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PAIRING UP
 Seabirds are loyal and providing they breed successfully, most remain with
their partner for life. Many also return to nest at the same site or burrow
every year. Some have elaborate courtship displays. Male terns, for example,
bring fish to their mates early in the breeding season.By presenting big fish the male tries to impress the female as if saying -
if I can catch fish this big then I will be good at finding food to bring up
chicks.
INCUBATION
 Most seabirds lay between one and three eggs although cormorants and shags
can lay as many as five. Sexual equality is very much the norm in seabird
society with both males and females sharing incubation and chick rearing
duties. Fulmar shifts may last several days, while adult terns and auks may
change over several tunes a day.
REARING THE FAMILY
 The time chicks spend at the colony depends on the species. Guillemots and
razorbills may stay for less than three weeks, gannets for up to 12 weeks.
Storm petrels are perhaps the most remarkable as, despite their tiny size
they take over 60 days to fledge! Skuas and terns go to great lengths to
protect their families - as anyone who has walked across a Shetland moorland
in June will testify. Skuas dive-bomb intruders from high, occasionally
striking with their feet. Arctic terns dive and strike with their bills - it
would be unwise to stray too close to a tern colony.
 Most seabird chicks are
left to fledge independently, and their first few days can be a real trial.
Gannets are often too fat to fly and merely glide down to the water to sit
for a few days until they lose weight. Puffins may take a wrong turning and
end up inland, while in August fledged fulmars can appear in all sorts of
odd places if they fly inland rather than out to sea. Once grounded it is a
real job to get airborne again, but before playing the good Samaritan,
remember fulmars spit out a foul-smelling oil when approached.
FROM CHILD TO PARENT
 The early years of a seabird's life are all about survival and learning.
Most species do not breed until they are a few years old. Seabirds have
plenty of years to breed as they are long-lived species. Average age
expectancy for a tern is seven, for a puffin 24 or 25, while fulmars may
reach 40. |
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