When I first put my hand inside the burrow, all I feel is moss.

I’m on the side of Hallival, Rum’s second tallest mountain, with staff from the island’s nature reserve, and today, we’re checking on the Shearwater colony. Rum is home to one of the world’s largest breeding populations of Manx Shearwaters, a small, black and white seabird with leather-like wings and a hooked beak. They nest along the mountainside, and it’s time to check on the chicks.

I push my arm further into the darkness, the jagged rock scraping against my elbow and dirt getting underneath my fingernails. The burrow seems impossibly deep and has sharp turns that make it feel like an underground labyrinth. When I think I can’t reach any further, my fingers brush something soft and warm, and it takes all my self-control not to squeal too loudly.

Elle checking on the Shearwater colony (Image: Elle Duffy)

There’s a chick in this one.

The rangers I’m with scaled this mountain a few months previously and marked out burrows that contained nests with eggs - and today, it’s our job to see how many of these have been successful. I’m aware of how privileged a position I’m in - not everyone gets to do this. Checking burrows involves disturbing........

© Herald Scotland