Guest blog by Wildlife artist Jane Smith
Anyone who has watched puffins must feel a huge sense of achievement. I know I do. When I was invited to spend a week working with RSPB's Project Puffin team, I didn't realise that I would have to travel all the way to the most northerly point of the British Isles. And that was only the beginning. The team would start every day with a brisk uphill march of an hour to the colony, carrying heavy scientific equipment, rain coats, warm clothes, climbing gear, and in my case, painting paraphernalia. We had to run the gauntlet of a huge breeding colony of great skuas. In Shetland they're known as Bonxies, for their habit of seeing off any intruders from their territory with a vigorous peck to the head. Luckily the skuas had become used to people on the path, and so as long as we kept to the track we could enjoy seeing the birds at close quarters with their fluffy orange chicks.
Another distraction was all the other rare and exciting birdlife along the walkway, which did slow me down a little. I have never seen dunlin displaying before, and it was wonderful hearing the snipe performing their drumming display overhead.
Added to the virtues of physical endurance and mental perseverance, the quality of patience was also required. Many puffin colonies have seen a huge decline in the last few years and without safety in numbers, the birds have become more wary, but eventually they approached to within a few metres, and I was able to make many sketches.
Photo: Puffin sketches by Jane Smith
Project Puffin aims to find out the reasons for the puffins' population decline by examining what fish the birds feed to their chicks, and where they go to catch these fish. To do this, the team needed to attach tiny GPS transmitters to the puffins' backs. We erected fine mist-nets, so that birds returning to their burrows would fly into the soft mesh and could be quickly extracted. Many hours were spent crouching in wind-swept gullies waiting for birds to be caught. Although we were working at midsummer, the Shetland Islands did not share in the heatwave that was occurring in the south of the country.
By the time we had finished work it was often past midnight and I was shaking with cold. A brisk hour-long walk almost seemed like a good idea. It was certainly hard work, but I've not listed all our exertions in order to get sympathy; I wouldn't want any for working in such a beautiful and inspiring place. As an outsider to the Project Puffin, I want to publicise the dedication of the scientists involved. Most of them were volunteers, giving up their time to learn more about seabirds and contribute to conservation. The results of this important and vital research will be available later in the year, and a full article about the trip will appear in the RSPB's Nature's Home magazine in 2018.
To see more work by Jane Smith, visit janesmithwildlifeart.blogspot.com or follow her on Instagram at janesmithwildlifeart
I am enjoying the illustrations in Wild Island by Jane Smith, while staying on the Isle of Lewis. The book has been kndly loaned by the mobile library van. So I have joined the RSPB. Thank you.