From Foxglove to Cape Wrath...

Since 1992 members of the Swaledale Ringing Group, based at Foxglove Covert, have undertaken ringing and survey work on the Royal Naval Bombardment Range at Cape Wrath in north west Scotland. The group normally visits the range twice annually and, due to the size of the task, is supported by colleagues from further afield who are specialists in their own natural history disciplines.

The ringers have been instrumental in highlighting nationally the serious decline in the breeding seabird population due, in the main, to the shortage of sand eels and other appropriate food. They have also conducted several other surveys of gull and tern colonies on the inland lochs. Originally tasked to assess the impact of the bombing and ship-to-shore bombardment it is tragic to note that the key impact on the area’s wildlife has very little association with the military activity and increasingly is thought to be the result of over-fishing and perhaps climate change..

Hundreds of recoveries of birds ringed in the area have been received over the years, including a european storm-petrel from the very tip of South Africa and a kittiwake shot by an eskimo in Greenland. Currently some 15 thousand birds have been ringed, of 28 different species.

The linked slideshow was produced by Gordon and Julia Wright and shows some of the activities involved during the early trip in 2007.

Click here to view the slideshow (QuickTime plugin required) (please allow time for the movie to stream)