Find out about residential volunteering in our fourth Volunteers' Week blog. Sarah Livingstone was a residential volunteer at our Mersehead reserve from October 2016 to March 2017 and has written about her time spent with us.
What is it like being a residential volunteer?
Photo by Forbes Rogerson
After arriving at RSPB Scotland Mersehead in October last year and having my first tour around the reserve, it was hard to imagine what kind of work I would be doing over winter as a residential volunteer, and what impact it would have over time. To my untrained eye the fields looked all-too similar, as did the birds on the wetlands and in the hedgerows! By the end of my time here I could confidently do a Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS), and conduct a weekly count of the Svalbard barnacle geese. The fields also revealed their own characteristics too, not just in relation to their habitat management and structure, but in terms of the work I have done in each or memorable wildlife sightings I had.
One of the main projects we worked on was improving an area for natterjack toads. By clearing an area of scrub and creating more scrapes for ephemeral pools, we hope to increase the area in which they can breed. This will hopefully see the toad population expand further and encourage them to spread eastwards down the Solway coast.
A lot of this work could not have been done without the help of our trusty Tuesday volunteers either. This group turn up every week, keen to help out and get stuck in to reserve work. It’s a great way to tackle some of the bigger tasks that need doing, and the social aspect takes out the monotony of some of the more repetitive tasks. We’ve cleared out the old translocation pools that are now redundant since the toads have moved into natural habitats. Taking out the liners that were holding the water in involved a lot of digging to reveal and remove them, only to put all the sand back in!
Photo by Eric Neilson
It all pays off in the end though and not just for the toads! In December two of our hardy volunteers, Doug and Pam were presented with the Puffin Long Service Award in recognition of their incredible 10 years of volunteering for the RSPB at Mersehead! They have seen the reserve change a lot over the years and it has been great to learn from them about how Mersehead has progressed. This historical context is invaluable and has made me appreciate the ever-evolving work that goes in to a reserve.
On top of all of this I got to live on the reserve and that was a huge part of my enjoyment of this experience. Wildlife does not work 9-5 so quite often I found myself getting out in the mornings to watch the roe deer in the fields, and watch the treecreeper and goldcrest flitting about in the woodlands. Many an evening was spent up near the reedbeds too, watching the increasingly spectacular starling murmurations. We estimate there were at least 50,000 roosting in the Mersehead reedbed this winter. There is so much happening once you take notice, and waking up every day on the reserve you soon become sensitive to any changes in the environment.
Whilst volunteering here, the natterjacks have been in hibernation, but it is great to know that the population at Mersehead is thriving and that the work we are doing will contribute to their future success.
By far the highlight of this reserve is the barnacle geese. One of my favourite moments was witnessing them move from their roost on the mudflats at sunrise-thousands of them creating a noisy canopy overhead. Seeing the geese fly over every day to begin feeding, counting them each week, and having them constantly yapping in the background whilst working in the fields, it was hard to imagine Mersehead without them when they leave.
Overall, volunteering has given me a fantastic, memorable experience, there is always plenty to get involved with.
Catch up on our other blogs celebrating our volunteers as part of Volunteers' Week 2017 here, here and here.
If you've been inspired to find out more about volunteering for us click here.
Lovely account of volunteering on a fabulous reserve.