Mingulay Seabird Ranger
@ntsmingulay.bsky.social
Studying seabird populations on the mighty Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides with National Trust for Scotland
And quick as a flash, the 2025 seabird season is over! Surreal to to view Berneray, Mingulay and Pabbay in their full, resplendent glory from the the top deck of the CalMac ferry this morning.
WHAT a summer! 🤩👌👌👌
WHAT a summer! 🤩👌👌👌
August 16, 2025 at 6:55 PM
And quick as a flash, the 2025 seabird season is over! Surreal to to view Berneray, Mingulay and Pabbay in their full, resplendent glory from the the top deck of the CalMac ferry this morning.
WHAT a summer! 🤩👌👌👌
WHAT a summer! 🤩👌👌👌
Beautiful evening light on Mingulay 👌🦭🦭🦭🦭🦭
August 9, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Beautiful evening light on Mingulay 👌🦭🦭🦭🦭🦭
Feeling very lucky to have this as an office ☀️ 🌊
July 25, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Feeling very lucky to have this as an office ☀️ 🌊
Cracking afternoon down in the southwest corner of Mingulay, looking out to a Berneray/Barra Head 🤩
Could hear one corncrake still crex-crexing #notgoneyet
Could hear one corncrake still crex-crexing #notgoneyet
July 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Cracking afternoon down in the southwest corner of Mingulay, looking out to a Berneray/Barra Head 🤩
Could hear one corncrake still crex-crexing #notgoneyet
Could hear one corncrake still crex-crexing #notgoneyet
Good haul of Grey Seals on Mingulay beach this morning. Love hearing them singing 🦭 🎶 🎵 🦭 🎶 🎵 🦭 🎶 🎵
July 23, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Good haul of Grey Seals on Mingulay beach this morning. Love hearing them singing 🦭 🎶 🎵 🦭 🎶 🎵 🦭 🎶 🎵
July is peak month for Dark Green fritillary butterflies on Mingulay and I am HERE FOR IT! 🧡🟠🧡🟠🧡🟠🧡🟠🧡🟠
July 18, 2025 at 4:58 PM
July is peak month for Dark Green fritillary butterflies on Mingulay and I am HERE FOR IT! 🧡🟠🧡🟠🧡🟠🧡🟠🧡🟠
Super smashing to have Kirsty Marshall from Species on the Edge on Mingulay for a few days.
Kirsty is surveying the bumblebees here, including Moss Carder Bumblebees that she caught this afternoon in the old village. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Kirsty is surveying the bumblebees here, including Moss Carder Bumblebees that she caught this afternoon in the old village. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
July 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Super smashing to have Kirsty Marshall from Species on the Edge on Mingulay for a few days.
Kirsty is surveying the bumblebees here, including Moss Carder Bumblebees that she caught this afternoon in the old village. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Kirsty is surveying the bumblebees here, including Moss Carder Bumblebees that she caught this afternoon in the old village. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
A beautiful evening in Mingulay Bay 👌🌊✨
July 16, 2025 at 8:36 PM
A beautiful evening in Mingulay Bay 👌🌊✨
Fulmar chicks are getting old enough to be left unguarded by the adults on Mingulay now. Their presence is GREATLY cheering up the seabird cliffs as the auks are fledging and leaving the ledges looking very empty. 🐣🐦🤩🌊
July 15, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Fulmar chicks are getting old enough to be left unguarded by the adults on Mingulay now. Their presence is GREATLY cheering up the seabird cliffs as the auks are fledging and leaving the ledges looking very empty. 🐣🐦🤩🌊
Cracking couple of Garden Tigers in the Mingulay moth trap last night 🐅 🐅 🤩👌
July 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Cracking couple of Garden Tigers in the Mingulay moth trap last night 🐅 🐅 🤩👌
Always exciting to unpack the moth trap in the mornings. 22 Burnished Brass moths was a great haul today - they’re loving the nettles and thistles 🤩
July 13, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Always exciting to unpack the moth trap in the mornings. 22 Burnished Brass moths was a great haul today - they’re loving the nettles and thistles 🤩
Beauty of a day on Mingulay 👌👌
View from the top of Hecla peak at 219m. Looking out to Berneray/Barra Head in the south west and Pabbay, Sandray,Vatersay and Barra in the north. Two swifts for company at the top 🤩🐦☀️☀️☀️
View from the top of Hecla peak at 219m. Looking out to Berneray/Barra Head in the south west and Pabbay, Sandray,Vatersay and Barra in the north. Two swifts for company at the top 🤩🐦☀️☀️☀️
July 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Beauty of a day on Mingulay 👌👌
View from the top of Hecla peak at 219m. Looking out to Berneray/Barra Head in the south west and Pabbay, Sandray,Vatersay and Barra in the north. Two swifts for company at the top 🤩🐦☀️☀️☀️
View from the top of Hecla peak at 219m. Looking out to Berneray/Barra Head in the south west and Pabbay, Sandray,Vatersay and Barra in the north. Two swifts for company at the top 🤩🐦☀️☀️☀️
A day playing the sound of calling European Storm Petrels into crevices in rocky boulder fields. If storm petrels are breeding on Mingulay, there’s a chance the real birds will call back to our portable speaker.
No luck today, but a brilliant way to explore the magical island 🤩
#NTSSeabirds
No luck today, but a brilliant way to explore the magical island 🤩
#NTSSeabirds
July 10, 2025 at 6:45 PM
A day playing the sound of calling European Storm Petrels into crevices in rocky boulder fields. If storm petrels are breeding on Mingulay, there’s a chance the real birds will call back to our portable speaker.
No luck today, but a brilliant way to explore the magical island 🤩
#NTSSeabirds
No luck today, but a brilliant way to explore the magical island 🤩
#NTSSeabirds
Another spectacular evening watching guillemot chicks on their maiden jumps to the sea below.
Godspeed little champion auk nuggets ☄️ 💥 💪
Godspeed little champion auk nuggets ☄️ 💥 💪
July 9, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Another spectacular evening watching guillemot chicks on their maiden jumps to the sea below.
Godspeed little champion auk nuggets ☄️ 💥 💪
Godspeed little champion auk nuggets ☄️ 💥 💪
The smiling faces of 3 people who witnessed guillemot chicks fledge from the cliffs last night.
SUCH a privilege to follow these birds from egg laying in early May, to hatching, rearing chicks and to see them successfully fledging.
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!
#NTSSeabirds
SUCH a privilege to follow these birds from egg laying in early May, to hatching, rearing chicks and to see them successfully fledging.
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!
#NTSSeabirds
July 8, 2025 at 9:02 AM
The smiling faces of 3 people who witnessed guillemot chicks fledge from the cliffs last night.
SUCH a privilege to follow these birds from egg laying in early May, to hatching, rearing chicks and to see them successfully fledging.
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!
#NTSSeabirds
SUCH a privilege to follow these birds from egg laying in early May, to hatching, rearing chicks and to see them successfully fledging.
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!!
#NTSSeabirds
Fab NTS volunteers Kate and Yvette helping to collect guillemot diet study data.
Sandeels and Clupeids (herring and sprats) seemed to be the most numerous fish being fed to chicks today 🐥 🐟
#NTSSeabirds
Sandeels and Clupeids (herring and sprats) seemed to be the most numerous fish being fed to chicks today 🐥 🐟
#NTSSeabirds
July 6, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Fab NTS volunteers Kate and Yvette helping to collect guillemot diet study data.
Sandeels and Clupeids (herring and sprats) seemed to be the most numerous fish being fed to chicks today 🐥 🐟
#NTSSeabirds
Sandeels and Clupeids (herring and sprats) seemed to be the most numerous fish being fed to chicks today 🐥 🐟
#NTSSeabirds
Out on the seabird cliffs with NTS volunteers Kate and Yvette today. They’ve been completely brilliant at helping to monitor the Kittiwakes on Mingulay. Chicks ahoy! 🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥
#NTSSeabirds
#NTSSeabirds
July 5, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Out on the seabird cliffs with NTS volunteers Kate and Yvette today. They’ve been completely brilliant at helping to monitor the Kittiwakes on Mingulay. Chicks ahoy! 🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥
#NTSSeabirds
#NTSSeabirds
A dreich day has meant that our fab NTS volunteers have been making and deploying chocolate wax blocks as a biosecurity tool for assessing if rats are here.
Rats would be enticed by the chocolatey smell and would leave teeth marks in the wax blocks.
Thankfully none found in our bait stations!🐀 ❌
Rats would be enticed by the chocolatey smell and would leave teeth marks in the wax blocks.
Thankfully none found in our bait stations!🐀 ❌
July 4, 2025 at 7:53 PM
A dreich day has meant that our fab NTS volunteers have been making and deploying chocolate wax blocks as a biosecurity tool for assessing if rats are here.
Rats would be enticed by the chocolatey smell and would leave teeth marks in the wax blocks.
Thankfully none found in our bait stations!🐀 ❌
Rats would be enticed by the chocolatey smell and would leave teeth marks in the wax blocks.
Thankfully none found in our bait stations!🐀 ❌
Garden Corncrake update: we have chicks! 🐣🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥
They are HIGHLY entertaining as they run around exploring their new garden home! 😀
They are HIGHLY entertaining as they run around exploring their new garden home! 😀
June 28, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Garden Corncrake update: we have chicks! 🐣🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐥
They are HIGHLY entertaining as they run around exploring their new garden home! 😀
They are HIGHLY entertaining as they run around exploring their new garden home! 😀
Special thanks to Lydia on Barra for sending out some homemade Millionaire’s Shortbread. The ULTIMATE seabird-cliff snack that did well to last until 10:18am before being devoured 🏆 😋 .
June 26, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Special thanks to Lydia on Barra for sending out some homemade Millionaire’s Shortbread. The ULTIMATE seabird-cliff snack that did well to last until 10:18am before being devoured 🏆 😋 .
Cracking day monitoring the seabirds on Mingulay with brilliant volunteer Tom.
Guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags ALL have chicks - 2025 seabird season is cooking on gas 🔥🧯🚒
#NTSSeabirds
Guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags ALL have chicks - 2025 seabird season is cooking on gas 🔥🧯🚒
#NTSSeabirds
June 23, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Cracking day monitoring the seabirds on Mingulay with brilliant volunteer Tom.
Guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags ALL have chicks - 2025 seabird season is cooking on gas 🔥🧯🚒
#NTSSeabirds
Guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and shags ALL have chicks - 2025 seabird season is cooking on gas 🔥🧯🚒
#NTSSeabirds
Always cracking to see and hear the resident Twite whilst walking around the island 👌😍
June 17, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Always cracking to see and hear the resident Twite whilst walking around the island 👌😍
A day of squally showers and rainbows 🌧️ 🌈
June 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM
A day of squally showers and rainbows 🌧️ 🌈
Huge WHOPPING thanks to Richard Luxmoore who has counted and mapped ALL of the Great Skua (Bonxie) territories across Mingulay.
Total number of apparently occupied territories is 74 - up from 44 for the last 2 years. Hopefully a sign of recovery from avian flu 🤞🤞🤞
#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday
Total number of apparently occupied territories is 74 - up from 44 for the last 2 years. Hopefully a sign of recovery from avian flu 🤞🤞🤞
#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday
June 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Huge WHOPPING thanks to Richard Luxmoore who has counted and mapped ALL of the Great Skua (Bonxie) territories across Mingulay.
Total number of apparently occupied territories is 74 - up from 44 for the last 2 years. Hopefully a sign of recovery from avian flu 🤞🤞🤞
#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday
Total number of apparently occupied territories is 74 - up from 44 for the last 2 years. Hopefully a sign of recovery from avian flu 🤞🤞🤞
#NTSSeabirds
#SuperSeabirdSunday
Completely loving the Wheatear fledglings appearing across the island at the moment 🤩
#Notaseabird
#Notaseabird
June 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Completely loving the Wheatear fledglings appearing across the island at the moment 🤩
#Notaseabird
#Notaseabird