The morning of the 25th of September had the Mersehead team in quite an excitable flap! After a lonely few months of endless quiet we saw our first noisy invaders! The Barnacle Geese had returned!
Or at least, 38 of them had to begin with.
Over the course of what had begun as a grimy, miserable day turned to glorious sunshine, the whole sky seeming to celebrate the Ol’ Barnys return. In drips and drabs they begun to flock back to Mersehead, bring the numbers up from the mornings 38 to at least 60 by 4 o’clock. Joined by a rather grumpy looking set of Pink Footed Geese the mini Goose army spent the whole day sunbathing and splashing about between the Bruiach and Media hides.
Soon the reserve will be absolutely filled to the brim with Barnacle Geese who herald in the winter! They’ll be joined over the next few weeks by every duck in the book from Pintail to Shoveler bringing the year to a perfect close!
With the new arrivals coming in we also had some old timers going out. I’m afraid I’m off!
Having spent a wonderful few months at RSPB Mersehead it’s time for me to fly the coop and return home. I came up to the West of Scotland 6 months ago with my life shoved into the back of a little red VW and wasn’t really sure what to expect, having never been to this part of the world or really, ever touched a shovel or seen a Barnacle Goose. I couldn’t tell a Teal from a Mallard and thought the Warden, Rowena, was playing a trick on me when she’d asked if I’d seen a Snipe.
How far I’ve come since then! I can talk people’s ears off about Barn Owls, hunt through a pond and name almost every creature and hold a moth when 6 months ago I’d have run away screaming!
I’ve cleared ditches of trees, built pathways for cows, hunted Natterjacks in the dark and counted goose after goose after goose. I’ve even been allowed to drive a tractor! Under strict supervision of course. I’ve hosted crafting events and educational fun days at the Cream of Galloway Park – snuck onto “Go Bong”, its brilliant! – And enjoyed every second of my stay here!
The team have been wonderful, looking after me, teaching me and more than once rescuing me from muddy holes. A huge thank you to Rowena, Eric, Kirsty and Colin and to every volunteer I’ve worked with this summer!
I won’t be out of the RSPB’s hair for long though, having been accepted to do a further 6 months volunteering at the RSPB Strumpshaw. So you might even hear from me there!
Have a lovely winter!
Jennifer
Residential volunteer