Where are the Rum How many shearwaters

n Àirigh ur Loch B n visit Rum? ir Bhài Iain shearwaters? Thalabhairt e là s ro h Loch im B r ' P a

nan t Core breeding grounds A l nn Locha m l Around a third of the Eala ain a A A daytime visitor to the high hills of the bh n he B A C làr Fringe breeding grounds Bà Rubha na Roinne G n Visible path to Shearwaters h l e n Rum Cuillin will quickly notice the vivid entire world population K i n l o c Evolved path of these splendid seabirds Other paths Rubha nam Feannag green, rich grasslands, pock-marked with Màm Track Bealach Kinloch Castle Tuath
MhicNèill Kinloch Loch Scresort huge numbers of underground burrows. make their home on the 308m The entrance to a Lochan Dubh Pier These may appear to be large rabbit Rum Cuillin every summer. There Loch Duncan a' Mhàim

shearwater nest burrow RESERVE

t l

r

Màm o

are so many birds (around 100,000 OFFICE i

b

warrens, but there are no rabbits on Rum. a

a

Loch g

a

Loch n

S

o

Gainmhich - Shielings a

Na Prìomh Bealach t

n R pairs) that their droppings have a The architects of the burrows will become Lochan MhicNèill t Rubha Port nan Carannan h l c l Long i h l Meall c

i A Lochan a' a

Loch o l h

Breac C Mhonaidh c C

i t

fertilised the hills and produced rich ' l

r apparent if you stay on l 380m a

h
an A B Am Mullach Àrd ug ll l i t S the Cuillin until well grasslands (‘shearwater greens’). h ll M Dam A ' a

t l l Coire a h-U A n a after dark. This is when Loch an Allt Mòr m Dornabac Dubh h Barkeval Cnapan a An Uamh l
Breaca Shearwaters are expertly 586m h a strange and eerie
c h la b 420m a a e c r noises come from the kitted out for life at sea but B a Shearwater B Cave's Bay research hut Shielings burrows and hundreds they are wide open to Bare Fearann Làimhrig Corrie ha am Làimhrig -U h i n n a ' a of black and white attack on land. These a G n h h Hallival
b t l l i l A n n 722m Rich green ‘shearwater e A Loch Coire shapes whoosh low specialised seabirds Atlantic nan Grunnd greens’ result from Corrie therefore only dare to Coire nan shearwater droppings! overhead. You should Grunnd remain seated or else be above ground at the Bealach Askival
Trollaval an Òir 812m these shapes may strike colony on dark nights.
Lochan 700m Dubh Welshman's Rock you with a thump. As you sit, all around you black Beala Bealach an Allt ch a n F Loch huarain Fhuarain Coire nan Stac A llt and white birds sit and call or disappear down tunnels Fiachanais nam Get close to shearwaters Bà Ainshval
with an ungainly shuffle – these are the ‘Manxies’! on a night-time visit to the Sandy 781m Ruinsival Corrie colony
G 528m Le l a e D Beinn nan Stac Sgeir a' Mhàim Àird c n a i N ' b 547m
C Sgùrr nan D i ha d i i i s Goibhrean b l te i
i R l 754m d WE i i v The best way to reach the l e Nameless r Corrie colony is to start on the Coire Sgùrr nan
Stac nam Faoileann 0 1 mile Gillean Dubh path and head towards 764m Cnoc nan Cuilean Dibidil the north east face of 0 1kilometre Hallival. Please seek advice Sgor Nèill Mhòir from the Reserve Office.

Visiting the colony The noise, smell and activity as tens of thousands of Manx shearwaters make their night-time return to the high Cuillin is an amazing seabird experience. However, you should note that the colony is remote, high on the mountain, and will involve crossing difficult, The ancient volcanic rocks of wet and uneven ground in darkness. Please seek advice the Rum Cuillin are ideal for digging nest burrows from a member of staff at the Reserve Office, or look on the notice boards to see when a staff-led trip is planned.

Scottish Natural Heritage is a government body responsible to Scottish Executive Ministers, and through them to the Scottish parliament.

Our mission statement: Working with Scotland’s people to care for our natural heritage.

Our aim: Scotland’s natural heritage is a local, national and global asset. We promote its care and improvement, its responsible enjoyment, its greater understanding and appreciation and its sustainable What is a Shearwater? use now and for future generations. Manx shearwaters are true seabirds, roaming over vast stretches of ocean like their close relatives the albatrosses.

As they glide efficiently on stiff, outstretched wings they manage to find food over these huge areas by using their keen sense of smell.

The reason for the name ‘shearwater’ is immediately obvious when you watch them at sea. They almost cut For further information please contact: Manx through the water as they plane low along wave slopes and briefly disappear into the deep troughs. Scottish Natural Heritage Shearwater The Reserve Office They’re known as ‘Manx’ shearwaters because they The White House were first recorded at the Isle of Man. In 1014, a Isle of Rum Viking fleet suffered three nights of massed ‘attack’ as PH43 4RR The Wandering hundreds of shearwaters swarmed back to their colony. The tough, battle-hardened Vikings had to Tel: 01687 462026 Mariner defend themselves with sword and shield against what Fax: 01687 462805 they called ‘iron-billed ravens’. www.snh.org.uk The Shearwater Season On Rum

RETURN TO THE COLONY C HICKS, CHICKS, CHICKS! First flight – The hills are alive! The struggle to freedom just nipping to South America... In March the Rum Cuillin comes alive with After a long period of 50 days in the nest, the chicks the loud calls of returning birds. Vikings slowly chip their way through their eggshell. This has Despite the fact they’re believed that the eerie calls of shearwaters been known to take the tiny chicks up to a week. Even not fed for a few days, were the sounds of hairy, before they hatch, and for the whole 70 days or so the chicks have plenty of ugly trolls. They even before fledging, a constant squeaking call can be reserves to see them on The Rum boat trip is great for named one of the Rum hills heard from the burrows. What does this their maiden flight from watching shearwaters Trollaval – Hill of the Trolls. mean? Feed me! the colony. On one of Despite the fact that these these flights, a young birds have travelled all the Oily, fishy soup – shearwater was found on the coast of Brazil 16 days after being ringed as a chick in a Welsh burrow. It way from the coast of the ultimate high energy diet South America, the was estimated that this young bird travelled 740km a The angel-like print of a As the adults spend so long foraging at sea shearwater landing on snow colony is full of frantic activity. day in its maiden flight! the food has become an oily glob of partly digested fish, crustaceans ...see you in three years Squabbles, romantic reunions and and squid by the time it reaches the The young birds are unlikely to return to the colony for a whole lot of digging chick. This means that, despite the low at least three years, when they visit in August as non- delivery rate of food, the chicks Shearwaters squabble and fight over nesting breeding birds. During this time they learn the manage to pile on weight at a terrific burrows, reunite with long-term mates and essential skills required to successfully breed at the rate. At their heaviest, the chicks weigh a third more set about spring-cleaning the burrows. The colony at age five to six years. This basically means than their parents and look like happy grey blobs! shearwaters are so attached to the place that they sit about calling, with the occasional plunge of their birth that they return year after year to the into a burrow, followed by same part of the colony where they were raised as Big fat chicks and the original puffin A lost young the inevitable squabble. chicks. This was possibly over 50 years ago! Many The scientific name of the Manx shearwater is shearwater is August can be the best time manage to use the same burrow year after year – Puffinus puffinus. The word ‘puffin’ refers to big fat helped out to sea of year to experience the even finding it by digging through thick snow. chicks that were cured for human eating. People colony at its liveliest! would pluck large

Shearwater chicks chicks for EGG AND OLD-TIMERS grow fast! the pot from both ...or maybe later in shearwater and puffin the village Women scoff while men scuffle burrows, so there was Some birds require a helping Despite the adult’s early arrival, the egg is not laid some confusion in the hand as they can become until Mid-May. After mating, the females leave the name. Eventually, the confused on their first flight colony and feed out at name puffin was and fly towards the lights in Ringing a shearwater chick sea. This is because the given to the comical the village. As you can see, egg she produces is a wee bird with the the birds are soon sent on their way but this allows the relative whopper, up to parrot-like bill, opportunity for some visitors to meet Rum’s most 15% of her body weight, although the shearwater kept it as its scientific name. important visitors without climbing the hill! so she needs to stock up fast! The males, however, LEAVING THE COLONY continue to scrap and Manx shearwaters lay only one egg squabble over burrow ownership. The female Left home alone! returns and lays the egg and the pair change over As the chicks approach the end of their 70 days in the duties on the nest every six or seven days. nest burrow their parents leave them. For about 10 days the chicks are not fed and are tempted out of their Why only one egg? Chicks leaving the Only one egg is laid because shearwaters must travel burrows to exercise their colony look very wings. similar to their huge distances in order to find food for their chicks – parents a round trip of 300km is not unusual. The energy demands of such long-distance travel means the adults Beware the killer can only provide for one hungry mouth. deer? This can be a dangerous Safeguarding the Manxies Ancient mariners time for the chicks, as they can Because they breed at such a slow rate, shearwaters be picked off by birds of prey, Rum is a Special Protection Area for its Manx live to be among the oldest-living birds. At present, the such as eagles, if they stay out shearwaters. In order to protect such an important oldest recorded is at least 53 years old. The oldest too late. Uniquely, red deer on colony, SNH staff and volunteers regularly check known from Rum was 26 years old, but it probably Rum have been seen feeding on the colony to ensure that it’s in a healthy state. The just a matter of the bones of shearwater chicks, entire colony is counted every six years to make sure time before to gain highly-sought after it’s not declining – not an easy task! Every year the researchers calcium. Nobody knows Shearwaters are breeding success is monitored by following the discover a real old- whether the deer actually kill important summer food for Rum progress of certain study nests. By following the timer here. chicks. golden eagles fortunes of eggs and chicks we can see whether there are any problems, such as lack of food or brown rats preying on the birds.

This chick is a few days old