Stoat Snippet 3

Welcome to the third weekly stoat snippet!

These snippets will be a short update on progress with both the Orkney Native Wildlife Project and the Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project, as well as addressing any concerns that folk have raised with ourselves and SNH.

 

Quick update

Orkney Native Wildlife Project

The ONWP has successfully recruited a Project Development Officer (PDO…

Welcome to the second weekly stoat snippet!

These snippets will be a short update on progress with both the Orkney Native Wildlife Project and the Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project, as well as addressing any concerns that folk have raised with ourselves and SNH.

 

Quick update

Orkney Native Wildlife Project

Last week in the ONWP, the partnership conducted interviews for a Project Development Officer…

Welcome to the first weekly stoat snippet.

These snippets will be a short update on progress with both the Orkney Native Wildlife Project and the Orkney Mainland Predator Invasion Biosecurity Project, as well as addressing any concerns that folk have raised with ourselves and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

 

Quick update

You’ll remember from our last blog that Strath Caulaidh Ltd were about to begin the Orkney…

Kirsty Nutt explains why the Orkney Native Wildlfie Project is so important, why it is needed and how you can help.

Orkney is famous for its landscape, its history, its culture and its wildlife.

Despite the combined land area of Orkney’s 70 islands accounting for less than 1% of the UK, these islands are home to more than a fifth of the UK’s breeding hen harriers, internationally important numbers of seabirds and are…

We have struggled for a number of years to get the right number of cattle grazing on our Mill Dam nature reserve, then last May we entered a new relationship with Naomi and Russell Bremner who run Orkney Buffalo from their farm at Schoolhouse, Deerness, on Orkney Mainland.

During that first year we had 20 Asian Water Buffalo on the reserve from July to September and they were a great addition to our team. They have…

A few weeks ago we heard good news - the North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme has cleared its first hurdle, with the Heritage Lottery Fund deciding to earmark £3m for the project. You can read more about the scheme here. 

We’re one of the partners who would be involved in delivering parts of the scheme, and we think it has a lot of potential to help people look after and make the most of the natural heritage…

Back in the summer, Alex from Unit 7 - an artists' studio complex in Glasgow - got in touch with us at the RSPB office in Stromness for some advice. In September the group was planning to send five artists to Orkney to carry out some unusual residencies for a project called Odyssean, supported by the OIC Culture Fund. The artists were each to wild-camp or otherwise immerse themselves in the landscape of Orkney and…

                     

 

Photo: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

This year there were a total of 17 confirmed calling males across the county, a drop from last year’s 36. Nine males were confirmed calling on Mainland, 5 on Westray, 2 on Shapinsay and 1 on Sanday.

The poor weather this spring may have meant that fewer corncrakes made the journey to Orkney, with strong north winds and heavy rain around the time birds were returning…

Pauline has just emailed round the total from last Saturday's bag-packing efforts at Tesco - a wonderful £658.37!

This is an amazing amount that will all go towards helping wildlife in Orkney. A big thank you to all the shoppers who generously filled up our buckets over the course of the day, Pauline for organising the collection, all the Local Group members and committee who came out to pack bags, and of course…

It seems  after wowing the world last week, our red-throated divers have become camera shy. Well not quite.. the adult birds have actually just done what comes naturally and taken the chicks away from the nest.

Although the chicks can swim not long after hatching they won't be able to  fly for a few weeks and in that time are quite vulnerable so are likely skulking around in the vegetation. We were hoping we'd be able…

Hi Everybody

This is an update on what is happening/has happened since my last email.

Trips into the Gloup

Our Local Group ran three trips into the Deerness Gloup on behalf of the 2015 Orkney Nature Festival. (Due to bad weather on Saturday the 16th trips to the Holms had to be cancelled). Undeterred by cool conditions, hardy souls enjoyed trips which covered the Gloup, Brough Cave, Mull Head and visited the seal colony…

Hi Everybody

I know it’s not long since I wrote but this is just a reminder about our Local Group Spring Meeting which takes place at the St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall this coming Friday 24th April starting at 7.30 pm. I hope we have a good attendance as Anna Jemmett is travelling up from Forsinard to speak to us. Details as follows:

This will feature a talk by the RSPB Forsinard Information Officer, Anna Jemmett…

Here is the latest news from our Orkney  Local Group.

 

Hi Everybody

 

I hope you have all received your programme of 2015 events and are deciding which ones you fancy. As you will see, there are some new events this time which should make things quite interesting. The Hestily outing at the end of May is highly recommended as there should be much to see at this time of year in Andy Mitchell’s woodland area in South Ronaldsay…

 

A pair of sea eagles are currently nesting on RSPB Scotland’s Hoy nature reserve. It is the first time these birds have attempted to breed in Orkney since 1873.

The news suggests Orkney may become the next stop on the sea eagles’ celebrated recolonisation of Scotland.

Alan Leitch, RSPB Scotland’s Sites Manager in Orkney, said, “This is a great moment for Hoy and Orkney. Sea eagles are utterly magnificent…

Here's the latest Latest Happenings!

 

Hi Everybody

 

There is not too much happening just now but I have a couple of things to tell you about . . . .

 

Winter Bird Race

Only four teams took part this time but competition was keen, as always. Winners were the Sankey/Higson Team hailing from South Ronaldsay, so well done to them. Dick Matson reports from the race as follows:

 

Four teams of 4 birdwatchers set…

I was out and about this week doing the WeBS counts on some of the Mainland Reserves this week and there was a noticeable change in the air, that spring is on it’s way...

At Marwick, the WeBS count (Wetland Bird Survey) covers The Choin, the tidal pool by the car park and surrounding field. It wasn’t a very exciting count this time but it was very nice to see a few turnstone, rumbling about in the rocky areas…

Here is an update from Anne, painting in The Loons hide...

It’s the end of the first week of mural painting at the Loons. Having forgotten the binoculars three day in a row, sightings out of the window have been restricted to things directly in front of the hide or things big enough to see through raindrops and with poor eyesight. This still means plenty of Curlew, Lapwing and Snipe plus passing Hen Harriers. However…

Here are the Latest Happenings from Orkney Local Group secretary Pauline Wilson

Hi Everybody

Better late than never, I would like to wish you all a Happy & Peaceful Year. Let’s hope 2015 has some kind weather and good birds for us all to watch!

 

Big Garden Birdwatch

 

Speaking of bird watching, please note that this coming weekend (Jan. 24th & 25th) sees the Big Garden Birdwatch and I expect many…

 

Alongside the building of new hides and ‘structures’ on some of the Orkney reserves, the trusty Loons hide is undergoing a small internal make-over just now. There will be new interpretation boards, along with a mural showing all the wildlife that inhabits the wetland.

The mural is being painted over the coming weeks by one of the Orkney RSPB team. They report back that although it’s a bit chilly and the…

During the last week some habitat management & maintenance has been taking place at our Loons Reserve in Birsay. We have had a digger (not a crane unfortunately) on site. Increasing the amount of open water available on site for wildfowl & waders. At the viewpoint lay-by we have created five additional pools, they are quite subtle from the lay-by but the birds are going to love them - already 5 species of wader have checked…

For the last six summers I have had the pleasure of showing folk around the RSPB's Brodgar reserve and introducing them to Brodgar's farmland birds and waders - lapwings, oystercatchers, curlews redshank and skylarks to name but a few. The soundtrack to these walks is quite incredible with the liquid bubbling calls of the curlews, the "pleep, pleep" of the oystercatchers, the mournful whistle of a redshank and, outsinging…

 

 

The magnificent sights, sounds and smells of the seabird colony was the main draw to the Marwick Head Open day on June 29th. Visitors enjoyed a walk up the thrift covered coastal cliffs to look out on the razorbills, guillemots, fulmars and puffins that help make up this wonderful Seabird City.

Some willing folk were tagged and tracked by RSPB staff over the course of their visit. GPS loggers were used to follow the…

Sorry this is a bit late but here is the most recent 'Latest Happenings' from Pauline Wilson our Local Group secretary:

 

Hi Everybody

I hope a lot of you saw the Aurora Borealis the other night; unfortunately I was alerted a bit late and saw a fine display but nothing like the reds and greens captured on camera by my next-door neighbour!

 

There have been a lot of reports of a family of Otters at the Brig…

Hi Everybody The RSPB Winter Bird Race is due to take place on Sunday 2nd March and Dick Matson gives details of the event: It is that time of year when we should forget about the truly awful winter weather and dust off the scopes and bins and get out there for some (semi-)serious birding! In other words it is almost time to take your partners for the Winter Bird Race on Sunday 2nd March. The procedure…