TRACKS & SIGNS

Juvenile seabirds

August is the last month when there definitely will be seabirds raising young at colonies around the country. There may be fluffy chicks on what pass for ‘nests’ in the seabird world, but there will also be fully fledged juveniles, youngsters who have got a full set of decent feathers and are ready to head out into the big, bad world and perhaps the open ocean. Here are a few of the key players to look for.

Gannet

The fluffy white youngsters will be about the size of their parents this month and will be moulting off that fluff to reveal a dark grey-brown bird with neat rows of pale spots (which is one of the more handsome seabirds). The best way to tell they are Gannets is their size and shape.

Puffin

In the nest, Pufflings are cute bundles of black fluff with a stubby bill, already showing signs of the lateral compression. As they start to lose the fluffiest down they become more black and white, eventually emerging like slightly smaller, winter plumaged (and billed) adult Puffins, with a dusky face and dark, half-depth bill.

Kittiwake

Kittiwakes, like all gulls, have fluffy chicks to start with, developing into a distinctive juvenile plumage by the time they start to be more independent. Most striking is the black W shape formed by the dark V on each wing. There is also a black tip to the squarish tail and a black collar on the lower nape, plus a ‘spot’ behind the eye.

Guillemot

Baby Guillemots look like little fluffy black-and-white penguins when they are on the nesting cliff. When they are only about half size (and looking rather like Little Auks), they flap/fall off the cliffs into the sea, where they can confuse the unwary with their small size.