The primroses are emerging, the mornings are getting lighter and the sun has started to appear on the west coast bringing promises and excitement for the summer ahead. And do we have a summer planned!
The last few months have been spent collating and submitting our 2023 survey data on our species and planning for our surveys this year. We have been talking to and working with farmers, crofters and land managers about managing for our species and celebrating how Hugh Nature Value farming and Crofting can support biodiversity. As part of this we have produced updated guidance on managing for our Marsh Fritillary and Burnet moths, and have worked with SAC Consulting and the Farm Advisory Service to produce various documents and videos showcasing the benefits of this High Nature Value farming. We have also been producing bespoke reports for landowners who participated in our bat monitoring efforts in 2023 and creating a monitoring summary report to share our findings more widely.
We’ve made great strides in our work to conserve the medicinal leech, a fascinating species that is known from only three areas in Scotland. One of these three areas was only discovered back in September, when the presence of the rare leech was confirmed in Dumfries and Galloway for the first time! Additionally, our conservation breeding programme for Medicinal Leech is now underway! During surveys last year, 14 leeches were collected from one of their known sites (under license from NatureScot) and are now in their new home in a specially designed facility at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park. There the conservation team staff will care for them and attempt to breed as many leeches as possible to then be released back into the wild.
We have been out and about in the community too! Together with RSPB and Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle, we ran Islay’s first Winter Birdlife festival / Fèis Eunlatih Geamhraidh Eilean Ìle – a celebration of Islay’s winter wildlife and an opportunity to connect people with nature and the Gaelic medium. Thank you to all that came along to celebrate and birdwatch with us!
We have also been visiting schools, building bird and bat boxes, and are excited to see what we can spot inhabiting them this spring. Local community groups have been learning more about bats through our bat ID workshops including the ‘Way forward Group’ on Skye, a group which supports adults with chronic illness and disabilities.
This year we will be surveying for our target species including marsh fritillary, burnet moths and waders and we will be extending our bat surveys to new islands including Mull and Islay. We will also be looking out for the return of our little terns in May and searching for our short-necked oil beetles which should be emerging soon. You can help us with our short-necked oil beetle work by keeping a look out for them and reporting any sightings. Find more information on how you can get involved on the Buglife website: Scottish Oil Beetle Hunt. We have also been busy creating signage so you can find out more about the beetles and where to find them.
On Skye, we are working with RSPB, SAC Consulting and Bat Conservation Trust to monitor trial crop sites on crofts and farms which could benefit both waders and bats. Additionally we will be continuing our discussions with crofters, giving a talk through the Farm Advisory Service in June on creating bat friendly habitats and how managing land for nature can help productivity on your croft.
We are also providing training and in-field opportunities for people volunteering with us to survey for our species – so do get in touch if you’re interested in helping us out!
Upcoming events
The Species on the Edge team in Argyll & Inner Hebrides are gearing up for a bumper year of surveying, work parties, events, talks and training. We are hoping you will agree there is something for everyone. Over winter, our events have included practical conservation days, for example helping to manage marsh fritillary habitat, and as we go into spring and summer we will be focusing on surveys, collecting vital data on our species. We are excited to share our programme of events with you which you can find by heading to the upcoming opportunities page and selecting Argyll and the Inner Hebrides.
If you have any questions about Species on the Edge activity in Argyll and the Inner Hebrides or you’re looking for more details on getting involved, get in touch with the team:
Lucy Atkinson, Project Officer, RSPB: lucy.atkinson@rspb.org.uk
Cathryn Baillie, Project Officer, Bat Conservation Trust: cbaillie@bats.org.uk
Elizabeth Peel, Project Officer, Butterfly Conservation: epeel@butterfly-conservation.org
Sally Morris, Project Officer, Buglife: sally.morris@buglife.org.uk
