Tuesday 16th April comments: On Sunday there was a very special welcome arrival to Anstruther, Fife as the town got its new £2.5 million state-of-the-art Shannon class lifeboat. The new all-weather water jet-powered Shannon replaces the older Mersey-class boat which is stepping down from service after three decades. As part of the celebration, hundreds of people lined the harbour to welcome the new arrival with water jets and a party atmosphere. However out here on the Isle of May we were privileged to see the meeting of other lifeboats from Dunbar, Broughty Ferry, Eyemouth and more a ..read more

Tuesday 9th April comments: It’s been a weird and wonderful start to the new season with regards to the weather (in other words its been awful!) and yesterday we had even more fun, as we had to entertain a super high tide. As the moon cycle is full, it results in ‘spring tides’ which brings extra volumes of water. The high tide at the island is usually between 4.8m – 5.2m in height but yesterday the tide peaked at 5.7m (which is a lot of extra water). As a result the visitor boats were moored against the high tide jetty but no one could access them due to the sea (as you can see in the p ..read more

Friday 5th April comments: It’s been a busy period over the last month as we have gone about setting up the island ready for human and avian visitors alike. However it hasn’t come without its challenges as the weather is such a make-or-break factor to work on an island. You can have contractors booked in, equipment purchased and all ready to go and then on the big day, the weather prevents boats from sailing and that is the job called off. Over the last month we’ve had numerous jobs cancelled, booked and cancelled again as the yo-yo effect of attempting to get people to the island ..read more

Hawfinch – the 11th in seven years on the island, ringed and leaving its mark on the ringer! Robin (left) and Fieldfare (right) both migrants to the island Chiffchaff (left) and Brambling (right) Tuesday 2nd April Comments: The season has started in so many ways as we’ve had an early Easter, a traditional April Fools joke, we are now open to visitors, the Puffins are back and we’ve even had bad weather (we almost expect this now!) However we’ve also had migrant birds as it’s that time of year… spring passage! The most noticeable highlights included a Hawfinch which was caught and r ..read more

You all guess it… it was an April Fools (again). We are glad to report that gold was never found and our reserve manager is very much staying for another season! We hope you enjoyed the fun. Now back to the serious stuff ..read more

Monday 1st April comments: We’ve been a bit quiet over the last few days (and for good reason) as we’ve made the sensational discovery of GOLD COINS on the Isle of May. The discovery was made at the weekend as staff were digging burrows for newly paired Puffins which had just returned to the island. Reserve manager David Steel said on the discovery “every year we get new Puffins arriving on the island and find themselves without an underground burrow, so we have to dig new burrows for these birds. As part of this digging, I hit a metal object and realised the hole was full of gold!” The d ..read more

Thursday 28th March comments: The weather has been relentless and the build up to the new season has been disrupted, but we are slowly and surely getting there. However before we bring you the news updates from the island, we thought we would get you in the mood for the Isle of May with some recent media releases. The local newspaper to Fife, The Courier, has published an online piece with our reserve manager David Steel about life on the island. Check out the link to read the story and see some great pictures of life on an island. Link: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/business-environ ..read more

Wednesday 20th March comments: THE PUFFINS HAVE LANDED! Major news today from the Isle of May as we welcomed back our Puffins on land for the first time since last August. The birds have been overwintering in the North Sea (yes just sitting on the sea) since last August and today was the day that they touched land for the first time this year. On Monday we reported a handful of birds off the island and yesterday over 20,000 had amassed off the east side. However today they took their moment and despite the wind and rain, touched land. Across the island several thousands landed. This is ..read more

Monday 18th March comments: We’re back on the Isle of May with various contractors, preparing the island for the start of the new season. Today has been a good day as we’ve had no rain and the weather has been very spring like! As a result we noticed a surge of migrant bird activity as birds have been arriving and departing. At this time of year we welcome the sight of spring as the lighter nights are here and today we welcomed our first Chiffchaffs – 9 in total – spread across the island as they arrive into the country for a new breeding season. Small number of Meadow Pipits and S ..read more

Thursday 14th March comments: Oh the excitement of a new season and the return of Puffins to Isle of May waters. Time is moving along quickly and little under three weeks time the Isle of May will be opening its doors to the public. As the season slowly advances, we had the welcome sight of a handful of summer-plumage Puffins on the sea off the west side of the island on Tuesday. It is still very early days but these birds are the first Puffins back into Isle of May waters this spring and it appears that birds have been arriving at other North Sea colonies as well. Over the next few weeks ..read more