Er mwyn darllen y blog yng Nghymraeg cliciwch yma os gwelwch yn dda
Take a view inside the world of Ben Dymond as he spends a second summer as one of the Skerries Wardens, following spells volunteering at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy and RSPB Haweswater.
Living alongside rare species on remote islands for four months is truly amazing. The terns become my family and I would never miss a chance to see them up close. The sounds and aura of the islands caught my imagination and I’m so glad to be back here on the Skerries.
These group of rocky offshore islands off Anglesey are home to a feisty colony with a deafening sound. The islands’ shores are internationally important and home to breeding Arctic, common, and in 2016, the rare roseate terns. Thanks to additional funding from the Roseate Tern LIFE Project, they have extended warden season on the islands and received new equipment to help bring back the breeding roseate terns.
Our main duties as Skerries Wardens vary. With no day the same, the experiences island life offers is outstanding. From making tern decoys, checking rodent bait stations and monitoring all species that breed on and even just visit the island – which takes a fair while when considering the thousands of terns that requires counting.
The Skerries are crucial for breeding terns, supporting one of the largest Arctic tern colonies in the UK. As such, I was delighted to hear news of one of our rarest seabirds, roseate terns, nesting in 2016. Yet during my spell on the island last summer, all was not so positive with no successful breeding roseate pairs. Despite catching glimpse of a pair of roseates looking rather intimate in flight, nothing came of it. This year we’re hoping we’ll be lucky enough to see a pair of roseate terns arrive and fledge young.
Keeping count of the island’s terns as well as protecting them wasn’t the only thing keeping me busy last summer, as an unexpected visitor took a liking to the Skerries. Believe it or not, a racing pigeon decided to take an extended pit-stop on the island, causing a lot of mayhem in the tern colony as they seemed to think Pige was a peregrine. Further to this, Pige kept sneaking into our kitchen leaving large amounts of droppings everywhere. Sadly, catching a pigeon isn’t an easy task, but we eventually lured Pige into a box with a trail of crisps and he made it safely back to the mainland.
To share the unique life of being a Warden and looking after a tern colony on an island I’ll be making video blogs throughout the summer. I want to show the journey of the terns throughout the breeding season. Hopefully this will raise awareness of their plight and help provide them with a brighter future.
Keep an eye out for Ben’s videos on @RSPBCymru Twitter and RSPB Cymru Facebook - or you can find them here.