This series of little videos shows activity at the sooty shearwater colony for the 2020-21 breeding season. Latest videos are at the top.
From March to early May, the chicks are growing in their burrows, then emerging before leaving. The adults taper off in their feeding visits, and the chicks are not fed at all for the last part of their stay.
From mid-January to the end of February, there is still much activity at the colony. It looks like the second good season in a row. Burrowscoping shows a good number of chicks, in good condition. I’m struck by the frequency of visits by the adult birds to the two burrows in frame. Birds were evident on the surface every night, often a pair at the left-hand burrow. They must be feeding locally at the moment:
We start in December-January. Both adults will be visiting the burrow, and at this stage they will be incubating one egg, or perhaps will have an early nestling. We can see some pair bonding, activity at both of the burrows visible in shot, territorial disputes, wing exercising, burrow maintenance, gardening, preening. Some of the clips have picked up the birds’ distinctive calls very well.