A weekly picture from The Oa reserve on Islay:
This weeks picture is to showcase an important member of our reserve team: Yep, this little lamb is one of the latest additions to our special conservation grazing task force.
The cattle and sheep on the reserve are the key to creating good habitat for chough. Not only does the grazing create the short vegetation that the chough need to feed in, but the dung they produce is ideal for insects like dung beetles, which in turn increase the food available for chough.
This particular lamb is needing a bit of a helping hand from Ewan.
Bonus Photos:
Look carefully below the cuckoo in the following picture and you will see an anxious Meadow Pipit. I watched this cuckoo trying to find a number of spots to call from, but it was consistently seen off by Meadow Pipits who, perfectly reasonably, don't want to be saddled with rearing a cuckoo chick. What slightly baffles me is that the Meadow Pipit obviously instinctively knows the cuckoo is a threat, but seems to lack the same powers of observation when it comes to the cuckoo chick that they are duped into fostering.
Despite the Golden Eagle not showing particularly well on the guided walks over the last few weeks, they are still very much around. These photos were taken in the last seven days, so keep your eyes peeled for them if you are visiting the reserve.
Bonus Audio!!!:
Corncrake surveys started this week. For the uninitiated, these surveys take place between midnight and 3am and involve listening for singing males - who produce a distinctive and rasping crex crex. Dave however recorded this weird sounding call on the reserve during his survey:
Play this audio clip
It has the same rhythm and structure as a corncrake call, but sounds, well basically, wrong. After some consultation with colleagues and corncrake experts the consensus is that this is a rare example of a female corncrake calling in imitation of a male. Generally the females do not sing or call, but it is thought when they have lost or not found a breeding partner they perform this higher pitched, but similar, call to attract a mate. Probably a necessary step if you live in the undergrowth and are most active at night!
Moth Friday:
The moth trap went out last week and again this week, with the following results:
18/05
25/05
Spectacle 18/05
Knot Grass 18/05
White Ermine 25/05
If you have a picture or sighting from The Oa that you would like to share, please get in contact.