Happy Ending

I was warned at the beginning of this placement that I would be dreaming of yellow flowers by the end of it, and now I can understand why as ragwort pulling has definitely been a significant feature of this week!  Luckily I didn’t have to undergo whole days of this task as they wouldn’t be that cruel (incidentally the team here are lovely) so it was broken up with different tasks.  There were many standard volunteer tasks amongst these, such as clearing out an old building, collecting debris from fields, cutting back brambles etc.  However, there were also some seemingly unusual tasks such as getting dropped off in a field to count sheep.  The reason for this task was to check that the graziers that rent the land off the RSPB were abiding to the agreed numbers of livestock grazing.  The proposed number of livestock on these fields has been calculated to ensure that these fields are not overgrazed or, conversely, under grazed as if there are not enough livestock then they will concentrate on small areas where there is the most palatable vegetation.  This will result in other areas becoming overgrown which will have a negative impact on certain species, such as lapwings that require short grass in which to breed.

Another unusual task took place at Loch Insh which is partly owned by the RSPB but the rest is owned by a water sports centre.  There is an obvious conflict here between water sports and wildlife so the RSPB have tried to minimise this by asking staff at the centre to instruct customers to refrain from disturbance.  One of the most vulnerable species to disturbance is a pair of ospreys that nest on an island in the middle of the loch.  This island is off limits to the general public during the bird’s breeding season, and it is particularly important not to disturb them when they are incubating eggs or trying to feed young chicks as the negative impacts of the public scaring the adults away will be more severe at these critical stages.  Therefore, our task involved monitoring the activity of the loch such as what activities were going on, where, for how long and did anyone approach the island (which thankfully nobody did whilst we were there).  Not exactly a strenuous afternoon although it did feel slightly odd to be using my binoculars to follow people in boats! 

Loch Insh

As this week draws to a close, so does my summer of volunteering, a total of 8 weeks altogether.  I feel a great sense of achievement to have accomplished this as it has definitely been hard work at times.  Saying that, more than anything it has been a joy learning how this world of conservation works alongside some wonderful people who I’ve met along the way.  Most importantly, I have reconfirmed that I have made the right choice pursuing a career in conservation and I look forward to many an exciting adventure in the future.  I will of course keep this blog updated with future stories I will no doubt encounter along the way. 

Insh stories

The weather has begun to turn and there is now a definite sense of autumn in the air as I forge on with my final volunteering placement of the summer at Insh Marshes for a week.  There is a definite change in pace in duties again from the ‘working holiday’ atmosphere of Loch Garten to what only be classified as ‘work’ which I must admit to do prefer as I have always enjoyed a challenge.  Monday morning started with an induction with the site manager here and it was the most through and more importantly interesting one I had undergone as she took the time to really explain the management of the reserve.  One of the key management techniques of the reserve renting their land to graziers to graze a variety of stock, including sheep, cattle (e.g. highland and Aberdeen angus) and ponies, as these all produce a slightly different habitat.  Much of the reserve is managed naturally, as their isn’t any significant manual interference with the water table, although it is monitored daily.

The original focus of the reserve was to enhance the habitat for waders such as common sandpipers and lapwings etc.  However, other species are now being focused on including the rare dark-bordered beauty moth and the aspen hoverfly which requires 4 year old bark in which to breed.  The RSPB is also trying to promote the ecosystem functions of the reserve to the public in order to increase support for its protection, such as the fact that it is a natural floodplain.

Once this induction was finished, the first task was to locate goldeneye nest boxes so I and my fellow volunteer were sent out into the marsh/scrub woodland armed with a GPS and a ladder, quite an introduction to the reserve!  Goldeneye ducks are different in the fact that they nest in trees and as this is a rare species in the UK (200 breeding pairs) these nest boxes are provided in hopes of increasing their numbers.  These ducks are known to readily accept these boxes as there seems to be a lack of suitable nest sites in Scottish forests, perhaps because of the lack of mature trees, or the lack of black-woodpecker nest holes that are used by these birds in Europe.

Goldeneye duck

It is now after the goldeneye breeding season so there was no risk in disturbing the birds.  The purpose of this task was to determine whether these nest boxes had been used to checking whether there was any down or shell fragments present.  In some cases there would be eggs which are likely to have been laid by immature females that don’t incubate them as they are infertile and this is called ‘egg-dumping’. 

The second task was one that I was familiar with after volunteering at Forsinard Flows last year, and that was one of ragwort pulling.  This is a legal requirement of landowners as it is classified as a weed and also benefits horses as they are allergic as this plant’s toxins build up overtime until it reaches a lethal level.  It is not the most interesting task but, similarly to bracken cutting on Eigg, there is a sense of satisfaction on achieving it.  The fact that we were sharing the field we were clearing with 9 horses, all eager to make friends, also helped boost motivational levels as well as providing entertainment (i.e. bending down to pull ragwort while a horse nibbles your back pocket in search for food).

A day full on satisfaction and interest then, which really is all you could wish for as a volunteer.

Loch Garten stories

(Note - uploading the next 3 posts after my placements due to lack of wifi!)

My newest adventure has been volunteering at the RSPB nature reserve Loch Garten in Abernethy for the last week.  The focus of this reserve is protecting and monitoring an osprey pair that have been returning to this same area to breed for the last few years.

Loch Garten

Ospreys are on the Amber list (endangered but not critically so) with the RSPB as they were once relatively common in the UK but they were exterminated by 1916.  Since then their numbers have increased to 160 pairs but they are still threatened by egg-robbers so they require constant protection which is often where volunteers come into play.  My duties here involve monitoring the ospreys in a hide where any notable behaviour is recorded such as the parents bring in fish/nest material, the chicks flying, where and when they are doing so etc.  This monitoring is on a rotation system with the other volunteers so that the ospreys are constantly under surveillance, we even sleep there!

This year, the ospreys  have successfully managed to raise 2 chicks (Breagh and Oighrig), although the beginning of this season did not run entirely smoothly as there were originally 4 eggs but the male discarded  2 out of the nest.  The reason for this was that the female had not been entirely faithful as she mated with another male before her partner returned and therefore the male realised that these first 2 chicks were not his. 

Adult male

However, the season is ending on a high note as these surviving chicks are well developed enough to be flying now and they are spending more and more time away from the nest.  The parents are still bring them fish (primarily brown trout) although they are decreasing the amount of fish they provide (1-3 a day on average) and the purpose of this is thought to be to encourage the chicks to find their own food.  These chicks will have to be fully independent within the next week or so as this species heads south in mid-August to their wintering grounds in Africa which they will reach in late September.  
I know that everyone at the centre will be crossing their fingers for a safe journey for these chicks and a hope that these ospreys will return for yet another year.

Osprey chicks, waiting for parents to arrive with fish!

This week has been very different from Eigg as there are actual shifts organised whereas the work on Eigg was a lot more laid back in terms of timings.  However, the work here was more straightforward and definitely less strenuous than Eigg and I would describe this week as a working holiday.  All of my volunteering placements are different from one another but each one is similar in the fact that they provide my with yet more experience to help fuel my future career, as well of giving me the privilege of helping such special species find their way in this human-dominated world.