A LEAP OF FAITH AND FEATHERS
If you join a trip during this time of year, chances are you’ll encounter common guillemots (or murres) floating on the water. At first glance, they look like any birds just hanging out—but there’s more to unpack here!
Guillemots on the water
Guillemots breed on high cliffs with narrow edges. Only three weeks after hatching, and before they can fully fly, the chicks have to jump from the edge and make it out into open water. Their fathers are fully responsible for their parental care and will call to them from the water.
After a hazardous, clumsy jump, the chicks spend two months on the water with their dads. They learn how to dive for food, while their father feeds them and looks after them. This way, they can be fed more than if the father were flying back and forth to the nest.
The juvenile with the father
Hence, the chicks we see in the bay are all young guillemots with their fathers! You can recognise the chicks by looking at their cheeks: they have lighter colouring, while their fathers’ cheeks are completely black.
Guide- Louisa Mooij