The first of the guillemot eggs at Durlston Country Park has hatched and the chick has been captured on film by the remote controlled cliff camera.
The fluffy chick is seen being preened by its parent as it snuggles in, waiting to be fed. The first egg was expected to hatch last Friday and the rangers have been keeping an eye on the camera all weekend, waiting for the first chick to make an appearance. Excitingly, the first one was spotted yesterday by the rangers at Durlston Country Park.
The guillemot chick can just be spotted with its beak open, in the middle of the picture under the large rock
The guillemot colony at Durlston is the second largest on the south coast with around 400 birds, of which about 200 are visible via the cliff camera. They started arriving in March to breed and many are still incubating an egg, some of which are bright blue.
Many more over the next few days
Senior ranger at Durlston Country Park, Katie Black who has been watching their progress said:
“Good news – we have an update – a chick has hatched and hopefully there will be many more over the next few days.”
Once a chick is three weeks old, it will dramatically jump from the ledges, plunging into the sea with its father, who will care for it in the water until it’s independent. All these developments will continue to be captured on camera over the coming weeks by the ranger team.
Watch the film
The film from the Durlston Country Park remote controlled cliff camera shows the chick in the centre of the film, just by the large rock. At first the chick is hard to spot but at about 1:25 minutes in to the video, the chick can be seen more clearly as it starts to stretch and look about.
