With some patchy, but torrential rain from the beginning of the week, the general consensus was that we’d be completing a good number of indoor jobs! Fortunately, on Monday, I was able to work outside and spent time greasing all lubrication points on the Polaris ATV. The vehicle was scheduled for its first service and greasing at 50 hrs of usage, though previous ATV Lantra training had suggested that we re-grease before that time. The ATV was clocking just over 25 hours use, so I duly pumped hydraulic grease into all suspension grease nipples to ensure the vehicle’s longevity whilst blitzing the rougher reserve tracks of RSPB Coll.
There was to be substantial work completed in the secondary barn this week, and one of the first points of call was to clear out four Starling nests of old nest material. Ben, utilising existing ventilation pipe-work, had put the boxes in place a few years back and the Starlings had quickly taken up residence. It was great to see that all material used by the Starlings was natural, in good condition and free from litter and detritus, all good signs for the state of Colls environment.
David and I had a critical issue to address this week, and that was the appalling condition of the front driveway and track leading to RSPB HQ. Poor weather conditions had quickly led to a boggy quagmire, the passing through of various vehicles only furthering the sorry state. David collected a trailer load of gravel, stored in a compartment on the reserve, and we duly got to work slowly tipping onto the worst sections. The cavernous ruts took some filling and I’d be very surprised if we emptied less than several tonnes in total!
With the wind and rain in full force we spent all of Tuesday and a large chunk of Wednesday in the secondary barn. The task in hand was removal of a substantial number of ‘dry racks,’ previously used for hay storage during the property’s time as a dairy. The racks were composed of sheet metal grid, held in place by timber joists and crossbeams. We cut the wire grid into manageable sections using bolt cutters, hammering and sawing the joists out when possible. It was a mammoth job and we were somewhat restricted by the sheer amount of material stored in the barn. Having achieved as many of the racks as possible, we were left with an enormous layer of dust and debris, in some places about one foot thick! This then necessitated a huge clean-up, but the results afterwards were like chalk and cheese. Over half the barn had previously been inaccessible, requiring entry from outside. Now, access was possible from a door directly behind the RSPB staff room, with substantial space available for storage.
I also had time to run the ATV through the dunes past Loch Ballyhaugh to the tip, removing some of the detritus from the barn clearout. The Loch itself was quiet, the Whooper Swans and majority of ducks seeming to have moved on. I did, however, watch a beautiful ring-tailed female Hen Harrier hunting over the moorland and a small flock of Twite buzzing around frenetically. I also happened to meet a couple I’d previously chatted to during time working on Hoy, Orkney, on the White-Tailed Eagle project. Co-incidentally enough they’d witnessed one of Colls’ occasional White-Tailed Eagles capturing a rabbit earlier in the day, relatively close to Totronald. Ben and I used the latter part of the day to set up a drip-tray area in the main barn (for storing liquids/fluids/contaminants), attaching some hanging hooks in the stone wall for storage of hoses, tubing and piping.
Thursday was devoted to further flailing, a Corncrake early cover area close to the windbreak and toward the southern most extent of the reserve. Fortunately it already contained some ideal Reed Canary Grass, Phalaris Arundinacea, vegetation cover, though sections were heavily matted and unfortunately, rock-strewn. The compartment was an unusual L-shape, so turning the quad bike and flail at one end was somewhat difficult. It was in this narrow section that I was lucky enough to witness a Water Rail flitting back and forth a number of times. I was clearly very close to its home territory so chose not to flail any closer. I also noticed a surprisingly large number of both Redwing and Song Thrush perched on the dry stone walls and wooden posts closeby.
Regrettably, in the late afternoon, the flail became very hot and snapped the V-Twins drive belt, putting an end to the lower setting cut. I therefore joined David in a ditch nearby. This was to free a couple of clogged field drains, the build up of detritus preventing free water flow and in effect causing minor flooding where undesired.
Final task of the week was an official WeBS survey of the reserve wetlands. Having had vastly more rain than during the previous survey, we anticipated the wetland areas being well flooded. Unfortunately the wind was truly howling which made holding both binoculars and telescope not only difficult, but eye-watering! One of the first sights we were treated to was that of an Otter scuttling its way across some rocky terrain near to Loch Breachacha. It disappeared from view only to re-emerge with a large rabbit in its mouth! Clearly Otter hunting abilities are as strong on land as in water. Continuing the survey we counted an assortment of species; 6 Redwing, 2 Stonechat and a Snipe before arriving at the Loch itself. The first bird observed was interestingly, a pale-bellied Brent Goose, all on its own! We also spotted a solitary Barnacle Goose, 12 Curlew, 180 Common Gull, 15 Great Black-Backed, 4 Herring, 38 Greylag Geese, 1 Oystercatcher and 3 Great Northern Divers.
At Canal Loch, we counted 8 Twite, 30 Teal, 12 Grey Heron, 1 Skylark, 9 Wigeon, 10 Mallard and another 15 Greylag. The final wetland area that contained birds was a flooded compartment close to Feall Bay, and there we spotted 115 Lapwing, 29 Curlew, 21 Teal, 7 Mallard and another 33 Greylag. We did continue on to Loch Ballyhaugh but surprisingly there wasn’t a thing on it.
James Duncan