Living the island dream!

One of the most common questions I get asked by visitors to Skomer is something along the lines of “Do you actually live here?” My answer ‘Yes’ is usually followed by a “How wonderful” type comment! It certainly is wonderful and for Nathan, Sylwia, Sarah-Kay and myself, we can call Skomer our home for around nine months of the year. During that nine month’s period we will be joined by many other people for varying lengths of time. Together these groups become a well-oiled team, all with our individual roles working to run this busy reserve and maintain a complete seabird monitoring programme.

        

    Who is ‘Team Skomer’

2019 Skomer team

Looking for that dream job!

Long term volunteers (LTVs)

Long term volunteering on Skomer is a unique placement usually undertaken usually by those looking for careers in conservation. LTVs develop essential skills such as visitor engagement, wildlife monitoring and developing initiative vital to island living. As well as this I think I can safely say that virutally every long term volunteer falls under the Skomer spell. Their three months passes far too quickly and there is the inevitable sadness as they leave the island. We have previously introduced our first two LTVs of the season Alice and Clare, also Gemma, the seabird monitoring volunteer. The second half season LTVs Rob and Issy will post their blogs later in in the season.

This week saw the changeover between them and I know both Alice and Clare were fighting back the tears as they left on the Dale Princess. The tears and the sadness will pass but the long term love for the island will never die.

LTVs Clare Alley and Alice Cousens... Friends for life :)

 

Seabird LTV Gemma Haggar

Rob Knott and Issy Key (She is so strong!!)

Clare and Alice... Garland Stone at sunset 

Giving their time to Skomer

It is not an understatement to say that the smooth running of Skomer Island would fall apart if it wasn’t for the four to six weekly volunteers that give their time throughout the visitor season. With up to 250 day visitors and 16 overnight guests on the island every day the weekly vols are visitor/island interface, habitat managers, DIYers and cleaners! They do it all with a smile, enthusiasm and a passion for the island. There is no doubt that positive day visitor experiences are enhanced by the lovely interactions with weekly volunteers. After all their hard work during the day they have the evenings to explore the island at its best. It is a week where friendships are made and most volunteers return year after year for which we are very grateful.

Weekly vols sunset moment :)
Photo: Caroline Faulder (Skomer weekly volunteer)

Getting their hands dirty...

No one understands the term 'guano' more than a seabird fieldworker! The researchers here are the core of what Skomer is. Without this specific monitoring year upon year we wouldn't know how our birds are faring in a time where many seabird colonies are on the brink of extinction.

Puffins checking out the researchers!
From the left: Viv, Alexa, Daryl, Tash, Chris and Julie

Due to its nationally important seabird colonies, Skomer Island is one of only four Nature Reserves in the UK, and the only one outside of Scotland required to complete a full seabird monitoring programme.

Skomer staff and a WTSWW fieldworker (Alexa Piggot), along with a fieldworker from the University of Gloucester (Viv Hastie) complete all the seabird monitoring for the JNCC (Joint National Conservation Committee).

Skomer fieldworker adopting the recognised bird retrieval position

Between April and July there is a dedicated guillemot fieldworker (Julie Riordan) gathering data for the 47 year guillemot study started by Professor Tim Birkhead (Sheffield Uni) and now taken on by Dr Steve Votier (Exeter Uni). Long term studies like this are rare and invaluable.

A guillemot on Skomer that was ringed as part of this study in 1985 as a chick, returning to Skomer year after year and even this year was seen rearing a chick at 34 years old!

There's a razorbill under there somewhere!

Finally and by no means least the OxNav team (Joe Wynn, Tash Gillies, Daryl Mcleod, Annette Fayet, Martyna Syposz and Chris Tyson) some of whom are based on the island for most of the season carry out long term monitoring of the study colonies of Manx shearwaters and puffins at North Haven. Over the years this group, founded by Professor Tim Guilford, has been at the forefront of research into Manx shearwaters. Much of what we know about this species has been discovered by this group of researchers and we look forward to all the new discoveries in future years based on their work on Skomer. Later on in the season we will bring you more blogs on how the shearwater season has been.

Joe and Daryl from OxNav weighing a Manx shearwater...
Office with a view!

Anyone wanting to have a glimpse into the researchers world can join us on Shearwater Week in September.With just a few spaces left and one of the highlights of the event is spending time with the OxNav researchers, seeing them work and hearing a talk given by one of the group.
For more information contact the WTSWW booking office on 01656 724100

Viv Hastie monitoring puffin chicks in the study burrows at  North Haven

There really are thousands of puffins flying around at times in North haven

How is this little one growing? Viv taking a wing length measurement

A puffling... no words :)

The luckiest ones of all...?

The Skomer staff are a team of four who are based in the island from February until November. Two Wardens, an Assistant Warden and a Visitor Officer. Every week brings new challenges and changes as the wildlife comes and goes along with the people. It wouldn’t suit everyone to spend the entire season on a remote island, but we feel incredibly lucky to call Skomer our home.

2019 Staff from left: Sarah J., Sylwia, Sarah K. and Nathan moving onto the island in February...
all our worldly possessions in one boat!

  Nathan Wilkie and Sylwia Zbijewska: arrival as new wardens

The Sarah's as we are generally known!
 Feeling cold during hen harrier roost count

Can't hide those smiles :)

February on the island is less than balmy...

Our work can be anything and everything, the joys of living remotely. We have to be anything from fieldworker to plumber, event manager to cleaner. Our love of wildlife and contributing to the conservation efforts of Skomer and the WTSWW is behind everything we do.

We are already more than half way through the 2019 season and hope that the second half will be just as good as the first. The seabirds will soon disappear as their breeding season draws to a close and they head off for a well earned rest. Seal pupping season will soon be upon us and we are looking forward to seeing what that brings.

So in a nutshell that is us. Anyone with a badge or working on Skomer will be one of the above. All staff and volunteers share the visitor work and have their own stories to tell. Come and say hello and let us know about your own Skomer experience.


Sarah Parmor  (Skomer Visitor Officer)