Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Page 98

96 YEAR-ROUND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE OF INDIVIDUAL NEST-SITE
ATTENDANCE OF NORTHERN FULMARS IN THE FAROE ISLANDS
Nest-site 2004 2005 2006 2007
1 FA FA F?
M MA M
3 FB nb F? F
M M M
6 F F? nb
MA M
Table 4. Site and mate fidelity of ringed (bold letters) Northern Fulmars at three nest-sites in the study area in the
Faroe Islands. FA = female 4F-0601=ring number; FB = female 4F-0603; F? = female, number on ring not
established; MA = male 4F-0606; nb = no breeding.
in 2004 were re-sighted in subsequent years
(Table 4). Female A bred at nest-site no. 1 in
2004 and 2006 but with different mates; it is
also possible that it was the same female
(ringed but number unidentifed) that in
2007 copulated with a unmarked male at the
same site, though no egg-laying was recor-
ded in that year. At nest-site no. 3 no breed-
ing occurred in 2005 but at least two (possi-
bly three) different females bred at the site
in the other years. Furthermore, at site no. 6
different individuals formed the breeding
pairs in 2004 and 2006, and not only did
male A change nest-site from 2004 to 2006
but also partner.
In 2004 two failed breeders, the male
from nest-site no. 7 (M7) and the female
from no. 2 (F2), were observed in the colony
behaving like a pair; thus having deserted
their respective partners from earlier in the
season. On 15 June at 16.35 hrs M7 and F2
landed at nest-site no. 8, where the incubat-
ing unmarked bird left and M7 began to in-
cubate the egg. At 16.50 hrs he was replaced
by F2 who 5 minutes later was replaced by
an unmarked bird. The two marked birds (i.e.
M7 and F2) then immediately proceeded to
the nearby nest-site no. 5 (which contained
a broken egg) and remained there until the
following afternoon.
Post-breeding departure tofirst arrival
Breeding fulmars leave the colony before the
chicks are fledged and during 2005 and 2006
the dates of departure (i.e. last record of an
adult fulmar at the nest-site) could be es-
tablished in 8 cases. Three pairs that lost
their eggs in June stayed on for several more
weeks while two pairs with chicks left 2-3
days following the loss of their chicks,
whereas the three pairs with fledged chicks
departed 29 August - 4 September (Table 5).
The dates for first landfall later in autumn
and attendance in December were recorded
for 8 nest-sites, for some of them in two
years. In 2005 the first arrivals occurred from
9 to 23 December and in 2006 from 30 No-
vember to 24 December. The length of the
post-breeding absence at five nest-sites
ranged from 105 to 180 days; shortest for
sites that produced fledgelings and longest
for the site where the egg was lost at an early
stage. The attendance in December was 1-6
days in 2005 and 1-10 days in 2006 and the