Scottish Seabird Centre members' magazine autumn 2016

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wonders of nature Scottish Seabird Centre Members’ magazine

Not to be missed:

Seals, pirates and a special lecture 06 Bryan Nelson lecture 14 Seal Season 42 Pirate Weekend

Scottish Seabird Centre and the environment Sustainability and the environment are at the heart of everything we do. We have produced this magazine in an environmentally-friendly way. However, to help save trees and to reduce costs, you can receive your magazine by email – just contact membership@seabird.org or call +44(0)1620 890202.

Also, sign up to our enewsletters to be kept up-to-date with our latest news. You can do this at www.seabird.org

News

06 Bryan Nelson 08 Offshore windfarms

Features

10 Jude’s Bass Rock 12 National Marine Centre 14 Seal Season 16 Isle of May 18 Eiders 20 Members’ Shopping Week 30 Staff and Centre news 36 Puffins and pufflings 38 Nature Photography Awards

Regulars

22 Gift Shop 24 Seabird Café 26 Volunteers 28 Boats 32 Education 34 Wildlife Club 42 Pirate Weekend 44 Kids

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Find us

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Scottish Seabird Centre, The Harbour, North Berwick, EH39 4SS W: www.seabird.org E: info@seabird.org T: +44(0)1620 890202

Design: Wordpicturestory / www.wordpicturestory.co.uk

03

Welcome from Tom The Centre has enjoyed another busy summer with lots going on for Members. We hope you made it along for a visit.

Captain Flap and the Seaside Science Team did a fantastic job in encouraging people to learn about the wonders of flight; we had puffling rescues and met the delightful Mr Whippy and Shackleton who were both released safely back out to sea; and the Forth Ferry transported visitors to and from our friends across in Anstruther.

In October, in partnership with RSPB Scotland, we host the first ever memorial lecture for our dear friend, Dr Bryan Nelson, who passed away in 2015. This will be a fitting and inspiring event at which Bryan will be remembered.

We look forward to seeing you all at the Seabird Centre soon and, as always, thank you for your continued and valuable support.

Tom Brock OBE Chief Executive

Update from Laura Welcome to the Autumn edition of wonders of nature.

We have a busy few months ahead as we look forward to Pirate Weekend and Seal Season, a brilliant time to visit the Discovery Centre.

Our collaborative work has continued – did you see the advert for East Lothian attractions on STV? I led on that initiative and it was a fantastic showcase of all the great days out there are to be had in the area.

We hope to have another campaign booked in soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

You can’t miss the Bass Rock gannets.

This year, instead of our Members’ Shopping Night, we will be hosting a Members’ Shopping Week! All Members will have the chance to enjoy additional discounts, but also meet suppliers, get tasty treats plus lots more benefits exclusively for Members only.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

We now offer free Wi-Fi in the Seabird Café and Gift Shop.

This means you can instantly share images and reviews of your Seabird experience.

Share with #Seabirddays so we can also see your pics!

Laura Adamson Magazine Editor and Marketing Manager

04 Special thanks The Scottish Seabird Centre is an independent charity dedicated to inspiring people to appreciate and care for wildlife and the natural environment. Registered Scottish charity no.

SC025837. Registered in Scotland no. 172288.

Special thanks and editorial contributions

We are extremely grateful to all those who have supported us with their time, resources and money. Many of these remain anonymous; nonetheless we are all extremely grateful. None of our vital work would be possible without your help.

The Scottish Government Scottish Enterprise Scottish Natural Heritage Sea Changers Sir James Miller Edinburgh Trust The Spear Charitable Trust St Mary’s Charity Stella Moffat Charitable Trust Susan H Guy’s Charitable Trust Tay Charitable Trust Viridor Walter Scott Global Investment Manager The William Dean Countryside and Educational Trust William Grant Foundation

Recent donors include: Alice Noakes Memorial Charitable Trust Aviagen Bothwell Charitable Trust Cruden Foundation Ltd. East Lothian Council Ellem Foundation Enterprise Rent-a-Car Faccenda Family Foundation FLAG (Fisheries Local Action Group) Forth Ports Ltd. Fujitsu The Garfield Weston Foundation The Geraldine Kirkpatrick Charitable Trust The Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust The HB Allen Charitable Trust Heritage Lottery Fund The Horace and Helen Gillman Trusts The Hugh Fraser Foundation Imlay Foundation Inchcape Foundation The Mackintosh Foundation People’s Postcode Lottery Repsol Recycle4Charity Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)

Photography credits Images bring our magazine to life! We would like to say thanks to the following photographers: Laura Adamson, Sean Bell, Steve Cox, Gareth Easton, Jan Fergie, Lorne Gill, Tom Langlands, Greg Macvean, Rob McDougall, Gavin McDougall, Barrie Williams and Epic Scotland.

The images of Bryan Nelson are taken from On the Rocks, Bryan Nelson (Langford Press).

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Editorial contributions This issue contains articles from valued contributors.

John Hunt John has worked in nature conservation for 38 years.

From 1974 he was with the RSPB where he became head of their nature reserves in Scotland. From 1995 he was Programme Manager with the Millennium Forest for Scotland Trust, a lottery funded initiative supporting projects throughout Scotland to restore native woodlands for their conservation and community benefits and following that he was Chairman of Borders Forest Trust.

He coordinates and leads the SOS Puffin project which takes out volunteers to the islands to control the invasive plant tree mallow.

Vivien Crummey The Crummey family embarked on a Forth Ferry adventure this summer and kindly wrote an entry for the Forth Ferry blog. A family from Gullane, this was the perfect opportunity to show off the local area to their friends and also catch up with other friends in Fife. Read their blog entry on page 28.

05 News In memorium

News from around the Centre

Ronnie Corbett We were very sad to learn of the passing of Seabird supporter and friend, Ronnie Corbett, earlier this year. He had a very long association with the area and loved this very special coastline.

Ronnie was often seen doing his shopping in North Berwick’s High Street and community clearly meant a great deal to him.

We are very grateful for his wonderful support of the Seabird Centre over the years. He and his wife, Anne put on an amazing show in North Berwick in 1999 to help raise funds to build the Centre and they returned to help on several occasions.

We will remember him fondly.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

06 News

Dr Bryan Nelson Memorial Lecture

By John Hunt

The late Dr Bryan Nelson MBE spent his life working to better understand and conserve seabirds. He was a great supporter of the Scottish Seabird Centre from its inception and served as a Trustee until shortly before he died in 2015. As the world’s greatest authority on the gannet (and other seabird species) he provided valuable advice and encouragement to the Centre, particularly in the use of remotely controlled cameras to view nesting seabirds.

He and his wife, June, famously spent three years in the 1960s living in a small hut on the Bass Rock where his pioneering research work helped to unravel the fascinating life history of Britain’s largest seabird.

Bryan was a great communicator and loved to inform and enthuse his students at Aberdeen University as well as the wider public in the many talks he gave about seabirds.

Bryan often returned to the Bass and was delighted to see the Northern gannet colony increase to become what is now the largest colony in the world with 75,000 pairs nesting each year.

Bryan carried out important research on seabirds in the Galapagos and later he almost single-handedly saved the very rare Abbots Booby (a relation of the gannet) which is only found on Christmas Island in the Pacific and was in danger of becoming extinct because large scale phosphate mining was removing the forest in which it nested. Bryan’s research and campaigning eventually ensured the protection of most of the remaining forest and thus the future of this extraordinary bird.

As a tribute to Bryan, the Scottish Seabird Centre and RSPB Scotland have decided to jointly organise a Memorial Lecture which it is hoped will become an annual event.

The first such lecture will be held on the evening of 6 October at Edinburgh Napier University (Craiglockhart Campus) in Edinburgh.

It is fitting that this lecture will be given by another well-known seabird biologist, Mike Harris, and will be on the subject of ‘The Puffin: Past, Present and Future’. Mike has worked on seabirds all his life and is well known for his research on the Isle of May and elsewhere. His talk will address the issues effecting puffins throughout their range but with particular emphasis on the North Sea and the threats faced there by puffins and other seabirds.

More information and tickets can be obtained from the Centre or online at www.seabird.org

As a tribute to Bryan, the Scottish Seabird Centre and RSPB Scotland have decided to jointly organise a Memorial Lecture which it is hoped will become an annual event.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Not to be missed:

6 October 19:30 Edinburgh Napier University Mike Harris – The Puffin: Past, Present and Future

08 News

Update:

Windfarms Scotland’s seas are filled with spectacular wildlife and the waters and coastline around the country are home to globally important populations of seabirds including the world’s largest colony of Northern gannets on the Bass Rock.

In October 2014, Scottish Ministers approved consents for four offshore windfarms in the Firths of Forth and Tay with a combined total of 335 turbines.

The Seabird Centre and RSPB Scotland had formally objected to the proposals, believing they posed too great a risk to the many thousands of resident and migratory seabirds found in these areas. Whilst the precise impacts of having large windfarms close to these colonies are uncertain, the Scottish Government’s own estimates were that more than a thousand gannets, and many hundreds of kittiwakes and puffins, would be killed every year.

Following consent being granted, RSPB Scotland raised a legal challenge and in July 2016, the Court of Session upheld the challenge with the Judge, Lord Stewart, concluding that the consents were not lawful on a number of grounds.

There were several points challenged but, in summary, the Judge agreed that key requirements of the environmental assessment processes were not met, including a failure to consult properly, and a failure to provide reasons why Scottish Ministers rejected the advice of their own statutory nature conservation advisors, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee when granting the consents. The Scottish Government and Mainstream Energy have now decided to appeal the decision.

Climate change must be tackled and renewable energy has to be part of the solution. However, projects need to be in the best locations to ensure that there is not an unacceptable risk to the environment and our wildlife. We urge developers and the Scottish Government to talk to conservation charities, including the Seabird Centre and the RSPB, as early as possible to ensure that the best renewable energy solutions are identified and agreed, avoiding lengthy, expensive legal battles.

Effective solutions need to be based on scientific research including accurately identifying any wildlife impacts. Research like that undertaken by Jude Lane and the team from Leeds University is not only fascinating, but essential in helping to find the best solutions. Read more about their work on page 10.

Climate change must be tackled, as it too is a threat to wildlife, but we must find a resolution that has a positive impact on the environment and our wildlife.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Bass Rock research by Jude Lane

11 Feature Jude Lane is a PhD student from the University of Leeds, studying the behaviour of Northern gannets on the Bass Rock.

Taking a trip to the Bass, whether you land on the island or circumnavigate its base in a boat, is a truly incredible experience. The sights, sounds and smell of all those gannets can be overwhelming. There are so many birds it can be hard to comprehend that just under half the birds that call Bass Rock their summer home are not there, they are out at sea on foraging trips, finding food for themselves and/or their growing chicks.

Scientists from the University of Leeds have been tracking the Bass Rock gannets to find out where they go to find food for almost 20 years. Coloured rings with unique codes placed around the gannet’s legs allow us to see whether an individual has returned each year. If we can catch and track the same individual in consecutive years we can see how repeatable that individual is in where it goes to find food.

Tracking the same bird in multiple years is really exciting. The data gathered from the trips can tell us how repeatable individuals are in their foraging behaviour and allows us to compare their behaviour with others in the colony. We can also look at how behaviour can be affected by weather conditions and other environmental variables in different years.

If you are interested to read more about my PhD research then check out www.gannetresearch.wordpress.com or you can follow me on twitter @heyjooode

B099, who we think is a female, was first ringed and GPS tracked in 2015. Despite her best efforts to evade the catching pole, we managed to GPS track her for a second time this summer.

Here you can see the tracks of B099’s foraging trips in 2016 (red) and 2015 (blue). The yellow circle is Bass Rock.

We only recorded two trips from her in 2015 but leaving the device on longer this year we recorded nine trips in 2016. Of these nine trips, three were long but six were very short just going east into the Firth of Forth. Her long trips (greater than 10 hours in duration) were much longer in 2016 (54 hours average) than in 2015 (40 hours average). Corresponding with that, she covered a much greater distance on each trip in 2016 (1060km average) than in 2015 (681km average). Just to put that in context, that’s a bit like making a round trip from North Berwick to Cambridge for your supermarket shop every two days!

Tracking the same bird in multiple years is really exciting.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

12 Feature Grace Martin is the Project Director for the National Marine Centre. Grace is currently in the process of finalising the team to take the project forward to the next stage.

The National Marine Centre is an exciting and innovative project which will build on the charity’s work in conservation and education.

The aim is to build on our existing activities and share more widely the importance, value and issues affecting Scotland’s unique and fascinating marine environment and wildlife, including seabirds. We have been working hard since our last update with a key focus on recruiting the wider team of specialist support we need to develop our plans for the National Marine Centre. This includes architects and exhibition designers as well as specialist consultancies.

After a long period of procurement, we are delighted to nearly have the full team appointed. Now the real work begins as we will be developing detailed plans across all areas of the project, focusing on our deadline for submission for our Heritage Lottery Fund round two grant application.

This includes a new programme of activities the National Marine Centre will deliver to engage different groups of people. This involves the development of a new marine education programme, including outreach activities.

Plans also include new online resources, events and activities. Initial consultation has highlighted a lot of interest and exciting opportunities for the project which is very encouraging!

We are also in the process of establishing how and where the Centre can make the most impact towards marine conservation.

This involves consulting with key marine conservation, research and education organisations. We have a dedicated group of marine specialists that are providing advice and expertise on marine related exhibitions and content. Professor John Baxter, who is the Principal Marine Advisor for Scottish Natural Heritage and a Scottish Seabird Centre Trustee, is playing a key role in leading this work.

Our fundraising campaign will be gathering pace over the next period as we are aiming to secure the match funding required, through a mix of trusts, foundations, private donors and grants.

We are now at the point of launching a public questionnaire to help us understand more about people’s knowledge, understanding and interest in the marine environment. Importantly, this will inform our delivery programme to hopefully meet the needs of a wide audience. As a loyal Member of the Scottish Seabird Centre, we will be seeking your feedback to inform the next stage of the project. We will be sharing a questionnaire shortly so please take the time to fill this in. Your involvement and support in the project will be essential to its success.

We will keep you informed of our progress by updating an information board at the Centre, the website and through future editions of the Members’ Magazine.

If you have questions or would like to find out more about the project, please get in touch at nmcproject@seabird.org

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

National Marine Centre Now the real work begins as we will be developing detailed plans across all areas of the project, focusing on our deadline for submission for our Heritage Lottery Fund round two grant application.

14 Feature Did you know there’s a chance to see seal pups being born via the interactive live cameras in the Discovery Centre? Read on to find out more!

October and November mean Seal Season at the Scottish Seabird Centre! Visitors can control the interactive live cameras in the Discovery Centre to see the amazing seals on the island of Craigleith and the Isle of May National Nature Reserve, home to one of the most significant seal populations in Britain.

Seal pups are born throughout these months – spot one being born via the Discovery Centre cameras and win your own seal adoption worth £30. Last year, the first seal pup birth was spotted on camera on 4 October and there are around 2,500 births taking place each year on the Isle of May over the winter months.

The Discovery Centre team will be hosting special seal talks throughout the season and here are some seal facts to get you started!

With their big brown eyes and appealing dog-like faces, seals are attractive creatures. They live all over the world, from the frozen wastes of the polar regions to the tropical beaches of Hawaii.

There are two species of seal in the UK, the grey seal and harbour seal. Both spend much of their time at sea, but come ashore to breed and moult and can often be seen basking peacefully on beaches, sandbanks or rocks.

Around 40% of the world’s population of grey seals live around the UK and most of those in Scottish waters.

Over 6,000 gather around the Isle of May, making it Britain’s largest east coast breeding colony.

They’re from the group of animals called pinnipeds meaning ‘winged-feet’ which refers to their flippers.

Britain’s biggest mammal and largest carnivore, grey seals grow up to 2.3m in length.

The scientific name for grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) means ‘sea pig with a hooked nose’ and this Roman nose is even more accentuated in the males.

The name ‘grey seal’ is a bit of a misnomer since there is a lot of variation in colour, from almost black bulls to creamy white cows, to the luxurious silky white fur of new-born pups.

In the cold North Sea waters, grey seals have 6cm of blubber to keep them warm while their cylindrical shape not only makes them streamlined for swimming, but minimises heat loss too.

If they survive the dangers of being a pup, seals are relatively long-lived animals, often longer than 30 years.

A word of warning: they may look cute and cuddly, but seals are wild animals and they bite, so always keep a safe distance and keep dogs well away! They can also often appear dead when in fact they are only sleeping. Generally they are best left alone and are likely to head out on the next tide. If you do suspect the animal is injured please contact the SSPCA on +44(0)3000 999999 or the Scottish Seabird Centre on +44(0)1620 890202.

Big numbers:

Over 6,000 gather around the Isle of May, making it Britain’s largest east coast breeding colony.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Island life:

Seal Season

National Nature Reserve update:

Isle of May

Record numbers of razorbills were complemented by an increase in the guillemot population but bad news followed other species.

17 Feature David Steel, Head Warden on the Isle of May, gives us an update on the seabird populations. The Isle of May is a National Nature Reserve, owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage.

During late May and early June, the staff on the Isle of May undertake population counts of the breeding seabirds involving early starts and a head for heights. Once the dust has settled the numbers are crunched and the results reveal how each species is doing compared to the previous season and what it means for the long-term trend of our nesting seabirds.

The results were (as usual) a mixed picture with some species doing well and others not so well.

The terns (Arctic and Common) responded to some positive habitat management with numbers increasing year-on-year whilst a provision of ‘tern terraces’ enabled Sandwich terns to nest for the first time since 2008.

Other ground nesting birds also fared well with over 1,100 pairs of eider duck nesting (an increase on the previous count) alongside increases in breeding oystercatcher numbers.

Puffin numbers remained strong although were not counted (due to the scale of the job) as the next census is pencilled in for 2018.

However, not all news was good as the cliff nesters experienced mixed news. Record numbers of razorbills were complemented by an increase in the guillemot population but bad news followed other species. Kittiwake numbers declined by 17% (following a national trend of decline) whilst shags, having suffered a tough winter locally (with above average mortality) breeding numbers also dropped.

On a final positive note, the only east coast breeding Manx shearwaters bred again on the island (raising one chick) whilst fulmar numbers remain level.

Isle of May breeding figures 2016 Species Pairs 2016 Pairs 2015 Eider 1,128 nesting females 975 Shelduck 4 4 Manx shearwater 1 1 Fulmar 309 309 Shag 349 401 Guillemot 16,132 15,945 Razorbill 3,570 3,202 Puffin Most recent count 46,200

Next census 2018 Common tern 19 13 Arctic tern 527 484 Sandwich tern 21 0 Kittiwake 2,912 3,433 LBB gull 1,924 2,047 Herring gull 3,799 4,200 GBB gull 72 53

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Population counts of the breeding seabirds involves early starts and a head for heights.

Getting down with the eider

19 Feature Our friend, PR-guru and wildlife expert, Keith Broomfield, explores the world of the enigmatic eider.

Anthropomorphism is often frowned upon by purists in the wildlife world, but the courtship call of the drake eider sounds so uncannily similar to a not very politically correct man uttering an appreciative ‘coo-or’ or ‘ah-hoo’ towards an attractive woman that it never fails to make me smile.

From the earliest of times eiderdown has been a valuable resource.

As they woo, the amorous drakes threw back their heads in noisy admiration of the females bobbing up and down in amongst them in the coastal shallows. For me, it is one of the quintessential sounds of a Scottish spring down by the shore, stirring happy memories of sunny heat-shimmering days back-dropped with the excitable calls of screeching terns as they too search out for mates.

Cryptically plumaged, the female duck relies on her mottled-brown camouflage to avoid detection and thus sits very tightly on her eggs.

In some places eiders nest at high densities and I recall as a teenager, when on a visit to Inchkeith island in the Firth of Forth, stumbling upon a nest every few yards, the females erupting at my feet in a series of heart-stopping explosions as they took to the air. It was a bit like treading through a minefield and I made a hasty retreat to avoid further disturbance.

The eider is sometimes known as ‘St Cuthbert’s’ duck after Northumberland’s patron saint was said to have introduced laws in the seventh century to protect the duck on the Farne Islands.

Eiders are, of course, famous for their fluffy insulating feathers and from the earliest of times eiderdown has been a valuable resource.

Although synthetic alternatives or domestic goose feathers have now largely taken over, eiderdown is still much sought after today as superb filler for bedding and clothing. Indeed, harvesting continues in places such as Iceland where it is often collected from the lining of nests towards the end of the breeding season without disturbing the birds.

As an aside, these ducks would almost always squirt a dollop of foul-smelling poo over their eggs as they took flight. While this may just be an unfortunate consequence of spending a long time on the nest, I do wonder if it might also be a last-ditch ploy to deter predators.

This devotion to incubating tightly is well illustrated by a delightful record of a captive eider that sat for 28 days without ever leaving the nest. By the time hatching was due the duck was covered in a mass of luxuriant chickweed that had grown over her in the meantime!

It seems likely that a much less sustainable approach was adopted in Scotland in the past, with the down, eggs and perhaps even the confiding incubating duck all being swiped from the nest at the same time. Certainly, from as recently as the 1860s there are records of eider eggs being sent from Islay to Glasgow poulterers.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Even more chances to enjoy discounts:

Members’ Shopping Week

21 Feature To say thanks, this year we are hosting a special week with exclusive treats for our Members!

This year, as an extra special treat for Members, we will be hosting a Members’ Shopping Week, as an alternative to the Members’ Night!

We just wanted to say thanks for all your support by giving Members more of an opportunity to enjoy extra discounts and special treats over a full week, rather than for one night only.

This special week will take place from Monday 5 December to Sunday 11 December, from 10:00 to 16:00 during the week and to 17:00 at the weekend.

The Seabird team are currently finalising plans, but there will be the chance to enjoy 15% off all items (with a few little exceptions) including beach and wildlife-inspired homewares; Scottish food and drink from Mrs Bridges, Black & Gold, Brodies and Daffy’s Gin; toiletries from Scottish Fine Soaps and The Edinburgh Natural Skin Company; Scottish jewellery and handbags plus everyone’s favourite soft toys, cards and books.

There will be different suppliers in throughout the week offering insight and recommendations into what’s hot this winter, plus special offers and competitions.

In this year’s raffle there will be treats for big ones and little ones alike, with some fantastic prizes up for grabs at a very small price.

The Volunteers will prepare mince pies and Christmas cocktails, which will be ideal while you’re browsing and will help beat off the winter chill!

A range of local groups have been invited to sing carols so we hope to have some live festive music filling the Centre as you shop.

For Members only:

There will be different suppliers in throughout the week offering insight and recommendations into what’s hot this winter, plus special offers and competitions.

Not only that but there will be the chance to buy Christmas membership for your family and friends, as well as gift vouchers which can be used in the Discovery Centre, Gift Shop, Seabird Café and on boat trips, and our ever-popular puffin, gannet and seal adoptions.

For this week only, Members will get 15% off Christmas lunch – turkey with all the trimmings!

Ideal to get in training for Christmas Day. During December the Discovery Centre will be a hive of Christmas activity with Christmas colouring-in, a festive trail plus talks hosted by our expert team.

We will look forward to welcoming you to the Members’ Shopping Week!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

22 Gift shop Dawn, from our Gift Shop team, gives her top tips on what’s hot this season.

There’s lots of new fantastic items, which are not to be missed!

Retail therapy:

Cute, fluffy, stylish, inspiring, painterly, fruity, varied, fun

Top tip from Dawn!

If you are looking for a special gift for anyone at Christmas, you can’t go wrong with one of our wildlife adoptions. For only £30 you can adopt a puffin, seal or gannet family. In each adoption pack there is a soft toy, A5 poster, information sheet, certificate and acknowledgement within the Centre. For a limited time only you can also get a free family ticket for the Discovery Centre!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

John Palmer puffin kitchenware John is an entirely self-taught pastel artist working in the realist style across a range of subjects including animals, birds, butterflies, figures, landscapes, still life and many more, and has been drawing and painting for as long as he can remember.

The natural world, especially wildlife, has been a lifelong passion which he enjoys studying and using as inspiration for his art.

John’s home and studio are nestled in a tranquil corner of the Lincolnshire countryside where a diverse range of flora and fauna abound offering an inexhaustible source of subjects for his art and providing continuous stimulation for his creativity.

We have a new range of puffin themed kitchen items such as aprons, tea towels, chopping boards and oven gloves, priced from £9.50.

Apples to Pears The small Cotswold company with a big heart and even bigger ideas, Apples to Pears was first established in 2002 with its roots firmly in gardening products and since then, with exceptional creativity, they have developed into a respected and award-winning innovator within the gift industry.

Apples to Pears’ products have expanded to include not only gifts for gardeners, including innovative designs by Devonshire artist, Simon Drew, but also the Gifts in a Tin range, which are currently available in the Gift Shop.

This multiple award-winning line has blossomed to more than 50 different designs of which we currently stock the sewing, crochet and knitting for a range of woodland animals such as owls, foxes and squirrels, priced from £6.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

24 Café Helen, our Catering Manager, gives us an update on what we can look forward to in the Seabird Café this winter.

Steak pies, soup, neeps and tatties, cullen skink, fresh veg and lasagne

Winter warmers Our chef, Ian, likes to offer a whole host of different café specials throughout the year.

These reflect what’s in season and recommended by our local suppliers.

Over the winter months, in addition to our freshly-made soups, there will be real winter warmers on offer such as haggis, neeps and tatties; steak pie and fresh vegetables; lasagne, and Cullen skink will be back by popular demand.

These cosy meals, coupled with the stunning, winter views out to the Bass Rock, are a combination that can’t be beaten!

Don’t forget! Members get a 10% discount in the Seabird Café and make sure you pick up a loyalty card to secure your free hot drink!

Members get 15% off Christmas lunch during Members’ Shopping Week.

Taste our Best!

Did you know the Seabird Café has been accredited by VisitScotland’s Taste our Best scheme? This award is in recognition of our food and drink sourcing policy, which means we are committed to serving our Members quality Scottish produce, prepared with care and delivered with passion.

Join in the conversation with #tasteourbest.

In training for Christmas Day If you can’t wait for Christmas Day to enjoy turkey with all the trimmings, then head to the Seabird Café during the two weeks before Christmas for our special Christmas lunches.

Priced at £8.95 (10% off for Members) it is the perfect way to get in training for the 25 December. There will also be mince pies, which make the ideal accompaniment to a lovely hot cuppa.

Festive cheers!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Win! We are offering two Members the chance to win Seabird Centre vouchers for the Café, worth £25 each, so you can sample our winter warmers or Christmas lunch.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is pop your name and membership number to info@seabird.org before 30 November 2016. Postal entries also accepted.

In your email tell us your favourite item currently on our menu!

Wonderful winter:

Over the winter months, in addition to our freshly-made soups, there will be real winter warmers on offer such as haggis, neeps and tatties; steak pie and fresh vegetables; lasagne, and Cullen skink will be back by popular demand.

Members’ Shopping Week:

15% off on Christmas lunch only during Members’ Shopping Week.

26 Volunteers Sandy Forrest, Chair of the Volunteers, updates us on their latest work and highlights two amazing supporters who sadly passed away this year.

The Volunteers continue to amaze me with their high standard of enthusiasm and involvement in activities at the Seabird Centre, aiming to support the Centre in any way they can.

Over the past year we have assisted with admin tasks in the office; distributed posters and leaflets for events; counted every item in the retail department for the stocktake; hostessed various events; prepared and sorted props for Captain Flap; assisted Education with the Junior Tour Guides; supported Education with very large school groups; sorted boxes of equipment for Andrew the Education Officer; dressed as Pirates and judged the costume competition; attended a licence refresher course; translated (or found translators for) the Discovery Centre information sheets; assisted at Wildlife Club; worked on organising the archives of the Centre since its conception; and attended meetings.

We have, of course, also been busy with our prime activity of meeting and greeting visitors to the Centre, and of looking out for areas that need attention to retain our 5 star status.

Since the last Magazine we have also organised several fundraising events. On 21 April we celebrated the Queen’s 90th Birthday with a Garden Party-style Tea in the Abbey Church.

The Coastal Communities Museum assisted us by showing pictures and memorabilia of the Queen and Royal family, and royal DVDs were shown in the church itself. This was a great fun event, with several guests dressing for the occasion. Many passers-by stopped to take selfies with the life-sized cut-out of the Queen!

There were two sittings of the traditional tea with cucumber sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, cream scones and wonderful cakes, all prepared by the Volunteers from donations of ingredients from local food outlets. It was exhausting, but generated a tremendous feel-good atmosphere.

A successful May Coffee Morning followed, and in June a mini Robert Louis Stevenson event.

This involved the North Berwick Drama Circle performing their play in Abbey Church, children from Law Primary presenting Stevenson poems of the sea with connected students’ artwork, and a showing of the film, Treasure Island.

Finally, may I invite Members to consider becoming Volunteers. We have been lucky enough to find some new Volunteers this year, but sadly we have also lost a couple.

Pam West died earlier this year after a long illness, and George Russell suddenly, just a few months ago. Both had been very long-serving Vols, having started supporting the Centre even before it was built. George was committed to working once a week in the Discovery Centre, greeting visitors in his quiet, unassuming way.

His knowledge of seabirds was extensive, and he particularly enjoyed talking about the peregrine falcons. He and Pam will be sadly missed, but will remain in our memories forever.

The Volunteers do work very hard, but are rewarded by a great deal of enjoyment and friendship. It is a pleasure for me to work with such a committed group of people – please think about joining us.

Just prior to going to print, we learnt of the passing of Sandy’s mum, Irene Brown. Irene was one of the first Volunteers at the Centre and we will always remember her.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Join us:

The Volunteers do work very hard, but are rewarded by a great deal of enjoyment and friendship.

28 Boats Would you like to write an entry for the Forth Ferry blog? Get in touch: marketing@seabird.org

To give visitors a real feel for what they could get up to on their Forth Ferry adventure, we launched a blog where passengers could give some insight into what they got up to on their day out. Here is an entry written by Vivien Crummey.

Check out forthferry.wordpress.com T he Crummeys (and friends) from East Lothian We know the East Neuk of Fife well and really wanted our friends from Wales to see it too.

So having the chance to take the 45 minute crossing was not to be missed.

We had a smooth and speedy ride home at 17:00, the highlight of which was looking out and seeing the occasional fin which really made the girls’ day!

This was one of the best days out we have had as a family and it’s amazing how much you can pack into one day. Travelling by boat was infinitely more relaxing than driving and we would all love to repeat the experience again soon – there is so much to see and do in this part of the world and the trip was one we will all remember for a long time.

We left North Berwick at 09:00 – my daughter had a friend from school with her and the two of them had a great time being splashed by the spray and seeing baby puffins. As soon as we arrived we headed straight for Coast Coffee. The girls had fantastic hot chocolates and the adults enjoyed a welcome cup of delicious coffee. After our early start we all felt restored and ready for our exciting day ahead.

We wanted to show our friends as much of the East Neuk as possible in the day we had together. After a potter around Anstruther, with its famous fish and chip shop and amazing Scottish Fisheries Museum, we headed to Elie where the girls had the time of their lives doing watersports at Elie harbour – they would happily have spent the whole day there but were tempted by a warming drink at the Ship Inn which also does fantastic food.

Next stop was lunch and for that we headed to The Smokehouse in St Monans. This is a real find – it serves fantastic seafood in a very informal setting. Smoked mackerel, langoustines and fishcakes are the order of the day washed down with a delicious glass of crisp dry, white wine. The chips are pretty good too!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

New horizons:

Forth Ferry blog

30 Staff and Centre news We have welcomed some new members to the Seabird team!

Fresh faces:

Charlotte Bray, Fundraising Manager Charlotte’s career in the charity sector includes working and volunteering in this country and overseas. The most unusual of these was her time in a rainforest bat rescue centre in Australia.

Heather Blair, Finance Manager Heather joined us in April 2016. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1995 and spent the next 9 years working in private practice carrying out audit and business advisory work for a range of clients and charities big and small.

Heather has spent the last 15 years working as a Finance Director in the retail industry.

We welcome our new arrivals. Keep an eye out at www.seabird.org for vacancies.

Over the past decade she has raised money for a number of capital (building) projects for Edinburgh Zoo, a charity for adults with disabilities and a large city church.

For this reason she is particularly inspired by the challenge of raising the match funding needed to make the National Marine Centre project a success.

In addition to being a good match for her skills and experience, Charlotte’s main reason for taking the role was her love of wildlife and marine conservation: she has been involved with seal surveys and SOS Puffin.

Charlotte lives in Portobello, so is enjoying the commute from seaside to seaside! Charlotte says: “When I am not working or volunteering, I enjoy a number of other hobbies including creative writing, exploring new places and playing in a band. I look forward to meeting you over the coming months and thanks to everyone who has made me welcome so far.”

A resident of North Berwick, Heather can often be found running along the East Lothian coast.

Rosamunde Attwood, Finance Assistant Rosamunde joined the finance team in August 2016 having recently relocated to North Berwick.

She brings with her many years of experience working in finance roles in varying fields of industry and is looking forward to being able to support the Centre’s work in nature conservation.

Dora Roden, Project Officer, National Marine Centre Having enjoyed membership of the Seabird Centre for many years, Dora was delighted to join the staff team in February 2016. In her role as Project Officer on the National Marine Project, she will be able to draw upon her experience on a wide-range of projects at both British Airways and Standard Life.

Charlotte:

I look forward to meeting you over the coming months and thanks to everyone who has made me welcome so far.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

31

Improving services:

IT upgrade!

Like most businesses and charities, at the Scottish Seabird Centre we rely heavily upon IT in order to be able to deliver our services.

Our IT systems provide essential support across all our daily activities.

In recent years it has become increasingly obvious that substantial change was needed to the existing systems, which have been in place since before our launch in 2000. Both hardware and software, which had performed excellent work over the last 16 years, were becoming increasingly tired. Failure to upgrade the systems would have resulted, not only in a potential breakdown, but in withdrawal of Microsoft support, leaving us potentially exposed to data security issues, viruses and other significant risks.

We were thrilled to receive a substantial grant from the William Grant Foundation towards the initial projected costs of these hardware and software improvements. Following this generous financial commitment, we sought the technical advice and support to be able to deliver the upgrade work. Both Fujitsu and RBS stepped to the fore, providing in-kind support and advice to help us achieve a robust upgrade which will last well into the future.

All of those who have struggled through with our archaic systems for years were delighted when, in the week beginning 1 August, the new computers finally arrived. Prior to this, our IT support agency, CMYK, had been focusing on essential improvements to our server and security.

We now have a new server, new computers, a fully integrated and secure system and enhanced security. We are confident that these improvements have now ‘future-proofed’ the work of the Centre, especially as we look forward to the National Marine Centre developments.

The entire project has been quite some undertaking. Huge thanks go to the William Grant Foundation, without whose initial grant this would never have got underway, and to RBS and Fujitsu for the additional support needed to make this a success.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

32 Education In 2016, the Seabird Centre launched an exciting new educational experience in partnership with Law Primary School and Illuminate UK.

The Junior Tour Guides featured P6 pupils from North Berwick’s primary school who all had to audition for their starring roles and learn a script which focused on two time periods: the early 20th century and the modern day.

Split into groups, the pupils take visiting schools on a journey exploring four different themes: Edwardian ladies, bird watchers, fisherfolk and lighthouse keepers. With these key topics they are able to highlight the difference in attitudes towards marine life and conservation, and show how our relationship with the sea has changed in regards to tourism, fishing and other sea-based industries.

Andrew Grieveson, Education Officer, said: “The Junior Tour Guide scheme is intended to provide children with a deeper understanding of marine life and the effects we have upon it.

It allows them a new perspective of the Seabird Centre, delivered by their peers. Child-led learning is a great way for all children to become engaged in education in a stimulating and fun way!”

Poppy Wilson, from Law Primary School, who is one of the Edwardian ladies, said: “I’ve really enjoyed the Junior Tour Guides because it has made me a lot more confident and helped me to learn a lot about North Berwick’s history. I was new at Law Primary this year and it has helped me to get to know more people at my school too. It’s been an amazing experience.”

Karen McKenzie, Director of Illuminate UK, said: “Together we created a promenade production which delighted young visitors.

The children involved are true ambassadors for their local area - they absorbed the story of North Berwick and its environment, learned storytelling and tour guide techniques to bring it to life for visitors and delivered their performances with confidence and flair.”

The Junior Tour Guide scheme has been possible thanks to funding from the Stella Moffat Trust; Horace and Helen Gilman and the People’s Postcode Trust.

K aren McKenzie, Director of Illuminate UK:

Together we created a promenade production which delighted young visitors... the children involved delivered their performances with confidence and flair.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Education at the Centre:

Junior Tour Guides

Packed Friday afternoons:

Our Wildlife Club update

35 Wildlife Club Kirsty Shand helps every week with North Berwick Wildlife Watch and also supports the office team with marketing and admin.

North Berwick Wildlife Watch have once again managed to pack a whole range of different wildlife into their Friday afternoon sessions and have learned about the importance of respecting the environment and all the creatures who live there. Here’s a small selection of what we’ve been up to.

We learned about red squirrels and the dangers facing them, as well as how to report any sightings of both red and grey squirrels in order to help organisations such as the Scottish Wildlife Trust protect the dwindling red squirrel population.

We helped the Great Nurdle Hunt in its very important work by collecting 361 nurdles from the beaches. Nurdles are small plastic pellets used to make nearly all plastic products. They are often blown into the sea and then washed up on beaches all around the world and are harmful to marine creatures.

Bravery and a steady hand were required when Education Officer, Andrew, brought his pet tarantula, millipede, hissing cockroaches and stick insects in for us to hold one day.

The children courageously stepped up to the challenge and put some of the Volunteers (including myself) to shame!

Following a few days of rain, we spent the afternoon pond dipping at the Whisky Bottle at the base of North Berwick Law. This resulted in some highly amusing scenes of children becoming completely stuck and being pulled out of the mud but leaving their wellies behind!

Our Senior Branch became film stars when they made two short educational films with award-winning photographer Barrie Williams – ‘How to go rockpooling safely’ (which will be shown in schools throughout the country) and ‘What to do if you find a puffling’.

Pufflings (baby puffins) can become disorientated by the bright lights of North Berwick and end up lost on the mainland and hiding under objects such as cars. Our video helped the residents of North Berwick safely bring a number of pufflings to the Seabird Centre, who then released them back out to sea.

If you’d like to find out more about the Wildlife Club, please email education@seabird.org

Respectful:

We created a video which shows how to rockpool in a safe way. Check it out on the Seabird YouTube channel.

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

36 Wildlife update Every year we launch our puffling awareness campaign and this year we met two fantastic young pufflings who were safely released back out to sea.

Alexander Turnbull, Discovery Centre Manager:

Puffins and their pufflings leave their burrows on the islands of Craigleith, Fidra and the Isle of May National Nature Reserve and head out to sea until spring.

This year to help raise awareness of this, the North Berwick Wildlife Watch have created a video with award-winning photographer Barrie Williams. The video is a step-by-step guide about what do to if someone sees a puffling and wishes to help with its rescue. The video can be seen on the Centre’s website, YouTube channel and also in the Centre. It features Tammie Junior, a knitted puffling created by Seabird supporter, Hilary Smith. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=tKZCQJ4lz2k

The puffling itself was fine though a little confused and scared.

However, after leaving their burrows on the island of Craigleith, just offshore from North Berwick, some pufflings become disorientated by lights from the mainland. Their first ever flight may see them flying into town and seeking somewhere dark to hide from predators often underneath cars and under plants in gardens.

The Seabird Centre was involved with its first rescue of the season on 28 July at 17:30 when a puffling was found under an ice cream van.

Thanks to Seabird Member, Mike Thornton, the puffling was safely caught and taken into the Centre, where Discovery Centre Manager, Alexander Turnbull, was able to assist.

Mike Thornton said: “I have some experience of catching puffins after working on the Farne Islands, where they would often get trapped in the walled garden and would occasionally come into the warden’s house! I had the opportunity to name the puffling and have chosen the name ‘Mr Whippy’ as he was found under the ice cream van!”

Alexander Turnbull, Discovery Centre Manager, said: “The puffling itself was fine though a little confused and scared. I waited until sunset before releasing it by the old pier just as high tide was spilling over onto the surface. It flew out of my hands and gently landed on the water a metre away from the pier, before diving a few times. It then started to paddle itself out towards the Lamb, looking quite happy and calm.”

The second rescue was just a few days later when ‘Shackleton’ was found at the Lobster Shack by Cammy Hunter.

SOS Puffin update!

SOS Puffin was set up as a volunteer conservation project by the Scottish Seabird Centre in 2007 to control the giant tree mallow on the islands near North Berwick.

This invasive plant had spread to cover almost all of Craigleith and the large puffin colony there had crashed while tree mallow was threatening puffins on Fidra and the Lamb as well.

To date over 1,000 volunteers have been out on 250 work parties and all this hard work has been successful in bringing tree mallow under control so that puffins and other seabirds have been able to nest freely for the last seven years.

Numbers of nesting puffins have increased again but the large amount of tree mallow seed in the soil means that each year seedlings regenerate and have to be cut if they are not to take over the islands again. Encouragingly, less tree mallow is returning each year but it is likely to be some years before our wonderful volunteers can relax.

Work parties have resumed this autumn after the end of the breeding season and anyone wishing to help should contact John Hunt on johnf_hunt@yahoo.co.uk

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Our small feathered friends:

Looking after the little ones

38 Feature As promised in the last edition, here are the winners, as selected by the public, for the 10th Nature Photography Awards.

The public decided:

Nature Photography Awards

Winners selected by the public: 01

Creative Visions of Nature: Jamie Mina, Kingfisher 02

Environmental Impact: Charlie Davidson, Gannet 03

Worldwide Wildlife: Christopher McLeod, Hide ‘n’ Seek 04

Nature’s Foragers: Bob Humphreys, Kingfisher with Fish

01

05

World Flora: Alan Edwards, Fungi in the Frost 06

Junior: 12 to 16: Jocelyn King, Parenthood

Well done to all our winners.

02

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

03

04

05

06

42 What’s on Shiver me timbers! Pirate Weekend is back at the Seabird Centre bigger and better than ever before, on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October.

Pirate Weekend:

Pirate Weekend Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October Opening hours

There will be activities throughout each day from 11:00 to 16:00 including arts and crafts, pirate treasure hunt, face painting, smoking cannons and exploding treasure chests, plus there will be prizes for the best dressed pirates!

Inspired by the link between Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and the nearby island of Fidra, Pirate Weekend is a swashbuckling fun weekend celebrating the high seas and is one of the highlights of the Centre’s events calendar.

For those that can’t join us on the day, we will be encouraging everyone to dress up at home, to help us celebrate from afar!

Share your pics on Facebook.com/ScottishSeabirdCentre, Twitter @SeabirdCentre or Instagram @seabirdcentre and we will send you a little pirate treat to say thanks for joining in the fun. Just add in the hashtag #SeabirdPirates! Or email us with your photos and we can pop them up for you: info@seabird.org

Looking ship shape

Included with admission to the Discovery Centre and FREE for Seabird Members.

For further information visit www.seabird.org

All aboard:

Ahoy, me Hearties... shiver me timbers!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

44 Kids We would love to hear from younger readers about what you would like to see in our Members’ Magazine – get in touch! marketing@seabird.org

Seabird scramble!

Below are the names of five Scottish seabirds all scrambled up! Unscramble each of the clue words and write them in the boxes next to them. Copy the letters in the numbered cells to other cells with the same number to reveal the name of a sixth seabird.

FIFUNP

1

MOLTIULEG

2

4

ROLABZLRI

3

NAEGTN

5

NERT Mystery seabird:

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

Dot-to-Dot!

Join the dots to reveal a hidden sea creature.

Clues: I am a summer visitor to Scottish seas.

I eat tiny creatures like krill and plankton.

I can live for 50 years!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Make your own: Seven easy steps to creating a really cute seal. Choose different colour socks and create a colony just like real life.

Plush seal

By Sarah Olsen

Materials: Scissors Black card Three small rubber bands Googly eyes A sock Rice

Step 1 Fill your sock with rice.

You may want to ask a friend or grown-up to help you hold the sock open while you pour the rice in.

Step 4 Step 5 Pinch the sides of your Make sure you have seal to make flippers. It two flippers! helps to twist the base of your flipper while you put the rubber band on.

Step 2 If you want a shorter tail, cut a bit off the end. Don’t cut it too short, you still need a tail!

Step 3 Tie a rubber band around the end of the sock to make a tail.

Step 6 Stick on some googly eyes!

Step 7 Cut out a mouth and nose from your black card and glue them on.

Create a cute little face for your seal and you’re done!

Scottish Seabird Centre magazine

Party time!

Stand out from the crowd with a party that will inspire!

From £15 per child

www.seabird.org 01620 890202

Image © Sean Bell / Scottish Charity no SC025837

OPEN ALL YEAR DISCOVERY CENTRE · BOAT TRIPS · CAFÉ · GIFT SHOP

Control the cameras and zoom in on the super-cute seals.

Seal season from October. www.seabird.org 01620 890202 The Harbour, North Berwick EH39 4SS Image © Maggie Sheddan / Scottish Charity no SC025837

OPEN ALL YEAR DISCOVERY CENTRE · BOAT TRIPS · CAFÉ · GIFT SHOP

Perfect Holidays and Holiday Home Ownership Lodges with Hot Tubs Caravans • Camping Cabins For Families • For Golfers For Walkers or just for getting away...

Grange Road, North Berwick EH39 5JA 01620 893 790 • 07779 167 253 carlene@gilslandpark.co.uk • www.gilslandpark.co.uk