My final week of residential volunteering on the Isle of Coll. With some fairly overcast weather, (largely absent from my entire stint!) David and I set about the creation of the second ‘land (swamp) bridge.’ Having previously had issues with the depth of mud leading to the compartment, we were this time able to follow a route on firmer ground. David had already cut the remaining telegraph poles to size, so we had only to collect another pair of telegraph poles to commence work. We set up another 4m section, though we barely needed to dig the poles in owing to the softness of the ground. It wasn’t any more waterlogged than the previous week, but the water table sure was high! We once again nailed the pre cut sleepers in place and we soon had our second bridge complete. They were certainly going to make quad bike access a whole load easier.
We also utilised a good chunk of spare time cutting another substantial section of reeds for the bug hotel. The huge area of dense coverage between Totronald and Lonban certainly wasn’t going to leave us short of material! The reeds were particularly stable when bunched, allowing them to be usefully cut to size using a bow saw. The bug hotel was not too far from completion, and will no doubt become a veritable insect hotspot over the coming years.
With some truly horrific weather on Tuesday morning, I completed some odd jobs, running the Land Rover into the village to collect diesel for the RSPB fleet, though fortunately the rain abated during the afternoon. This left David and I with the opportunity to head over to Hogh Bay to combat the impromptu ‘tip’ that had arisen over the last half a century! It had a vast selection of old agricultural machinery, rolls of wire and fencing and assorted junk and urgently needed attention. Whilst I headed over in the Polaris, David trundled the long route through the dunes in the tractor. We needed the tractors torque to enable us to remove much of the waste, the surrounding vegetation having practically cemented items in place. We spent the whole afternoon using ropes to remove whatever we could and had a decent trailer haul at the end. Ultimately, the hope is to remove the entire top layer, enabling the site to recover.
On Wednesday we took the opportunity to run the tractor through Ballyhaugh to the tip, in order to offload the junk from Hogh Bay. It was a great opportunity for some birding on route, and I was quickly rewarded with a pair of surprisingly relaxed winter Snow Bunting. The plumage variation between the two was significant enough to identify them as a male/female pair. They didn’t seem at all perplexed by the Land Rover and I was able to observe them for a good while. Otherwise the usual assortment of corvids, Stonechat, Buzzard, and Geese were all evident. Continuing the use of the tractor, we headed along towards Loch Breachacha, filling the front loader with gravel in order to fill some potholes. This was only after we’d witnessed a fast flying Sparrowhawk causing chaos amongst a small Starling flock on route. David slowly ambled the Landini along the Breachacha track as I merrily scooped the gravel wherever required.
My penultimate day was spent assisting with the construction of a Swallow shelter on the North East facing wall of the RSPB accommodation. It was a particularly good day to do so as the weather had once again taken a turn for the worst. Ben, David and I spent time measuring and cutting timber to size, emerging with a well constructed and wonderful home for next years’ nesting Swallows. Unfortunately we weren’t able to fully complete the shelter within the one day, due to not having the requisite flat panels for the roof. To be continued…
With that, I arrived at my very last day working with the RSPB on Coll. It was once again an odd job day, though I had an opportunity to head out for more prospective Goose ID. I was extremely lucky to quickly find a Greenland White-Front with a neck ring, a firm confirmation at last! Ben later verified the individual as previously notated, so great to see this Goose back on Coll once more, four years after having previously been recorded.
We also took the opportunity to continue filling the remaining potholes on the Breachacha track, it taking a surprisingly huge amount of gravel to fill what one would consider relatively small holes! I cut another substantial amount of reeds for finalisation of the bug hotel and will very much look forward to seeing the complete product for myself in the near future!
My time on Coll had been absolutely wonderful. A truly invaluable experience, owing to the kind support and assistance from both Ben and David, the fantastic accommodation and the sheer beauty of both the reserve and indeed, entire island. I won’t forget it in a hurry.
James Duncan - Residential volunteer
We'd like to say a big thank you to James for his hard work during his couple of months on Coll. If his blogs of the time James spent here have inspired you to volunteer on Coll (or elsewhere!) then we're looking for two new volunteers to start around mid-March. Further details and how to apply can be found here http://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/community-and-advice/volunteer/7924-residential-volunteer-long-term-placement-isle-of-coll .