A weekly picture from The Oa reserve on Islay: Farming for nature: This week we continued the cultivation of our 'bird crop' fields. In this picture Ewan is 'discing' the field to break up the soil and prepare it for sowing a wild...

For our ancestors foraging was essential to survival, but these days the closest most of us get to this experience is browsing the fresh herb section of our local supermarket. That said, in a day and age when few people have a connection to where their...

Hello, and welcome to my first post on the Inner Hebrides community blog. I’ll be posting as often as I can, hoping to give everyone up-to-date news and information about what I’m up to on Islay in my role as the RSPB Community Information...

On Monday an electric fence was put in place on little tern bay to keep the livestock away from the nesting birds on the beach, this was finished just in time before the weather turned really wet and windy. By the afternoon whilst digging up old clay...

Migrating black-tailed godwits bound for Iceland in Spring often stop off in the Hebrides in April/May to refuel, particularly when adverse northerly winds hamper their progress across the North Atlantic. The Isle of Tiree typically sees groups of black...

After Rics departure the long Bank holiday weekend started in earnest with a visit to the back of beyond again and white-tailed eagle spotting alas they did not show themselves, plenty of seals, gannets and shags though. Another visit to the grounds...

Tiree is a traditional spring staging area for golden plovers as they head north in spring towards their breeding grounds in Iceland. Some 2-3,000 golden plovers typically winter on the island's well-managed machairs and in-bye grasslands, but these...

Pats first weekend off and we headed to the breathtaking views of the North Shore, walking from Sorisdale. Great views of grey seals, seabirds and fantastic beaches. In the evening we tasted the delights of the Coll Hotel with a fish supper and a couple...

My second week at RSPB Coll started with some more survey work early in the week. The weather was kind and we were rewarded with excellent sightings of Hen Harrier, White Tailed Eagle, Merlin, Red Throated Diver and a Lapland Bunting. The first swallow...

We are still looking for volunteers to come and join in and stay in our new purpose built volunteer accommodation during late April until late July. Would you be interested in working with us on the Coll reserve and have calling corncrakes right on...

Having checked the weather forecast the night before I was prepared for a tough cycle ride to the RSPB Reserve, the six miles from Arinagour didn’t disappoint! With all my kit and a weeks worth of food packed into four panniers on my bicycle I battled...

In the last few days the lapwing have started displaying over the wet grassland in the calm dry and bright weather we have been having. From the Information Room there must be at least 10 males calling and doing aerial acrobatics. At night we've...

(Please visit the site to view this video) Every year on the RSPB Scotland Oa reserve we plant some crops that are left to go to seed, to act as giant bird feeders. Most years this attracts a mixed finch flock, with an impressive 500 or so twite and...

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...

Week 7, according to the weather forecast, looked very good indeed for late November in the Hebrides. With Monday being perhaps the best of all, I was tasked with a livestock count of both cattle and sheep across the RSPB reserve. The importance of this...

Week 6, as per the previous week, began with some wet and wild weather. Clearly the hope that Novembers’ weather would remain identical to balmy October was a tad hopeful. One of the first tasks for the week was to get the flail back into action...

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...

I think we can make a few candles out of this!!

It seemed like my 4 th week may finally be the one in which the weather took a turn for the worst. The rain was probably long overdue, as incredibly Coll had gone almost the whole of October without it! During the dry period at the beginning of the week...

­­­­­­­­­­The high-pressure system continued into week 3, with yet more fine weather and low winds. Coll was firmly cementing its reputation for having some of the highest sunshine hours in the UK! The weather seemed...

Great news last week about Golden Eagle numbers in Scotland. We are fortunate to have at least five of these magnificent birds being seen around The Oa at the moment. Plus we are thrilled that we retrieved the following footage recently from one of our...

One of the first tasks completed during week 2 was the creation of a ‘bird feeding station’ outside the window of the RSPB accommodation. I fashioned a simple length of timber that could be bolted onto a solitary gatepost, whereby a triplet...

Arriving on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Coll began as no easy feat. Ferry cancellation due to prospective high winds made for arrival a day later than anticipated. I have to admit to pondering the sea conditions whilst Oban remained bathed in sunshine...

With purpose built brand new accommodation and a reserve team eager to put you through your paces there is a great opportunity for a long term residential volunteer on the Isle of Coll reserve. For the autumn season the work will be mainly practical...

Given the rain lashing against the window today, it is difficult to believe that this week has provided warm sunny days fantastic for the butterfly surveys that we complete. These not only tell us how well butterflies are doing here, but because we share...