Hello, I am Emily, a short term volunteer at RSPB Mersehead. I am gaining some experience after finishing my first year of a Zoology degree with Exeter University; the campus actually being in Cornwall, so quite a trek up here – but well worth it!
So, I have been here for two weeks and how time has flown! It has been a busy but fun two weeks with a wide range of tasks from ragwort pulling to white washing cottages! I have never done ragwort pulling on such a large scale and with so many horse flies constantly targeting you no matter whether you have waterproofs on or not! Also, included in the weekly tasks is the butterfly survey which involves following a transect around the reserve recording the different species present and how many of each. This was an interesting experience as I have never been great at identifying butterflies, especially as they don’t seem to stop for long! Species I am now able to identify as they flutter by are the abundant Meadow Brown and Ringlet and those that appear less frequently; the Painted Lady and Common Blue.
Another group which I have become more knowledgeable about are the warblers (Sedge, Reed and Willow) which I first saw on a very early morning whilst helping the bird ringers – a great close up experience. There are also some great opportunities to get up close with the birds at the visitor centre viewing station which have kept me entertained when working in the visitor centre on the quiet, wet and windy days. A wide range of birds visit the bird feeders and allow you to watch from a couple of metres away! I have seen large numbers of yellowhammers and tree sparrows, both of which I don’t see very often at home so it is a great opportunity to see them up close.
The views around the reserve are amazing too and on a clear day the Isle of Man is visible… there is always something to do or watch and it has been an incredible experience so far working with some lovely people whilst learning a lot about working on a reserve and increasing my knowledge of some species new to me.
Emily