-average breeding productivity, 1.53 chicks fledging per breeding pair (long-term average 1.15).

The first shag egg was noted on 1^st April with the first chick seen on 4^th May.

Kittiwake

The kittiwakes experienced a higher than average return rate, 80.5%, from the plots monitored and went on to have a good breeding season with a productivity of 0.92 (long-term average 0.62). 

The first egg was seen on 18^th May, with the first chick on 18^th June and first fledged chick seen taking flight on 22^nd July.

Guillemot

The total number of individual guillemots counted was 21,493, a 15% increase from 2018.  To calculate the number of pairs breeding on the island, the ‘k’ value is used; to determine this factor, the number of pairs at the Cornerstone plot is required from Mark Newell, CEH.  This year, the Cornerstone plot count increased by ten breeding pairs to 238.

Table 1: Number of pairs of guillemot at the Cornerstone plot, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs at Cornerstone
2007	198
2008	191
2009	198
2010	201
2011	205
2012	195
2013	193
2014	194
2015	220
2016	229
2017	232
2018	228
2019	238

 

Using the “k” value (see Table 16.6), the number of pairs of guillemots this season increased by 7% to 15,974 pairs.  

The return rate of the marked individuals was 83.3%, the lowest since 2007.  The guillemot breeding season was average, with each monitored breeding pair producing 0.71 chicks. 

The first egg was seen on 26^th April, the first chick on 31^st May, and the first jumpling was noted leaving the cliffs on 20^th June.

Razorbill

The number of individual razorbills has increased from last year’s count by 10% to 5,377.  As with the guillemots, a ‘k’ value has to be established in order to calculate the number of breeding pairs on the island.  This year, the number of razorbills breeding at the Cornerstone plot has increased to 91 pairs, the highest ever count (provided by Mark Newell, CEH).

Table 2: Number of pairs of razorbill at the Cornerstone plot, 2007-2019

Table 2: Number of pairs of razorbill at the Cornerstone plot, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs at Cornerstone
2007	71
2008	64
2009	67
2010	62
2011	69
2012	72
2013	74
2014	72
2015	81
2016	79
2017	82
2018	87
2019	91

 

Using the ‘k’ value (see Table 16.6), the number of breeding pairs is calculated at 4,166, the second highest count on record (highest 4,713 pairs in 2005).

The return rate of colour-ringed individuals is 87.2%, which is above the long-term average.  Razorbills also had a good breeding season with an above-average productivity of 0.66.

The first egg was seen on 23^rd April, the first chick on 25^th May, and the first fledged chick on 4^th July.

Population monitoring of ground-nesting seabirds

Puffin

The first puffins carrying fish were seen on 22^nd May; this indicates that the first chicks had hatched.  The last puffin carrying fish was seen in late August; however, the majority of the colony had left earlier in the month.

The return rate of colour-ringed puffins was 95.2%, the highest on record.  The puffins’ breeding success was low, the lowest in six years, with 0.67 chicks per pair.

CEH undertook a puffin census in 2017, which resulted in a count of 39,200 occupied burrows with a 95% confidence level of between 32,200 – 46,300 occupied burrows.

Herring and lesser black-backed gull

The first incubating herring gull was seen on the 30^th April, the first chick was noted on 31^st May, with the first chick fledging on 4^th July.  The first lesser black-backed gull egg was recorded on 6^th May, the first chick on 7^th June.

Nest count

No nest count was undertaken this season.

Total herring and lesser black-backed gull nests, Isle of May, 1982-2018

Year	Total gull nests
1982	2850
1983	3963
1984	3718
1985	3198
1986	2625
1987	2651
1988	2274
1989	2272
1990	2169
1991	2235
1992	2213
1993	3318
1994	3392
1995	4189
1996	4610
1997	4396
1998	4133
1999	4634
2000	4329
2001	4048
2002	3565
2003	3605
2004	3649
2005	3414
2006	4583
2007	4519
2008	4905
2010	5563
2012	5633
2014	6247
2016	5723
2018	5082

Productivity

No count of herring gull productivity was undertaken this year.

Gull management

As part of the Isle of May management plan, designated gull-free zones were introduced in 1997 to increase tern productivity.  These areas are North Plateau South to Lochside, East and West Braes, Beacon, St Andrews Well, Cross Park and Tennis Courts.  On the 20th May, five gull nests were removed.

Specialist gulls that predated within the tern breeding colony were identified through tern watches and were removed; an SNH marksman came to the island on two occasions and removed a total of five lesser black-backed gull and two herring gull.

Great black-backed gull

The first great black-backed gull egg was seen on 15^th April, the first chicks were seen on Rona on 14th May, and the first fledged chick on 3^rd July.

Nest count

Following last year’s decline, the great black-backed gull population has increased to 90 pairs, the highest count on record.  The apparently occupied nests were recorded and mapped throughout the season.  The population on Rona was counted from the North Horn twice throughout the season.  The “mainland” population was recorded through regular observations.

Productivity

To establish a breeding productivity, forty-six nests were monitored on Rona. Numbered stakes were placed next to nests and with regular visits the number of eggs, chicks and fledged chicks was noted.  The overall breeding success was low, 0.61, the lowest since the colour scheme was in place.

With the help of the IOMBOT and Mark Oksien we were able to continue with the colour-ringing scheme.  The yellow colour-rings were attached to the birds’ left leg whilst a metal BTO ring was attached to the right leg.  A total of 40 BTO rings were deployed and 26 colour-rings.

Table 3: Great black-backed gull, Rona

Figures for:	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Nests monitored	46	42	51	45	28
Breeding attempts	46	42	51	45	28
Number of eggs	120	117	140	124	75
Average clutch size	2.6	2.79	2.75	2.76	2.68
Hatched eggs	85	78	117	91	57
Hatching success	0.71	0.67	0.84	0.73	0.76
Number fledged	28	62	88	32	33
Productivity	0.61	1.48	1.73	0.71	1.18

Terns 

For previous population counts, see Table 16.2, and for how 2019 counts relate to the previous season, see Table 16.5.  Information has been taken from the Isle of May NNR - Tern Report 2019 (Benninghaus, E and Lambert, C.V., 2019).

Roseate tern

An individual adult roseate tern was first seen in the Beacon colony on 4^th June.  Over the next few days, the adult was observed displaying to a common tern.  It is thought the roseate tern was a female because of their courting behaviour (the common tern displaying with fish to the roseate).  An egg was discovered on 25^th June just at the entrance of a nest box; extra watches were undertaken to confirm this was the roseate tern.  Monitoring took place once a week and the egg was moved into the nest box over the incubation period.  The hybrid chick hatched on 14^th July and was ringed on 21^st July with C2 ring (ST83288) and roseate ring (03V0).  The chick successfully fledged on 8^th August.

Sandwich tern

Sandwich terns were seen throughout the season and ten pairs bred at the Beacon colony.  The first egg was discovered on 31^st May, the first chick on 25^th June, with the first chick fledging on 3^rd August.  Of the ten nests, each had one egg present and nine went on to successfully fledge chicks (productivity of 0.9).

Arctic and common tern

The first Arctic tern egg was laid on 20^th May at the Jetty Triangle, and the first chick hatched on 15^th June, with the first fledged chick seen on 6^th July.

The first common tern egg was seen on 19^th May at the Beacon tern terrace, the first chick on 22^nd June, with the first fledged chick seen on 14^th July.

Breeding pairs

Each year, three weeks after the first egg-laying date, all tern nests on the island are counted to get a measure of total tern nest occupation.  On 10^th June, a whole colony count was completed with additional occupied nests added later in the season from monitored plots and extra counts of the Beacon terraces from the Beacon roof.  A total of 486 pairs of Arctic terns bred, 51 common terns and one roseate/common hybrid (see Table 16.5.).

Productivity

Four plots were chosen to monitor the breeding success of the Arctic terns this season.  Each nest was marked and the number of eggs, chicks and fledged chicks noted.  All chicks in these areas were ringed, helping keep track of the number of chicks that fledged from each plot.  This was then used to calculate a productivity figure.  The table below shows the different areas monitored and their productivity and the overall productivity figure: 0.55 chicks fledging per pair, an increase on last year’s figure of 0.03.

Table 4: Arctic tern breeding productivity, 2019

Figures for:	Mouse House Field and Terrace	Behind Visitor Centre	Jetty Triangle	South Logans	Overall
Nests monitored	55	46	81	9	191
Breeding attempts	55	46	81	9	191
Eggs	96	82	134	13	325
Average clutch size	1.74	1.78	1.65	1.44	1.70
Number hatched eggs	68	53	102	5	228
Hatching success	0.71	0.65	0.76	0.38	0.70
Fledged	29	5	71	1	106
Productivity	0.53	0.11	0.88	0.11	0.55

Predation

Tern watches were conducted at both the Beacon and Kirkhaven Colony, with a total of 100 hours being conducted this year.  Four lesser black-backed gulls were identified as regularly predating eggs around the Kirkhaven colony.  One herring gull was seen predating at the Beacon colony but perch/nest was not identified.  On 29^th May, an SNH marksman removed the herring gull and three lesser black-backed gulls.  Following this, no further specialist gulls were identified until mid-July: two lesser black-backed gulls behind the Visitor Centre (predated the Visitor Centre colony within one week) and one herring gull at the Beacon.  All were removed on 18^th July. 

Eider

The first sitting female was seen on 17^th April, with the first brood of duckling seen on the Loch on 5^th May.

Nest count

No nest count was conducted this year.

Eider management

No management specific to eiders was undertaken this year.  Visitors were warned during their introductory talk that females would be nesting close to the path network and of the potential risk of coming across a female taking her ducklings to water, and advised to give them a wide berth.  Some ducklings were found paralysed from nettle stings; these were kept in a box for an hour or so until they had recovered and then put with females and ducklings on the Loch, who took them into their crèche.

These are observations of numbers from around the island from SNH staff and volunteers, CEH and members of the Isle of May Bird Observatory.

Other breeding birds

Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus)

Work by David and Margaret Thorne and Harry Urquhart, IOMBOT, identified nest activity on the island and identified one occupied burrow.  The same male and a female were seen and recorded regularly at the burrow until mid-August but no breeding attempt was made.

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Three pairs of shelduck nested on the island this season, on Rona, North Plateau and one at Ardcarran.  One pair was seen with ducklings on the High Road and another (the Ardcarran pair) was seen with five ducklings swimming out of Kirkhaven on 5^th June.  

Table 5: Number of pairs of shelduck, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs
2007	3 - 4
2008	5
2009	6
2010	6
2011	4 – 8
2012	6
2013	4
2014	3-4
2015	3-4
2016	4
2017	3-4
2018	3
2019	4

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

One female and two male mallards were seen regularly on the Loch from the beginning of April.  Towards the end of the month, only the males were seen, raising suspicion the female was incubating.  On 15^th May, the female was seen on the loch with eight ducklings.

Table 6: Number of pairs of mallard, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs
2007	2
2008	0
2009	0
2010	0
2011	0
2012	0
2013	2
2014	3
2015	0
2016	0
2017	0
2018	0
2019	1

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

This year, a total of 20 nests were identified.  Although no monitoring of the nests was undertaken, several fledged chicks.  One pair at the Beacon caused problems with tern predation, eating many eggs on the terraces.  This could have been due to the dry weather making it hard for the adults to probe the ground.

Table 7: Number of pairs of oystercatcher, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs
2007	19
2008	19
2009	17
2010	17
2011	14
2012	16
2013	9
2014	20
2015	19
2016	24
2017	13
2018	20
2019	25

Feral pigeon (Columba livia (domest.))

No specific counts were made of feral pigeons on the island.  They nest on the island in burrows and rock crevices.

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

It was a poor year for swallows, with only one pair nesting in the coal store.  The pair had two broods, successfully raising five chicks in each brood.  The first brood hatched on 7^th June and fledged on 7^th July.  The second brood hatched in the first week of August, was ringed on 15^th August and then fledged in September.

Table 8: Number of pairs of swallow, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs
2007	0
2008	0
2009	0
2010	0
2011	0
2012	2
2013	3
2014	3
2015	6
2016	4
2017	4
2018	4
2019	1

Rock pipit (Anthus petrosus)

The first rock pipit with nesting material was noted on the 19^th April, the first chick on 15^th May. Due to recording levels, a total number of pairs was not estimated.

Table 9: Number of pairs of rock pipit, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs
2007	8-9
2008	9-10
2009	12-14
2010	15
2011	13
2012	23
2013	18
2014	24
2015	24
2016	20
2017	15
2018	23
2019	n/c

Pied wagtail (Motacilla alba)

Pied wagtail territories were plotted on a map throughout the season and approximately ten pairs bred.

Table 10: Number of pairs of pied wagtail, 2007-2019

Year	No. of pairs
2007	8
2008	9
2009	11
2010	12
2011	13
2012	18
2013	14
2014	13
2015	12
2016	12
2017	9
2018	10
2019	10

Carrion crow (Corvus corone)

One pair was noted for much of the spring, “Patch” and partner (Patch named after a white patch on the chest, making this individual easily identifiable), the same individuals as the previous two years. The pair built a nest on the south side of Angel, making the nest inaccessible and the contents impossible to see. On 10^th June, the adults were seen with two fledged chicks.  The family party remained on the island until mid-August.

Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)

No breeding attempt was made this year.  A pair was seen around the island early in the season.  The last successful breeding occurred in 2010.

Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)

Two pairs have bred this season.  The nests of the first attempts were not found; however, two fledglings were noted on 24^th June and then a further one fledging in July, indicating two different pairs.  On 5^th September, when undertaking a wader count, a nest was found on the ground within a clump of red goosefoot along the east side of the island containing two eggs.  A further nest with two eggs was identified in elders at the low Light on 6^th September, confirming two pairs breeding on the island.

Wader counts

Wader counts were undertaken weekly from the end of July onwards, once the breeding seabirds had departed from breeding sites. 

Mammals

Grey seal

The number of adult seals started to increase throughout September and the first seal pup was born on 8^th September at Mill Door. 

Cetaceans

It proved a quiet year for cetaceans with the usual suspects around the island as follows, which includes sightings from all island residents during the season.

Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

A scattering of sightings in the spring included two on 14th April, and singles on three dates in May and early June.  The summer months produced the vast majority of reports, with 1-6 on 18 dates in July-August.  As usual, autumn produced the bulk of records with 1-5 on seven September and five October dates, with peaks of sixteen on 14th September.  The last records of the year occurred in late October, with three on 25th October.

Bottle-nosed Dolphin (Tursiops truncates)

As usual, there were regular reports from visitor boats of small numbers hugging the coast along Fife and Lothian, but the species is scarce further out in island waters.  A single on 22nd June was the only spring sighting.  Other records included 18 on 25th September, 1-5 on four October dates, with peaks of 15 on 26th October and 12 on 27th-28th October. 

Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

It proved to be a productive year for this baleen whale, with the first record of the year on 8th May, which was earlier than normal.  However, sightings started to increase from mid-June, with singles on three dates, followed by 1-2 on seven dates in July-August.  The most productive month of the year was September, with 1-4 on 8 dates with up to six west of the island on 14th September.

Lepidoptera

Butterfly

Records of butterflies were made by informal observations from members of Fluke Street and the IOMBOT residents throughout the season.  The first butterfly record of 2019 was a small tortoiseshell on 4^th April.  Eleven species were recorded throughout the year.  The most frequently recorded moth was the small tortoiseshell, being noted throughout April to October.  During the last week of July and early August, there was an influx of painted ladies.  This was noted across the country; the peak was estimated to be 10,000 on 28^th July.  Two single speckled wood records were noted in September; this was the second and third record for the Isle of May.  See Table 17 for full details of the records.

Moth

Moth trapping at Fluke Street was undertaken most nights, when possible, by SNH staff, volunteers and CEH staff.  The MV light trap was set up in the garden outside the principal keeper’s cottage; the trap could be moved into the outdoor shelter during adverse weather and when puffins were leaving their burrows (to prevent them from being drawn towards the light).  A second trap was available to those at the IOMBO, who had the trap running by the Low Light bushes.  Trapping commenced on 1^st April and continued throughout the season until 15^th October.

Trapping was conducted on a total of 74 nights, with a total of 81 different macro species being recorded along with 14 micro moths.

Two new species were first records for the Isle of May: mottled pug and small fan-footed wave.  Both were single records on 21^st June and 23^rd July respectively.  Streak and double-striped pug were recorded for the second time.

The most numerous moth caught was marbled coronet.  It was regularly caught throughout the season, on a total of 42 nights, and 181 individuals were caught during one night.

VISITOR REVIEW

Despite some poor weather at times (especially rain), the Isle of May NNR remains extremely popular and very much on the radar for wildlife places to visit.  For the fifth consecutive year, the island broke its all-time visitor record.  The island opened on 1^st April until 30^th September.  During that time, boats landed on 143 dates (145 in 2018) with 21 official closed days (21 in 2018) and 18 days lost to bad weather (17 in 2018).  As a result, a record number of 14,248 visitors were welcomed to the island.  This eclipsed the previous best year (the previous season) of 13,754 and was the fifth consecutive year the island has broken its visitor record.

Table 11: Annual visitor numbers, Isle of May, 2008-2019

Year	Number of visitors
2019	14,248
2018	13,754
2017	12,895
2016	12,064
2015	10,929
2014	10,676
2013	10,809
2012	7,070
2011	9,220
2010	8,728
2009	7,208
2008	6,566

 

Annual visitor numbers, Isle of May, 1987-2019

Year	Annual visitor numbers
1987	1,333
1988	1,783
1989	3,826
1990	3,222
1991	4,477
1992	3,896
1993	4,815
1994	5,427
1995	5,663
1996	5,904
1997	5,486
1998	3,560
1999	3,439
2000	3,936
2001	5,213
2002	5,636
2003	6,792
2004	5,815
2005	7,011
2006	7,442
2007	6,566
2008	7,208
2009	8,728
2010	8,690
2011	9,220
2012	7,070
2013	10,809
2014	10,676
2015	10,929
2016	12,064
2017	12,895
2018	13,754
2019	14,248

Weather

Weather plays a key role in the Isle of May season and despite some occasional poor spells (especially rain), the island still performed well with only five days lost between May and August.

Table 12: Number of days open/closed, Isle of May, 2015-2019

Date	Days sailed	Officially closed	Bad weather closure	Percentage bad weather closures May-August
2019	143	21	18	30%
2018	145	21	17	29%
2017	142	21	20	55%
2016	149	23	19	42%
2015	132	22	29	66%

Boats

As usual, boats departing from Anstruther brought the majority of visitors, with the May Princess bringing 11,551 (11,112 in 2018) whilst the fast RIB Osprey carried a further 1,474 (1,373 in 2018).  During the season, boats travelled from the Lothian side of the Firth of Forth with the Seabird Centre RIB bringing 984 (1,029 in 2018).  Overall, this resulted in the two Fife boats breaking their own visitor records whilst the North Berwick boat suffered due to weather (strong winds) but still brought their second highest ever number.  Small private leisure craft and kayaks carried a further 149 (221 in 2018) visitors, with a cruise ship (Sea Spirit) bringing an extra 90 on 2^nd June.

Table 13: Visitor numbers on individual boats, 2019

Month	May Princess	Osprey RIB	Seabird RIB	Others	Total
April	1322	201	85	21	1,629
May	2284	280	200	10	2,774
June	2261	262	201	130	2,854
July	3027	350	292	38	3,707
August	2048	251	152	29	2,480
Sept	609	130	54	11	804
Total	11,551	1,474	984	239	14,248

 

Table 14: Annual totals for each individual boat operator, 2015-2019

Year	May Princess	Osprey RIB	Seabird RIB	Others
2019	11,551	1,474	984	239
2018	11,112	1,373	1,029	221
2017	10,385	1,349	798	251
2016	9,830	1,327	743	164
2015	8,803	1,219	669	238

VOLUNTEER REVIEW

During the season, both short and long-term volunteers made a valuable contribution to the day-to-day running of the Isle of May NNR.  Two long-term volunteers helped throughout the seabird breeding season; Cristin Lambert from 25^th April-21^st August and Ella Benninghaus from 25^th April-13^th August.  Their enthusiasm, hard work and support ensured some excellent work was achieved on the island and overall, they contributed an impressive 203 working days.

In total, a further eight short-term volunteers helped at different times of the year, contributing a further 71 working days (274 days combined) to the island.  These included (in order of the number of days contributed) Liz Morgan (16), Gus Routledge (13), Sally Reay (11), Simon Ritchie (8), Viv Hastie (8), Ciaran Hatsell (6), Francesca Osowska (5) and Sacha Riley-Smith (4).

Table 15: Number of days worked for short and long-term volunteers, 2019

Volunteer	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Total
Ella Benninghaus	6	31	24	29	14	-	104
Cristin Lambert	6	31	27	26	9	-	99
Liz Morgan	13	-	-	-	3	-	16
Gus Routledge	-	-	-	-	13	-	13
Sally Reay	3	-	-	-	8	-	11
Simon Ritchie	-	-	3	-	5	-	8
Ciaran Hatsell	-	-	3	-	-	3	6
Francesca Osowska	-	-	-	5	-	-	5
Sacha Riley-Smith	-	-	-	-	4	-	4

Setting up (a total of five working days)

In late March, SNH staff from the Cupar office used their volunteering day to help set up the island ready for visitors.  Team members Sarah Eaton, Dave Shepherd, Elspeth Christie, Allison Brown and Janice Winning all helped prepare the island, from opening the Visitor Centre to litter picking on the beaches on 26^th March.

Events (a total of 37 working days)

The Isle of May provides a series of events during the summer months including Easter Eggstravaganza (20^th-21^st April), Family Fun Days (23^rd-24^th July), History Weekend (24^th-25^th August), Open Doors (31^st August-1^st September) and Seal Weekend (28^th-29^th September).  The preparation and support on these days is offered by several SNH staff and volunteers including Sarah Eaton, Caroline Gallacher, Dave and Wendy Shepherd, Jeremy Squire, with other volunteer help from five Loch Leven volunteers, James Leydon, Ron Morris, the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) and Beckie Lakin.  Overall, a total of 37 working days were contributed for the events on the Isle of May NNR.

Graduate Placement (a total of 19 working days)

Colleagues on SNH graduate placements, Ellen Bird (Stirling Reserves), Marijke Leith (Tentsmuir) and Chris Boyce (Loch Leven) contributed a total of 19 working days in August-September, helping out on various aspects of the reserve, including the main rubbish and timber run. 

Volunteering

Overall, volunteering is valuable to the Isle of May NNR and without the contributions of the volunteers the island could not function as it does.  Overall, 35 people helped contribute a total of 335 working days during the 2019 season.

All TABLES 16.1 - 18.3 are available in the attached spreadsheet listed below. 

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