Whilst the nation was glued to the telly for the royal wedding, we were on Mousa. Newton and Dave were busy doing practical work, and one of my tasks was to go hunting for chocolate. As a lifetime chocoholic, this was no problem for me.
So why would I be hunting for chocolate on an RSPB reserve? Well, it's all to do with prevention rather than cure.
Mousa is an uninhabited island which we believe is free from ground predators, such as rats and mice. There are a number of vessels which visit the island, and whilst it is unlikely, there is a possibility that an unwanted mammal could end up on the island, bringing a threat to ground nesting birds including storm petrels and black guillemots. There's a number of RSPB reserves around the country which monitor for predators using various techniques. The way we do it on Mousa is put out blocks of chocolate wax.
Basically, I melted candles, poured in a pile of cocoa powder and moulded the the mixture into smooth cubes. The cubes are then put out along drystone walls (where storm petrels breed) and checked throughout the season. Like me, rats and mice are fond of chocolate. Whilst I would gobble the whole lot, rodents try a sample and leave behind toothmarks.
I am glad to say that I found no signs of rodents on Mousa. Otters are present and do have some impact on breeding birds, which was particularly evident in 2009 when around thirty Arctic tern chicks were killed by one. I have even seen a rabbit and a hedgehog. Both were long dead, and I assume that they carried over by a bonxie (great skua). All land mammals were introduced to Shetland, whether by accident (like mice) or on purpose (like polecat ferrets and hedgehogs). Each species has an impact on the balance of nature.
Whilst looking for the wax, I came across five of my top favourite birds, which have just returned from a winter at sea. I simply adore Arctic skuas. There's just something special about them. For me, it's partly a romantic and cultural thing. I associate Arctic skuas with Shetland's summer, my childhood, long daylight hours, the sea and conservation. Their movement and form shows a brilliant balance of power and elegance, which is seen at its best when they are pursuing a tern for sandeels. I could go on, but here's a picture by Mike Langman in case you don't know what they look like.
We had seven pairs breed on Mousa last year. The same pairs return to their territory each year and I look forwards to updating you on their breeding season as summer progresses.