Today the Inverness GreenGym was at Merkinch Local Nature Reserve moving some large shrubs under some trees that are blocking the view of the enterance to the LNR from the turning circle at the Old Ferry at South Kessock. Our aim was to relocate as many of these shrubs as possible before the trees are removed clearing a view of the path.
Our group of volunteers (Grace, Tom, Russell and his son, Karen and myself) started to prune back the shrubs and then dig out a large root ball so that the shrubs have a good chance of surviving the move.
After 2 hours pruning and digging the area was clearer than the start and the first 3 shrubs had been dug up and put into large bags, to limit the exposure to light and water loss.
We had been visited by a member of the Merkinch Newsletter to finds out what we were doing and also from a reporter from the local radio station to find out what the GreenGym had done at the LNR and what we as volunteers got out of it, this is intended to be a 5 minute Podcast on the Merkinch website eventually!
At midday we were joined by Stuart, from the RSPB, who helped us to identify some of the birds that use the LNR. We walked the length of the sea wall and across the railway line, where we briefly sighted a kingfisher! The birds spotted included gulls (common, herring, lesser black backed, and black headed), carrion crows, comarant, wigeon, oyster catchers, red shanks and more.
Stuart also explained to the group that in a lot of cases bird spotting is more about listening, and pointed out robins and a wren in the dense bushes and explained the call of the kingfisher that we only got a brief glimps of, then spent a while trying to find in the brambles and bushes on the opposite bank of the pond!