We've asked one of our residential volunteers, Paul Stagg, to tell you a bit about some of the work he has been undertaking over the last week or two...
It’s June and at Forsinard, as with RSPB reserves across the country, the survey season is in full swing. This is the time when the success of management that has been carried out through the rest of the year is measured through monitoring the breeding success of the species found on our reserves. At Forsinard this almost always means long walks following a zig-zagging transect across the open bog. Hen harriers however demand the opposite; stillness and a great deal of patience are the order of the day. Remain motionless long enough and, in the eyes of the local wildlife, you begin to merge into the hill. Then it’s just a matter of waiting, as still as a rock resting on the peat – although possibly not quite as comfortable. From a suitable vantage point you look out across the landscape, where brash and felled trees mark the progress of a bold conservation program to turn back an invasion of geometric conifer plantations and restore the region’s native peatbogs. You hunker down into the heather, shivering as sleety showers test the resilience of your waterproofs. The proximity to wildlife makes even the quietest harrier watch worthwhile, skylarks singing their bubbling songs nearby, a raven passing low overhead, a meadow pipit flitting just an arm’s length away to land amongst the nodding cotton sedge.
Then there are the harriers themselves. Somewhere within sight of my vantage point there may be a female sheltering her clutch of eggs or brood of chicks. Until the young are at least ten days old they rely on the glamorous, ash-grey male to do the hunting. Prey is then transferred to the female through a spectacular mid-air food pass.
Sadly this, and the equally magnificent “sky-dancing” courtship displays, are becoming an increasingly rare sight. Between 2004 and 2010 the UK population of this bird fell by 20% and, in England at least, extinction is a very real possibility. Here in Scotland the population is greater but hardly healthy, hence the importance of monitoring and protection. With disturbance – and even worse deliberate persecution – being such a threat to these birds it’s hardly surprising that the location of their nests and territories are a closely guarded secret. Visitors to Forsinard however are in for a treat as work is already under way to bring close up views of these birds to them. Soon a live feed should be in place bringing footage of a brood of chicks directly into the warmth and comfort of our visitor centre.
The first stage has been the installation of a fake camera near, but not too near, to the nest – in order to get the birds used to its presence. This strange looking contraption – built from a screwdriver, a paint-roller, gaffer tape and a little imagination – will be moved slowly closer to the nest until the birds have acclimatised to it and it can be replaced with the real thing without causing disturbance. So far the birds seem quite relaxed, returning to the nest with food within minutes of the fake camera being installed so hopefully it won’t be long before visitors to the reserve are being treated to close-up views of the next generation of these rare and exciting birds.
To accompany the blog, Paul has also given me some lovely photos which we hope you will appreciate.
Hen Harrier chicks on the nest
Emperor Moth
Carnivorous Sundew - In the nutrient poor soil sundew catch insects (and children), which they "digest” in order to get the nutrients they need to survive
Thanks for the blog Paul, i found it very interesting. I live quite close to the forest of bowland where the rspb and the water authority are putting in sterling work to protect the hen harriers.luckly i have seen numerous hen harriers along the valley hill tops.
Big Sky