This video says about itself:
See the Mysterious Medieval Porpoise Bones Found by Archaeologists | National Geographic
25 September 2017
Medieval monks on Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, appear to have interred a porpoise skull on the grounds of their retreat.
Wildlife Extra writes about this video:
Pufflings; rare footage captured in Alderney
Living Islands live: a Puffin Season on Burhou
July 2013. After five years of trying, real-life, live footage of the actual fledgling walk of a Puffling has been captured for the first time and shared with the world to see by Alderney Wildlife Trust (AWT).
Notoriously shy
Pufflings are notoriously shy, and footage which captures the first long waddle out to sea by a fledgling chick is extremely rare. The team behind the unique LIVE broadcast continual live footage of the Puffins of Burhou, a small island one mile north-west of Alderney, has confirmed it is definitely the first time footage has been captured in the region.The magic moment as one of the Pufflings from the colony, the largest in the Channel Islands and British Channel, makes its hesitant journey to float off on the tide into open water and into its first flight.
Recent pollutant disaster
AWT Manager Roland Gauvain said: “After 5 years of trying we have finally captured an event on camera which few people can ever hope to see in real life. The nocturnal march of a Puffling is special moment, brought into stark focus after the recent disaster of seeing an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 seabirds killed by the pollutant PIB just a 60miles from this colony.”See the LIVE Puffincam here.
The Pufflings were known to have started hatching on the May 26, when keen LIVE watchers alerted the team as the first Puffin returned to its burrow, carrying fish for its newly emerged chick.
After six weeks of dedication from their parents the Pufflings have now grown large enough to be taking steps towards fledging.
Cameras on Burhou will continue to follow the remaining adult Puffins and also switch to filming the Channel Islands only breeding colony of the incredibly secretive and nocturnal Storm Petrel at night.
If further sponsorship can be found the team will also carry out a trial to setup a new ‘GannetCam’ on one of Alderney’s two Northern Gannetries which are home to more than 2.5 per cent of the world’s population of this spectacular seabird.
Britain’s puffins at risk due to climate change: here.
This video is called Gannets at Bempton Cliffs. It also shows some guillemots and kittiwakes.
From the RSPB in Britain:
Shining a light on gannet numbers at RSPB Bempton Cliffs
Last modified: 16 October 2012
Gannet numbers at RSPB Bempton Cliffs have soared in the last three years.
Research this summer has revealed that since 2009, there has been a remarkable rise of 40% in the number of birds breeding on the sheer chalk cliffs at the nature reserve between Bridlington and Filey, which is the UK’s largest mainland breeding gannet colony.
Previous surveys by RSPB staff and volunteers have shown a year-on-year growth since records began in 1969, when there were only 22 pairs at Bempton Cliffs.
But this year’s figures reveal there are now 11,061 breeding pairs, a leap of 3,202 pairs since the last survey in 2009.
The researchers also counted 798 non-breeding birds, which, when they are old enough to find mates, will add to the numbers which turn the cliffs into an amazing wildlife spectacle throughout spring and summer.
Assistant Warden David Aitken, who led the boat-based survey that recorded the figures, is thrilled that these spectacular birds are going from strength to strength.
“Gannets and some other seabirds can fly huge distances – sometimes as far as 600km round trips – in their search for food,” he said.
“This is one of the reasons why vital offshore Marine Protected Areas are needed to safeguard not just seabirds but also other sealife and the important areas where they feed.
“The RSPB’s fight to ensure adequate protection for our marine environment is hugely important. While gannets are on the increase at Bempton Cliffs, the fortunes of seabirds across the UK are mixed, with some suffering dramatic declines,” he added.
Gannets are only found breeding on the cliffs at Bempton, and not at nearby Flamborough or Filey, because the type of ledges and shelves on this part of the cliff face are just right for building safe, secure nests.”
In July, researchers discovered a bird on the nature reserve which had come all the way from Jersey.
“We have had birds from Bass Rock in Scotland before but never, to our knowledge, one from so far south,” said Dave. “As we learn more and more about Bempton’s amazing seabirds, we build up a more detailed picture of the actions that need to be taken to ensure a brighter future for our marine wildlife.”
The growing number of gannets in the colony is bringing an added bonus for photographers. This year, birds have gathered in ever-bigger numbers almost next to the cliff-top path and close to specially-built viewing platforms.
How you can help
The seas around the UK’s coasts are increasingly overfished, over-trafficked and over-developed, but crucially under-protected. Your support today will help safeguard our sea life.
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered that proposed offshore renewable energy developments in the English Channel have the potential to affect the foraging behaviour of northern gannets from Alderney in the Channel Islands. Read more here.
