Hello again, and welcome to another update from Dumfries & Galloway!
For the past two months I’ve been involved with communities more directly. The events I helped organise centred around the Jubilee celebrations, catching people in holiday spirit. On the Saturday, I helped create a bug hotel on the green in the small village of Rhonehouse. This was actually my first attempt at bug hotel making, so the children and I made it up as we went along, and between us made an attractive place for invertebrates to lodge, costing us nothing! I hope to be back at Rhonehouse doing a bug hunt later in the year.
One bug hotel
From then it was straight into three days of activities at Barend Holiday Village on the Solway coast. We were very lucky with the weather for our sandcastle competition, which saw about 25 families competing to build the finest sand creation. It was an amazing afternoon with a great atmosphere – the only problem was judging between them when they were all so good!! Next time I think I will have to nominate someone else to judge. My favourites included a boy that had been buried up to his neck and given a mermaid’s body, a fantasy landscape with lava flows and volcanoes, a huge scruffy castle that had a 2-foot trench all the way around it – digging it had given the dad a blister – and an enormous fish tank complete with bubbles, seaweed etc. We also had quite a few Jubilee themed castles. They really were all fantastic!
Three of the many teams that entered the competition
Following fun times on the beach was a sealife quiz with some art activities, which was certainly educational, and not just for children! Next day, we weren’t quite so lucky with the weather, ie. it was absolutely pouring with rain (still, you win some, you lose some). This was the day for pond-dipping at Barend loch. There was only one slight problem, in the form of a very cross swan that looked as if it might eat a small child if we so much as dared to approach the bank. Happily, a father was donated to lure the swan to the other end of the loch while the rest of us furtively stuck our nets in the water. And we did really well, catching all sorts of interesting things.
Life under water
The final day had a red squirrel theme, as red squirrels are daily visitors to the feeders outside reception. They didn’t let us down, and the children were able to draw them and then make prints of their drawings, under the watchful guidance of local artist Sarah Keast. Some very creative models of red squirrels also appeared, made from terracotta-coloured clay. Mine didn’t look much like a squirrel – more like a pig with a big tail. Later on, we had an interesting talk from Karen Ramoo of Red Squirrels in South Scotland, which gave everyone an idea of how red squirrels are doing in the area.
So that was the last event at Barend, and I hope that this will give the site owners the confidence to hold more wildlife activities in the future. I went straight on to a Phase 1 Habitat Survey course, and after that had to prepare a 45-minute talk for Kirkmaiden Natural History Group. I chose to talk about sea turtle conservation in the Aegean, since this is something I know a few things about, having volunteered for Archelon for two summers. I finished off my talk by having a look at turtle sightings around the UK – 67 sightings and strandings in 2011, mainly leatherbacks. Did you know that if you see a turtle, there is someone to report it to? I didn’t, and I wonder how many sightings do go unreported – here is a link to some very useful information on turtles and what to do if you see one, dead or alive: UK Turtle Code
After this, I spent a happy couple of hours entertaining a group of three-year-olds from a pre-school, during which I caught a palmate newt and a smooth newt in the pond – unfortunately, this was not enough to impress the children for more than about 30 seconds. There are now at least 5 pencils in the pond.
Last week I got to do something completely different: ringing red kite chicks with the Red Kite Officer for the RSPB. This was an exceptional day, like nothing I’ve experienced before. The chicks are now about 5 weeks old, and beginning to look like grown-ups. Particularly rewarding for me was seeing the chick from the pair I managed to identify back in March. He was lowered from his nest in a luggage bag, in which he sat looking mildly puzzled. Kite chicks admit defeat pretty quickly and just lie there, not moving a muscle, even if you put them on the ground. Don’t be fooled though, they have very sharp talons and my hands are now covered in small puncture wounds. Anyway, I named him Gordon (I’m sorry, I know you’re not supposed to but I couldn’t help it. Honestly, that was his name. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he’d opened his beak and announced it himself). Gordon now has a shiny ring on his leg and his wing tags are Green on the right wing – showing he’s from D&G; Red on the left wing – born 2012; number 74. So keep an eye out everyone! I hope he’s still ok, as the weather since then has been absolutely horrendous, and his nest was not in the most sheltered spot.
Gordon gets Identified
Gordon gets Exhibited
On your marks, get set… Or we could just stay here.
So, with one week at the Council to go, my next stop is the River Annan District Salmon Fishery Board. Which, if you ask me, could do with a slightly shorter name. I haven’t much of an idea what my job will entail but I’m looking forward to it, as I think fish are pretty interesting. So fish will be the theme of my next blog…