With the easing of Covid restrictions, wardens are back on the Calf of Man.

Following the coronavirus lockdown, wardens Aron Sapsford and Robert Fisher had to be evacuated from the Calf on March 26, just as their new season was beginning.

Day trips to the 616 acres Manx National Heritage-owned nature reserve are now also possible again.

Visits are governed by a combination of tides, weather and the general availability of boat operators who sail from Port Erin and Port St Mary, with day visits booked directly with the boat operators.

The Bird Observatory, however, is not currently open to overnight guests as it is pending building repairs.

With vegetation still tinder dry, visitors must strictly observe the ban of the use of barbecues and stoves.

The Calf is one of 19 bird observatories in Britain and Ireland and has records of all birds ring there since it was set up in 1959.

Its temporary closure has allowed Aron and a team of dedicated volunteers to get on with the task of transferring the paper-based records into digital format.

At the same time, they have created a full digital record of the locations of birds ringed on the Calf and subsequently recovered or re-trapped elsewhere and conversely, where birds captured on the Calf have originated.

With this large body of data now available in a much more accessible form, it will help future research into changing migratory bird trends.

Following their return, the wardens tweeted: ’It’s great to be back on the Calf and catching up with some of the locally-bred wheatears.’

The next day they ringed a rare red-breasted flycatcher.

Information on planning a visit to the island nature reserve is available on www.manxnationalheritage.im.