June
Our first brood of Slavonian Grebe chicks hatched out from a nest that we didn't even know existed, and were first seen by one of our volunteers on Sunday 5th. The chicks were right in front of the hide, cuddled up on the adult's back, occasionally poking their heads out from under their parent’s wings, and being fed tiny fish and invertebrates (such as midge larvae) by the other adult! Very cute. In addition to this, I set up traps to catch the midges at the loch, so that we can look at how their population affects the survival of Slavonian Grebe chicks, as well as looking at the fish population in the loch, and gathering data on the weather.
We installed five nest cameras across 2 of the 3 main sedge beds at the east end of the loch, so that we could watch for predators and keep an eye on the grebes. This meant that I had to lug some very heavy batteries halfway around the loch 4 days a week, so that I could change the batteries regularly! Now, these aren't those fancy nest cameras that you see on the likes of Springwatch! No live streaming, no colour picture, no nothing! They are motion-sensor cameras, which take 5 black and white photographs every time the motion sensor is triggered, using an infra-red system at night. Which means that looking through the footage is kind of jerky, and often large portions of the day/night are skipped! However, on very windy days the cameras were triggered much too often, by the vegetation surrounding the nests blowing in the wind! Nightmare! But I managed to get through it :) June also saw the first of my volunteers come to help me out, which made life a bit easier!
We also calculated the results of the first full loch survey that we completed in May (as mentioned in my previous post), and discovered that we had 13 pairs of Slavonian Grebes on Loch Ruthven this year! That's about double last year's population! Woo hoo!! June also saw us completing our second full loch survey of the season - another trek around the entire loch, through freezing cold water, deadly mud, and slippery rocks that cause many a twisted ankle. But thankfully, I didn't have to do this one! Kate and Stuart did this one alone, whilst I carried out several hours of brood watches and sedge bed watches. The results of this survey showed that a few of the birds had moved on, giving us a lower total than the first full loch survey, but it is the peak count of the population that really counts.
In June, I also started going bird ringing most weekends! This involves stringing up a special, very fine net (called a mist net) between two poles. Birds can't often see the net, so they fly into it and get caught. We rescue them, take a few weights and measurements, and put a small metal ring with a unique number carved into it onto the bird’s leg using special pliers. The idea of this is that when you or people elsewhere in the country then catch that same bird again, we will know where it has come from, and can learn all about bird migration, longevity, etc. All very interesting! Plus, it helps me to get better at bird identification!
July
By the beginning of July we had about 3 broods of Slavonian Grebe chicks hatched out, and by the end of the month we had 6! So a great deal of my time was spent at Loch Ruthven, checking up on the chicks, making sure they were being fed regularly, charting their progress towards adulthood, and trying to make sure that not too many got eaten by predators! And I was mostly successful in this! Yay me! :) July saw us completing our third and final full loch survey of the season! Just me and Stuart this time, as Kate was away, but I managed not to fall over in the loch or get stuck in the mud! I did however, get incredibly soaked when attempting to cross a very deep channel, and stupidly left the keys to the van in the other car at the opposite end of the loch - a 4 mile walk away (at least!). Not really what you want when you've been slogging through freezing cold water for the past three hours, trying to count and record all of the birds at the same time as actually keeping upright! So we had to call for backup. On the plus side, I saw my first Hen Harrier ever whilst we were waiting for our ride! On this full loch survey we were specifically looking for Slavonian Grebe chicks, so that we could work out the productivity (number of chicks per breeding pair) of the grebes this year. We counted 8 chicks on the survey, pretty good, since they only had 7 last year, but that’s not the end of the story! In July my first volunteer left me for a paid job in Leicester, but I acquired two new volunteers, one of which left after about a month to volunteer on an RSPB reserve in
On the first weekend of July, I travelled all the way back down to Hemel, so that I could go to a Foo Fighters concert at the MK Bowl. And I'm so glad that I did!! It cost me quite a bit to travel there and back, as well as the money for the concert tickets, but it was AMAZING!!! Definitely worth the money!! In addition to this, Jason (my boyfriend, for those of you who don't know), came all the way down from his island to come and visit me for about 10 days! Yay!! While he was here we went back to visit our old workplace on the
August
August saw the number of Slavonian Grebe chicks increase! A few weeks after the third full loch survey, I noticed another chick, much smaller than any of the ones we had seen on the survey, bumping our total up to 9! Then, at the end of the month, I noticed a pair of Slavonian Grebes taking weed into the sedge beds, building up their nest to protect their eggs from falling into the water and drowning. A few weeks later we had more chicks!! 2 in fact, giving us a grand total of 11 chicks!! Hooray! We also had a big meeting about all of the work that's been going on at Ruthven and the other lochs that Slavonian Grebes breed on, showing just how much I have to get done before the end of September! In other news, August saw the retirement of Christine, who worked in the administration department of the office. We had a massive BBQ for her, which was attended my many many people and enjoyed by all!!
Also in August, my dad came to visit me! He came on a trip up to Loch Ruthven with me and managed to see some Slavonian Grebes! Lucky really, since most of them are thinking about leaving in August! I'm glad he got to see them, as they aren't exactly common, with just 29 pairs breeding throughout the whole of the
August also saw my first trip to A&E since I moved up to Inverness. It's not for anything too bad though! There seem to be a lot more ticks about in the Highlands than there are anywhere else in the country, and since I work outdoors and in long vegetation where there are lots of deer about, I often get ticks on me. Horrible little things. The main problem with them is that they spread Lyme Disease, a nasty little disease that sticks with you for the whole of your life. So the RSPB issued me with a Tick Twister, a genius device that allow you to remove ticks easily, and in tact, without burning/squeezing them which can cause them to vomit up whatever evil diseases and animal blood they happen to have in them - disgusting! This also increases your chances of getting Lyme Disease. So the tick twister is really helpful, as it helps to prevent this from happening. So, back to the A&E story, I was on the phone to Jason when I noticed I had a tick in my arm. No need to panic, I'll use the Tick Twister...Oh no...I've lost it!! So instead I tried to use regular tweezers to remove it, as this is recommended if you don't have anything else. But it was in a really awkward place on my arm, and I couldn't quite reach it properly, so I ended up acidentally ripping it's body off, leaving the head in my arm, spreading infection and disease. I panicked. I rang a friend from work, who suggested I call NHS 24, who told me I need to go to A&E - NOW!! So off I went, slightly scared, to get this tick head removed. It took all of about 10 seconds, as the nurse used a needle to hook the head out of my skin. Job done! And the moral is, id you get a tick DON'T use tweezers!! (or duct tape for that matter - you know who you are!) Thankfully, I did not develop signs of Lyme disease :)
September
Time is running out! I'm quickly approaching the end of the month, and the end of my contract with the RSPB! It's a race against time to find a job, but unfortunately there don't seem to be that many out there at the moment. So wish me luck in finding something, and let me know if you see something suitable! I have been out to the loch a few times this month to check on our two newest chicks, but they seem to be doing very well, keeping our total at 11 chicks from 13 pairs of Slavonian Grebes! Mega!! Last year they had just 7 chicks form 7 pairs, so we've really done well this year, despite the copious amounts of rain, wind, cold, and predation! Well done grebes!! My hire van has now gone back though, so I won't be visiting the loch too much more, and am now concentrating on getting everything that I have done written up into various spreadsheets and reports, so that the data I have collected can be analysed by the maths wizards, and so there’s a permanent record of my work. Wish me luck with this as well - it's a mammoth task!!
So far this month I have been out ringing quite a few times again, as well as more cannon netting. And I also have a new house mate, Martin! He will be moving into my room when I leave at the end of the month, so until then one of my other housemates, Fiona, who is also the owner of the house, has moved out to her parent's place for a month until I leave. I'm mostly applying for jobs this month, in the hopes of getting something (preferably in conservation, and paid) over the winter, but it's not looking too great at the moment. I will keep you all updated with my progress in finding work, and I'll let you know how I get on in the last few weeks of my job. I'll also add in some photos some time soon, I promise!!
