Skye is on fire!

Fire on Skye (taken at 9pm)

 There has been a lot of burning on Skye, the mainland and the outer Hebrides. All of which we have seen from Rum thanks to the clear conditions.

Shellesder Glen, with Bloodstone Hill in the background

 This week has been very productive. With quite a lot of the preparation for the calving season finished up, as well as this months vegetation monitoring completed in a day. We went to Shellesder again, determined to find more than one antler, as well as reach the bothy to put up a note to visitors. Martyn had all the luck and spotted 6, and I really thought my eyes were deceiving me from the number of sticks or rocks that I went to investigate believing them to be antlers. It was only as we were walking back I stumbled across one, bringing the days total to 7. We sighted a lot more stags than before and could see many were still to cast, so the following weeks should slowly build the number we find. No bodies found in Shellesder either, with the stags looking ok (some really quite massive!). We had a couple of days mortality searching again, but didn't find much apart from a seal enjoying itself and sneaking up on seagulls in the shallows of the bay. We also encountered a lot of lizards out sunning themselves too. I finally found a small skeleton yesterday (Friday), but the head is missing, which makes IDing the calf a challenge. It might have been carried off by crows or may just have rolled into the burn..

A Heron I spooked from the river

Waterfall at Shellesder beach

Outer Hebrides

 Although the water looks very inviting, it still is very, very cold and with the breeze still coming from the east things don't improve when you come out the sea.

Ringed Plover on the beach

 Spring tides have meant low tide is very low indeed. However, I've still not had much luck with the fishing! The cormorants and divers have been catching things all around me and I've not yet landed something for the table! Starting to think I should have brought my mask, fins and drysuit so i could go after crabs and lobster amongst the rocks...

Wildlife Update and some Spring Photos.

Ruin at Shamhnan Insir

 Finally I made it to Shamhnan Insir with my camera on a sunny day! I've put some of the best photos up here as its really a beautiful place.
 Towards the end of last week, we began mortality searching and on Friday walked to Shellesder Glen along the coastline. After many small gullies and streams cut into the hill and cliffs we came to the final ridge above Shellesder. Even with the overcast conditions and gale force easterly wind over our heads, it was another great landscape hidden away on this isle. Again I wished I had taken my camera as after we climbed off the ridge and searched for antlers and stags. Martyn encountered a huge otter which ran round his feet and up the hill, I only saw it because of his shouting! Considering we were 200 metres above sea level and a good distance from the sea, as well as the 50 metre cliffs which guard this stretch of coastline, how the hell this otter had made it all the way up here was a mystery. After a while of searching, we had picked up just a single antler (although we had seen a number of stags which had cast there antlers), so headed for home. This week looks to be much the same, after getting 2 of our guests to the ferry today, tomorrow will be another good days mortality searching unless the weather decides to change. We've had very clear nights over the weekend which has meant you can walk about outside at night without any trouble thanks the strength of the moonlight.

One of the friendlier ponies

Kilmory

Ruin at Shamhnan Insir with Skye in the background

Unspoilt Shamhnan Insir bay

Sunshine on Kilmory Bay

 This photos was taken near to where I was fishing from the headland at the weekend. However again I've not had any luck apart from catching a small wrasse! The gannets were having a great time of showing me how its done as they dived for fish about 100 metres offshore, so I decided to head for home and leave to professionals to it. Any tips and hints would be very welcome, as I've tried all sorts of lures as well as strived to find the places with the least amount of kelp!

2 Hinds (with a calf out of shot) feeding on seaweed

The burn flowing into the sea at Kilmory

Spring has sprung...ish

The title says it all. The sun is shining over Rum which is very nice, however the baltic winds ruin a good days sunbathing. We've had a bit of snow too with the tops of Hallival and Askival remaining covered since the start of the week.

 This weeks work has so far been more preparation for calving, data logging and oddjobs, however yesterday we went for the first proper mortality search for a hind that hasn't been seen for a few weeks. Ultimately we decided to just go for a long walk, after we found no trace of the hind from a few hours searching, although in the Shamhnan Insir area there are many places to hide. The beach at Shamhnan Insir is beautiful, I'll need to pack my camera next time I go as it's so remote and unspoilt. From being so far round the coast we walked onto the tops of Mullach Mor and had a wander through the many lochs before dropping back into Kilmory glen. Tomorrow looks to be another days mortality and antler search round the coast to the west, into glen Shellesder and past Bloodstone Hill. The stags tend to occupy this glen and the surrounding hills so I may get a photo or two unless they spook.

My first proper weekend on the island (last weekend) was spent fishing and walking. Not much luck on the fishing yet with only having landed a wee mackeral and hooking a rather annoyed dogfish which got off the hook before I could land him. There's so much kelp about that I'm having a hard time of finding a good spot to fish without snagging my line every time. I think I've maybe got a decent spot finally, but didn't have much of a chance to test it out before the line snapped (think the dogfish maybe did some damage). Luckily I only lost a fairly cheap lure and not one of the nice sparkly new ones. On sunday I went in search of mobile signal so walked up the glen road to the bottom of Mam Tuath (a central mountain). From there I though I'd chance a wee hike so went up Mam Tuath and was rewarded with a very good view of both Kilmory and Kinloch Glens and the big snowy mountains to the south east. I was also rewarded with a frozen gale so took my photos quickly and  left before frostbite set in.

 

This week I've encountered a bit more of the wildlife of Rum as things slowly begin to reappear and return to the island (Although I think the current blasting of cold air might deter some for a few more weeks yet). On my way back from Mam Tuath I found small newt in the flooded wheel ruts of the road. The beaches around Kilmory have also seen the return of many wader and seabird species, most of which I've still to identify properly. The ponies have continued their stay at Kilmory (they have free reign of the whole island) rushing about the place and standing in the road, turning the journey along the Kilmory road into a herding operation.

Kilmory is host to 6 people this weekend with four visitors arriving on the ferry to carry out their own fieldwork projects on the site. Hopefully this means that the rayburn will be kept well fed with coal so the kitchen will be cosy after a we get back from a day on the hill fighting the wind!

P.S I'll maybe be in village on saturday, where I'd aim to get a lot of photos uploaded here as it takes ages from each one to process.

 

Arrival

The journey – Train journeys are always pretty long, however the scenery is beautiful along the route from Glasgow to Fort William and then on to Mallaig. It was either my accent or some other issue that caused most of the Fort William locals to think I was saying “I’m going to Rome” instead of “Rum”. The ferry journey was uneventful with decent weather but what struck me was the diversity of people I met on the journey north. The Australian who was moving to Fort William to start her new life because the climate of Oz was causing her serious medical issues, the heavily London accented ticket collector on the ferry, the man from Newcastle that was only going on the train to Mallaig because it’s one of the last lines in the UK he hasn’t traveled. All far from home for different reasons but happy in whatever corner they have found for themselves, it really is a small world.

It was very good to see Rum and again, but what really brought a smile to my face was that the Islay ales I ordered the week before I was due to arrive came off the very same ferry I was on. So I simply picked up my box from the pier and met Martyn. Kilmory glen is quite like I remember, only much more brown with this years greenery and grass just starting to grow back. I can recognise a few of the hinds from last year but will need to brush up on my identification skills. The wee calves I saw born last year are now quite big things but are sometimes much easier to ID than their mothers.

I made a venison pie for dinner on the Sunday, which although was not totally up to my usual standard was still very good. More pies are planned! The hearty meals have been very welcome as especially through the first few days an unholy bitter wind cut in from the north east and night-time temperatures have been below freezing (I never thought I’d see icicles form that close to the beach before!). Hopefully the relatively late frosts and ice will knock the midge and tick populations down a bit.  Apart from the wind it has been very pleasant weather, although today (13/03/13) we’ve had a few squall showers of hail. I heard through bits and pieces of news via the radio, the rest of the country has had a fair deal of snow. From where I currently write I can see the tops of the Cuillins of Skye which have had a dusting of snow over the past day or so. The wind is thankfully less bitter now and blowing from the North West. Depending on what the weather does over the next wee while we’ll see what the mortality season will end up claiming. We had quite a spectacle the other day as two sections of south west Skye were burning, we could smell the smoke at Kilmory! It burned into the evening as the fires glow was quite pretty from our view point at night.

As for wildlife there hasn’t been too much of interest although Martyn suspects he saw a Steppe Buzzard near the house yesterday. Notably the Rum ponies make their presence felt by charging about the place (even now the noise I thought was an engine turned out to be the ponies rushing down to the short greens for the evening).

Haven’t been for much of a wander around yet, although I walked the glen on my second day to get my bearings again and have been a mile or more east to some of the site I never got to see last year (wish I had taken my camera as it is beautiful). When we really begin mortality searching soon, I’ll have plenty of freedom across the whole site. Got a fair few photos so far (finally my camera armour arrived) but will collect and log what I can as I go. No fishing yet sadly, the wind has been strong and straight onto the rocks I’d like to fish from. I need to get a good morning or afternoon and see if I could catch some mackerel and then maybe fish for something bigger.

All in all so far it’s been quite busy, doing assorted bits and pieces in preparation for the mortality season and calving season. The next week looks to be more prep and the beginning of the mortality searches, so plenty to look forward to! I’m very much looking forward to seeing the glen come alive again over the oncoming weeks with the grass returning and all sorts of species kicking off the spring!

Prelude - Last prep before departure.

Almost ready to go, with last bits and pieces to collect and proper inventory taken so I don't leave anything behind. Having had some minor eye surgery the other day, I'm a bit conscious of my hygiene over the next few days, but it should heal up pretty quick.

The kit: I'll admit it looks like a ton of stuff, and it pretty much is, but for 5 months especially with wear and tear I think I'll need it. 2 pairs of boots, my heavy "head kicking" boots, and my light rugged Danners. Lots of socks, because socks are probably mankind's best invention, where would the world be without them? Technology wise it may sounds daft but I'm taking the laptop so when I get to the village I can job hunt effectively. The Ipad is too, I've got a few books on it and a few useful reference guides. I'm not taking everything and the kitchen sink, just enough to stay warm, dry and especially tick and midge proof. Midges on Rum are legendary, they come in clouds that hover over you like smoke. They crawl all over you and die in their droves whilst seeking to breach your defenses. Sit still for long enough and small mounds of dead midge begin to build at your feet like grey sand. Ticks are more of a menace, especially the tiny little ones. Lyme disease is a risk but you can't keep all the ticks out, there's always one or two attached to your waist or ankle. I came across a tick nest or "pepper tick explosion" as its called last year. One minute the gators were clean, the next they were covered in all sizes of the wee buggers. The large adult females monstrously striding towards your knees are a little creepy, but at least you can see them coming.
Tomorrow I start the journey to Fort William, before getting the train on Saturday to Mallaig and the ferry to Rum. What happens then is yet to be discovered!

Prelude: A word on kit

This was the kit it took last year, with my old faithful Danner boots. This years kit (when assembled) will look much different I imagine. Gone will be the old army issue webbing, and there will be an additional similar sized rucksack as well as a camera bag, plus the real possibility of another pair of boots.

Prelude

The adventure begins in a few days and I thought it best to maybe explain my reasoning for this blog and what I hope will be included in it over the next few months. My brother encouraged me to begin recording things in a blog format although I didn't see much of a point since graduating from Aberdeen University (in Zoology) as I haven't been up to much that I would consider interesting or too important. However that is set to change soon as I will be heading to the lovely isle of Rum, sat just south of Skye on the west coast of Scotland. I was there last year to assist the Rum Red Deer Project during the calving season and had a thoroughly good time with the team, spotting and catching red deer calves (Cervus elaphus). The tagging and data recording of these calves is vital in the long-running research efforts on the island. Again I'll be volunteering myself as field assistant on the site, the difference this time is that I will be there to help during the mortality season (essentially combing the research area for any deer that did not survive the winter months) as well as the calving season and generally helping out wherever possible. I'm very much looking forward to getting back to working in my field of study, as although I have been active in working with the natural world over the past few months, this is something I can really get my teeth into and feel useful. I did have a little trepidation in wanting to go back as it will be more months where I will not be earning a wage. However in times such as they are I would be daft to miss such an opportunity to both do something I enjoy as well as gain a great deal of experience.
I hope to put some of my better photos on here too as I recently acquired a Canon 1100D with a macro lens and a 75-300 telephoto lens. Rum has some very nice scenery and animal life both on land and at sea with sightings dolphins and minke whales not uncommon.
Depending on how often I can make it to the village will dictate how often I can update this blog but I should be able to write updates when not busy on the site and simply upload them.
As always I am excited by the prospect of an adventure, exploring places I haven't been, meeting old friends and new faces, and generally enjoying the great outdoors!