Killers in Wales
| 09:51 UK time, Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Killer whales, minke whales, peregines, choughs and more. The islands off Pembrokeshire are bursting with life!
Ramsey Island warden, Greg Morgan has recently been in touch with some island news.
It's been a busy year so far on the island with the lambing season well under way in April and May.
Grazing animals are used to keep the vegetation down for the resident chough population and transporting live animals, especially sheep can be a challenge when living on an island so they've been rearing their own for the past two years.
Dave the shepherd has done a great job and 205 lambs were successfully born this year and are happily grazing alongside the 200 Welsh mountain ewes, all munching their way through the vegetation.
The hard work is paying off though and this year there are 8 breeding pairs of chough (roughly 3% of the population).
So far 5 pairs have succesfully raised 17 young which have all fledged and there are 3 more pairs still feeding young birds.
If you fancy visiting the island then June and July are a great time to go and see the choughs with their young.
From June to July the sea birds steal the show with around 3,000 guillemots lining the western cliff edges.
The birds here are very healthy and have escaped the problems that have occurred in other populations around the UK, but wardens will be keeping a careful eye on the chicks.
Two peregrine chicks have been delighting visitors lately a highly visible nest site and a scope is on offer for you to get a birds eye view from a safe distance.
Offshore the orca's, yes killer whales have been sighted again (two years running now) as well as mike whales and basking sharks.
Trips around Grassholm have resulted in 3 sightings of the orcas, so far this year.
You can't land on Grasshom but you can hop on a boat and watch the sea life from the water as well as the 32,000 pairs of gannets that nest there.
RSPB are now offering trips around Grassholm and Ramsey Island so get in touch with Thousand Island Expeditions on 01437 721721 or 721686 or visit the website for more details.
It's been a busy year so far on the island with the lambing season well under way in April and May.
Grazing animals are used to keep the vegetation down for the resident chough population and transporting live animals, especially sheep can be a challenge when living on an island so they've been rearing their own for the past two years.
Dave the shepherd has done a great job and 205 lambs were successfully born this year and are happily grazing alongside the 200 Welsh mountain ewes, all munching their way through the vegetation.
The hard work is paying off though and this year there are 8 breeding pairs of chough (roughly 3% of the population).
So far 5 pairs have succesfully raised 17 young which have all fledged and there are 3 more pairs still feeding young birds.
If you fancy visiting the island then June and July are a great time to go and see the choughs with their young.
From June to July the sea birds steal the show with around 3,000 guillemots lining the western cliff edges.
The birds here are very healthy and have escaped the problems that have occurred in other populations around the UK, but wardens will be keeping a careful eye on the chicks.
Two peregrine chicks have been delighting visitors lately a highly visible nest site and a scope is on offer for you to get a birds eye view from a safe distance.
Offshore the orca's, yes killer whales have been sighted again (two years running now) as well as mike whales and basking sharks.
Trips around Grassholm have resulted in 3 sightings of the orcas, so far this year.
You can't land on Grasshom but you can hop on a boat and watch the sea life from the water as well as the 32,000 pairs of gannets that nest there.
RSPB are now offering trips around Grassholm and Ramsey Island so get in touch with Thousand Island Expeditions on 01437 721721 or 721686 or visit the website for more details.
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