James How is RSPB Scotland's Senior Site Manager for Islay Reserves. On a recent trip away he noted down some thoughts about living amongst nature on this beautiful island.
I am on the train heading home; train to Glasgow, bus to the west coast of Scotland and then the ferry to Islay. I have had a good trip to London for work. But as I head north again, I gradually start to feel more comfortable. Then passing Loch Lomond I start to feel more at home. I always enjoy the ferry, it has a distinct and friendly feel to it and the views are beautiful.
I am lucky enough to work and live on Islay at RSPB Scotland’s Loch Gruinart nature reserve. Just before I left for London, I stood outside my house watching the amazing light show of the aurora borealis with a soundtrack of thousands of barnacle geese, the odd flock of Greenland white-fronted geese, curlews, lapwing and golden plover. Now as I return home, I know the familiar monochrome patterns of the barnacle geese will be the first wildlife to welcome me back.
Through the winter 30,000 barnacle geese winter on Islay as well as 5,500 Greenland white-fronted geese. These great flocks of arctic visitors are my winter backdrop and soundtrack. Their arrival never fails to amaze me, and the continuous chattering calls are with me every day and night until they head north again in the spring around April or May.
RSPB Scotland Loch Gruinart encompasses a wide range of habitats from blanket bog to estuarine mud, but it is the green fields that surround the shallow sea loch that the geese enjoy. Feeding on the grass and roosting each evening on the loch. RSPB Scotland manage the habitats of the reserve with cows and a few sheep, and the birds make use of these agricultural habitats. We run the farm in a way that subtly influences the habitats to make them ideal for a range of important species.
I have been working on Islay for many years now and the wintering geese have become a part of my life. I help protect their habitat and monitor their populations. They are long lived and stay in family groups within the big flocks. One bird with the ring combination ULB comes to feed near my house every year. It’s a big male barnacle goose and is always first to land, protecting and rounding up his brood of the year. He is a year younger than my daughter who is now away at college. She always asks, to know that I have seen him each year.
In the last few years, we have started to see white tailed eagles gathering around the loch – chasing and feeding on the geese. These massive birds, with a wingspan of more than two metres, were re-introduced into Scotland in the 1970s and 80s and the birds I see almost every day now are descendants of that introduction. It is always with a pang of sadness that I watch a successful eagle catch a goose, but there is no doubt it is a fantastic sight, as eagles fly through the massed geese. It sort of seems right to have these special predators back in Scotland, making the scene and ecosystem somehow much more complete.
Over the last couple of years, I have helped visiting camera operators film this amazing wildlife spectacle for the Wild Isles wildlife series. These skilled people have captured the scene and will show it to millions. I can help protect these habitats, but it is great to work with people who can show this wonderful sight to the world.
And as I travel on my train, I can’t help thinking, it’s not far until I am home, and all this is in the UK. We have such wonderful wildlife in the UK – but it does need our help.
Nearly time to get off the train – so thanks for reading and tune into Wild Isles to see more.
To find out more about Loch Gruinart, visit our website.
To find out more about Wild Isles, click here.
All images credited to James How.