Guillemot

 This is a Guillemot, a member of the auk family and one of the most common seabirds to nest around our shores, however this was the only pair of the birds that I could photograph on Skomer, the rest were nesting too far away.

As with the puffins the male and female birds spend the winter apart, meeting up in the breeding season when they lay one egg on a rocky ledge. They don't make a nest but as in this shot they clear the space of any stones or debris that might be in the way.

When the egg hatches both parents will attend to the chick for the first three weeks or so after which the chick will go to the water where it is looked after exclusively by the male parent who will feed it and train it for the next 12 weeks. |t does not fly until it is 8 - 10 weeks old 

It's not all black and white

The first of today's picture shows two Guillemots and one Razorbill, they seemed to be getting along really well, I wonder if they "speak the same language" or how they can communicate with each other.

The second shot is of three Razorbills. These birds, part of the Auk family spend most of their lives out at sea in the Northern Atlantic, they only come ashore to breed and they mate for life.

Guillemots are also members of the Auk family (so they probably do share a language, maybe...) and like the Razorbill only come to land in order to breed. Their plumage is more brown than black and their bills are clearly a different shape. The pair in the last two pictures seem quite content, almost sleepy even though they are perched on such a small rocky ledge. I was amazed at the skill and agility of these birds as they flew at the cliffs and landed without crashing.

Cliff Hangers

In stark contrast to the bright colours of my posts of the past two days I have gone for these black and white images showing off the geology of Wales' Cardigan Bay coastal cliffs. 

Seen from a boat in the bay it is possible to see the many different layers that form the cliffs and the undulating patterns which clearly show the upheaval over time. The different layers provide excellent nesting sites for the Guillemots and Kittiwakes that have made their temporary homes here facing out to sea. On a day like this when the sun was shining and there was hardly any breeze t doesn't seem like too bad a spot but when the wind and rain lashes in off the Irish Sea I am sure it is a lot more challenging spot to raise a family.