Here is a fantastic account of Elli's time at Mereshead on the Residential Voluntering Scheme
I arrived at Mersehead on a cold windy Saturday, and the first thing that struck me was the peace – not a car engine to be heard! After unpacking I took a walk down to the beach that gives the reserve its name, a breathtaking stretch of sand that at low tide goes as far as the eye can see. The site is an area of flat saltmarsh that looks strangely out of place in the hilly landscape, with stretches of reed beds and patches of woodland providing habitat diversity. Mersehead provides a vital winter home for many migrating birds such as Barnacle geese and Pintail, but is also a fantastic summer breeding site for ground nesting birds like Lapwing, Oystercatchers and Curlew.
The accommodation was fantastic, spacious and clean, far nicer (and cleaner) than the university accommodation I’ve been living in for the past two years, and living on the reserve meant waking up to a beautiful view every morning and a lovely evening ramble every night.
Mersehead has an incredible range of wildlife, the feeders at the visitor centre attract a colourful array of farmland birds like Yellowhammer, Goldfinches and even the beautiful Lesser Redpoll. Barn Owls and Tawny Owls can be seen in the evening, and songs of Whitethroats, Skylark and Warblers can be heard throughout the day.
Under fantastic direction from Dan Snowdon, Mersehead’s long term resident volunteer, I carried out a range of Land Management work, as well as some afternoons in the visitor centre chatting to visitors. Within the first week Dan had taught me the more easily identifiable bird calls such as Sedge Warbler and Song Thrush, which came in handy on the bird counts that are carried out twice a week to monitor bird numbers on the reserve. Bird and butterfly surveys meant I got to see all the secret corners of the reserve and get up close and personal with the wildlife, which is one of the reasons I love volunteering so much. Reserve maintenance meant working outdoors all day, and after two weeks of almost constant sunshine I’ve come away feeling healthy and content. Doing odd jobs around the site like painting fences, bramble clearance and brush cutting was hard work but all in all my 2 weeks has left me with such a feeling of satisfaction knowing that I’ve contributed to a bigger picture!