Winter 2012 / Early 2013

Hello everyone, sorry that I haven't posted anything in a while, I was having issues logging in! Anyway, that's all sorted now, so I can give you all a very brief catch-up of what I've been up to over the winter and what I'm doing currently. I've noticed that my blog post about Poland seems to have disappeared which is quite annoying, but I'll re-write that one later.

So as you may know, after leaving Orkney in August last year I went on a weeks trip to Poland, which was simply amazing! After my lovely week in Poland, I went back to stay with my mum and sister in Hertfordshire as I didn't manage to find any paid conservation work over the winter, although I did manage to do quite a lot of volunteering! I volunteered with my local conservation charity, the Box Moor Trust and did lots of practical volunteering like clearing out ponds, cutting down trees, and generally keeping their areas of land looking nice and ensuring that the habitat is good for the birds! They're a lovely group, the work is pretty fun (when it's sunny anyway) and it's a really good workout! I definitely enjoyed volunteering with them and will be returning to help them out again next year!

Clearing out a pond with the Box Moor Trust

I also volunteered at RSPB Headquarters at Sandy, Bedfordshire, answering emails and letters about the Big Garden Birdwatch survey that they run each year. This survey takes place at the end of January each year and simply involves counting all of the birds in your garden for an hour. Over half a million people got involved in the survey, which provides the RSPB with a lot of data and helps them to spot trends, such as the decline in House Sparrows and Starlings which we have been seeing in recent years. It's a lovely way to spend an hour, so get involved next year! In addition to this, I also spent some time volunteering at Verulamium Park in St Albans, showing people the Herons that breed on the island in the middle of the lake there. Unfortunately I didn't manage to see any chicks as I had to leave to go back to my summer job, but I'm told that they had quite a few chicks, despite the cold weather!

So despite not finding a full-time job over the winter, I did still manage to do some volunteering and had a lot of fun! I even managed to go to Birmingham for a weekend of bird ringing with my trainer. We caught a wide variety of species over the weekend, the nicest of which was seven Great-spotted Woodpeckers!! An amazing catch! I do have some photos of the ringing activities, but they're all on my phone...I'll add them in once I get the cable! (I managed to email a couple of photos to myself from my phone)

A Willow Tit, quite rare in Britain now.

One of the 7 Great-spotted Woodpeckers that we caught. This one's a boy, as it has red on the back of it's head.

Shortly after leaving Orkney, I decided that I definitely wanted to return to the job and the island in 2013 for a second season, so I didn't really spend much time over winter looking at advertised cosnervation jobs! Early this year, I accepted the post as Orkney North Isles Warden. I bought some new gear (including some rather expensive new walking boots) and then made the move back up to the islands in late March! I decided this time to do the journey as cheaply as possible, which turned out to be an overnight coach from London to Aberdeen, and then the ferry from Aberdeen to Kirkwall (Orkney). I won't lie, the journey was pretty rough and I was knackered by the time I got to Orkney (at 11pm) but it was cheap! Only £33!! I stayed over in Kirkwall that first night, then got the ferry over to Papa Westray, as I had a lot of luggage and would have had to pay extra if I'd taken it on the little plane! Over the winter, Amy (the Corncrake Officer last year and again this year) stayed in Rose Cottage, my little house on Papa Westray, so it was lovely and clean and warm when I arrived - bonus!!

Back at Rose Cottage!

I've only been here a few weeks so far, but I'm really enjoying being back! It really is a wonderful place to spend the summer, and although it hasn't been the best weather (pretty windy) it's much nicer than it was 'doon sooth'! The community seems to have welcomed me back with open arms, so it actually feels quite like I never left, which can't be a bad thing! Since I've been back I've mostly been sorting stuff out for the up coming season, getting everything organised, and doing lots of Black Guillemot surveys! Black Guillemots are one of my favourite birds. They are auks, which means that they are related to Puffins, Razorbills and Guillemots, three species that also nest up on the reserve here. But I think the Black Guillemots (known up here as Tysties) are my favourites of the group, although Razorbills are a close second! Tysties are just so beautifully coloured though. Pure black all over, apart from a little white blob on each wing, with bright red feet! They are best seen in the early mornings and late evenings when they can be seen in large groups on the sea around their breeding grounds, whent hey can be heard making a wonderful whistling noise - much better than the strange growly noises that Puffins make!

Black Guillemots down by the pier on Papa Westray

Black Guillemots nest in 'burrows', by which I mean gaps between large boulders, under rocks, in caves, and generally anywhere rocky and inaccessable, which is probably why they are doing quite well in comparison to other seabirds that nest on the open cliffs. It does make monitoring them much harder though, as they usually nest in places that people can't reach! So this year, I have made some 'Tystie Cairns' - piles of rocks with a little entrance hole and some sand/gravel in the middle so that the egg/chick will be comfortable. It also means that monitoring them might be a bit easier! Let's hope that they choose to use at least some of them!

One of the Tystie Cairns. You can just about see the entrance, down and to the right of the number 1

I think that's about all for now, I'll try to update this blog much more regularly now that I can actually access it again, and will keep you all updated on Orkney life!