Our third blog to celebrate Volunteers’ Week 2017 comes from Sarah Underwood about her time spent volunteering for our sea eagle project in East Scotland.
My Volunteer Experience
Volunteers learning about radio tracking
It all started with the faintest possible beep through the headphones. The thrill of that beep will never leave me. No one else seemed to notice. A handful of us found ourselves at the top of a hill at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven reserve on a chilly autumn day in 2008; here for a Volunteer’s day to learn about the different ways the RSPB needed help. Radio-tracking on the East Scotland white-tailed eagle re-introduction programme was one of several projects. We took turns to see if we could detect the beep from the radio transmitter of a fake ‘eagle’ sitting somewhere in the reserve and then we scrolled through the real frequencies to see if there were any actual eagles roaming the skies in the vicinity – well, the 40 mile vicinity as that is the range of the transmitters. No, nothing; but then it was my turn and as I scrolled through I thought I caught the merest hint of a beep; there it was again, yes, definitely, although barely audible, a real eagle, out there somewhere. It was flying around and I could hear it; it had no idea I was there, listening to the evidence of it. We were connected for a moment. I was so excited; an eagle, I’d got it, a private glimpse into its world.
I still feel it today, after eight years of tramping up hills in every kind of weather. From glorious summer sunshine to snow, hail and downpours I have waved my antennae around at the top of hills, gathering strange looks and the odd enquiry as to what I am up to. People are always fascinated when I tell them. The joy when I hear a beep is still there. Driving a hundred miles in a day with soggy feet and a car strewn with sandwiches, compass, maps, muddy gear, binoculars, thermos, tracking equipment and chocolate.
Sarah has spent her time volunteering for RSPB Scotland tracking sea eagles in East Scotland
There was the day I forgot my waterproof jacket in the middle of winter. The snow fell and I wrapped up in three jumpers, scarf and hat; I would not give up. And then the time I forgot my walking boots, climbing a hill in my shoes, hoping no one will notice and that it won’t be too soggy (I think they did and it was). But that’s okay, because it’s my day out, away from the demands of motherhood for a moment, immersed in the silence of eagle hunting. It’s all worth it. And some days are simply glorious from start to finish: sunshine, fantastic views, and eagles. The aim is to find a compass bearing from several hills so you can pinpoint where the eagle is but it doesn’t always happen that way - they are much more mobile than we are. Sometimes I have followed an individual bird and have narrowed it down to ‘that clump of trees’. Sometimes, I even find it. All of a sudden it lifts from a tree and soars away, its eye roving over you, as if to say, “What are you doing in my world?”.
Over several successive releases, I helped feed the young sea eagles, poking the food through a small opening at the back of the aviary so they couldn’t see you and habituate to human presence. After they are released they still need a helping hand so I had to throw frozen venison onto the aviary roof, no mean feat when you aren’t much more than 5ft tall. I have had so many fantastic views of newly fledged eagles (and have NEVER managed to get the camera out in time as I am so absorbed in the moment).
Sarah with her children
The pinnacle occurred in the spring of 2013: the day I found the first white-tailed eagle nest in East Scotland for 200 years. I searched that forest never expecting two four year old birds to be sitting on a nest. When I finally flushed the male from that collection of sticks and he flew right over my head, his golden eye piercing mine and then flicking to the nest to check all was still as it should be, I knew; and was hopeful for an egg. I quietly left, phoned the Project Officer in a state of excitement and smiled all the way home.
Today we have entered a new era; the releases are over, transmitters are falling off and more birds are starting to pair up and build nests – we have to find them without the help of the tracking equipment. Its needle-in-a-haystack stuff but with the help of volunteers it might just be possible. I feel so privileged to be a small part of such a significant project and I am so grateful to RSPB Scotland for giving me such a multitude of memories that will last me a lifetime.
Our other blogs marking Volunteers' Week 2017 celebrate all that RSPB Scotland's volunteers do for us, and we hear from one volunteer about her time spent at RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond. If you'd like to find out about how you can get involved in volunteering for us head over to our website here.