Rathlin Stickybeak

Two nature nerds on Rathlin Island. Authors of the annual Rathlin Bird Report and avid recorders of the island's biodiversity - well over 2,100 species so far!

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

✨ Rathlin Bird Report 2025 ✨
Our 8th annual report, as usual jam-packed with everything you wanted to know about the island's birds in 2025... and no doubt lots more that you never realised you wanted to know! Read it here - https://t.co/WWBWvb29mm

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@PatHogarth That is so interesting to see, thanks Pat 😃👍 Amazing how carefully it ate every bit, especially eating the shell as well. We often see Ravens eating seabird and goose eggs but they leave the shells, presumably because it's a lot thicker.

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@CRCuthbert Wonderful to see it so well! Thanks for the great views 😃👍

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@cassidy_rachel Amazing to capture that, very well done 😃👍

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Arrived home yesterday afternoon to see this going on right outside! A large male Grey Seal feasting on a Lesser Spotted Dogfish, close enough to hear each chomp 🫣

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@dunbar44 Ouch! Commiserations, that's painful.

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@AntrimLens That is so fascinating, I would love to see that

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@donnarainey4 What a riot of colour! Lovely to see

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Common Butterwort appearing in many places around Rathlin this week - this one glistening with droplets on a misty morning #WildflowerHour

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@bigmeadowsearch Brilliant 😆👍

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

It's also been a great season for Bluebells on Rathlin - this field in particular has been a sight to behold. A white example stood out from the crowd, while a resting Four-spotted Chaser was doing its best to blend in #WildflowerHour

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Heath Spotted-orchids are really looking fantastic on Rathlin right now - every year we say it's the best we've ever seen, but this time that might be true! A bonus to find a Hen Harrier tail feather among them #WildflowerHour #OrchidChallenge

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Another highlight on Rathlin this weekend has been the amazing frenzy of Kittiwake nest-building. Always one of our favourite parts of the seabird season - it's just so mesmerising to watch them all swarming around the cliffs #SuperSeabirdSunday

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Saw our first fluffy little Eider ducklings appearing yesterday - their enthusiastic ducking and diving was really a joy to watch in the rain #SuperSeabirdSunday

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Rumours were flying this week of a very special creature appearing at the west end of the island... went out tonight hoping to see it, and there it was! Rathlin's world famous Golden Hare, staring back at us with its beautiful blue eyes 🤩

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@AntrimLens @donnarainey4 Very impressive. Can't wait to see what happens!

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@barrabirder Ooof, hope the swallow appears again for you! Then ideally heads straight over to us 😆

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@AntrimLens Wow that is amazing, didn't know they formed stacks like that

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@RhysJon12067059 It was nice to catch sight of them at the right time - we always hear the Blackcaps so much more than we see them.

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

Barely seven weeks since Blackcaps returned to Rathlin and the next generation is already here! Saw our first fledgling this morning, being fed by mum in a spot where we've seen a pair nesting every year

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@ViciousCheese We saw you have recorded it in a few places already... trailing in your wake as usual 😆

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

We'd been hoping to find the eggs of Parasyrphus nigritarsis on Rathlin this year - and here they are! This sneaky hoverfly lays its eggs among those of the Green Dock Beetle, and the larvae will prey on them when they hatch

[Rathlin Stickybeak @_Stickybeak]

@SteelySeabirder How bizarre! What an adventurous character 😄