It’s been a long but fun winter up in the North; the mallies (fulmar) have been accompanying us through the high winds and tumults of snow. With the turn of the seasons, as celandine pops its head above the grasses, now is a fitting point to look back on the work that we’ve been busying ourselves with and the changes that have taken place since our last newsletter. A nice place to start would be to go through changes in our team. We have a new People Engagement Officer in Gareth Powell (me, yay!), who has got stuck into the project and is doing a great job (no bias here).
Though the winter months can be quiet, it’s been a fun time to plan for the year ahead, with linties (twite) getting special attention. This has been the first year of our lintie winter surveys, with dedicated volunteers heading out to record their numbers around the island through the winter. Why are we counting? Lintie numbers have declined in recent years with the loss of arable farming resulting in a reduction in the supply of seeds, a valuable source of food in the winter months. How can we turn the tide? Well, first we need to understand where the birds are, and how many there are throughout the winter – thus, counting! Next, we need to get the people who can make a difference involved: crofters, farmers and volunteer surveyors. So, we brought them all together to discuss what’s the best course of action moving forward, planning together how we can help linties through the winter months in the future. The event went well, with support from Richard Shearer of William Shearers Agricultural Seed and RSPB Shetland outlining the methods and the tools that are needed to help these linties out. With opinions shared, we hope to go forward and provide the food source these linties need for the future.
Remaining in the fields but a little more on the wet side, we are all set to start our wader surveys this spring! New scrapes have been dug out, creating more crucial feeding habitat for these birds. These new scrapes, plus sites where grass swards are managed through grazing to provide good nesting conditions, should create a mosaic habitat ideal for all wadery goings on.
The waders are no longer just in the fields though, in Bressay and Lerwick small woolly whaaps have been recorded squeaking into existence. Ability Shetland and Bressay Development have been helping to bring to life some wool-based waders and twiters, and they have also been giving some hawkweeds a new home. Speaking of re-homing hawkweeds, Shetland Amenity Trust have been helping us by propagating our endemic hawkweeds and oysterplant, ready to be transplanted in the future.
With the flowers out, it’s time for the bumblebees to emerge, and with Bee ID workshops lined up in spring, we hope to fully capture the scale and scope of the drummie bee’s (Shetland bumblebee) population. Their need for wintering hibernation sites in long grass and a variety of native flowers to feed on in the summer is leading us to work with Shetland Islands Council to identify future sites where we can provide more of this habitat. Lending a helping hand this summer will be gardeners in Lerwick who, with guidance from Species on the Edge, will be tailoring their gardens to best help pollinators in the Lerwick Community Council’s garden competition.
So, we have some exciting months ahead, and it’s all thanks to an amazing winter under the mirrie dancers in the northern realm of Shetland.
If you have any questions about Species on the Edge activity in Shetland or you’re looking for more details on getting involved, get in touch with Shetland People Engagement Officer, Gareth: Gareth.powell@rspb.org.uk
