More on Fulmars

I have received the following info from Greg Morgan (RSPB warden) on Ramsey Island which he has asked me to 'post' re movements of Fulmars in relation to time at the ledges.

"My experience of observing fulmar behaviour on Ramsey over the past 3 winters is as follows:
Following an absence from the ledges from around mid September to early November for post breeding moult, they are generally present on the ledges throughout the winter. These spells are, however, punctuated by periods of absence for up to 2 weeks at times (e.g 1-15 Dec 07 they were completely absent but present for the remainder of the month). On average over the past 3 years, the periods of January to March has seen them present for c. 22 days of each month. Periods of very rough weather will usually account for their absence but so will periods of prolonged calm. Established high pressure systems often see them disappear, such as we had in mid Feb of this year. Although Lyndon recorded them in good numbers at the start of this period, they soon disappeared for around a week once the good spell became prolonged and only returned a few days ago once the weather broke.

Interestingly, we have been recording some as staying on the ledges all night at the colony outside the farmhouse recently. According to BWP this is something they only do once they have eggs or chicks, spending the night at sea during winter."