The time has flown by and the end of my time as Seasonal Assistant Warden has come. It has been an incredible 5 months on the Island, watching the seasons change, birds coming and going, and meeting the people who make Skomer special.
Since the winding down of the seabird season in mid-July,
I’ve had a mix of more terrestrial work, with both vole monitoring and
vegetation surveys. As Georgina talked about in her previous blog, we had a
couple of weeks of early starts surveying the Skomer Voles in late July & early
August. Over the season, it’s a common occurrence to watch a vole scurry across
the paths, but seeing them up close was great. Their chilled nature and food
focus made for some great encounters, even when we weren’t expecting it!
The majority of mid-July to mid-August was focused on vegetation surveys, meaning walking across the island with a very big pole and bits of pipe, garnering strange looks from many visitors. There are 52 plots across the island which are surveyed every 5 years, using photographs and recording the cover of the plant species. The bits of pipe form a portable 1m² quadrat, with the long pole used to mount the camera for an aerial view image.
It was really interesting looking at the vegetation across the island. As someone who is generally just obsessed with the seabirds, it was great learning the species we have and seeing the changes in different parts of the island. There are the almost bare, sea campion-dominant areas around Skomer Head and the Wick, which show the signs of being battered by strong westerly winds and sea spray. Compared to the diverse, sheltered areas around North Valley Stream, with beautiful purple loosestrife and common fleabane. There were also a lot of plots dominated by bracken, which was no surprise! The link between the current vegetation and Skomer’s history is really interesting, with loads of woodsage cover and the carpets of bluebells earlier in the season reflecting the historic woodland that would’ve been here hundreds of years ago.
The surveys took me to places on the island I’d never seen
before, and I loved connecting parts of the island together and exploring
incredible spots. Especially one down on Paynes Ledge, (between the Garland
Stone and Bull Hole) where it felt like a Jurassic world.
The whole season has been incredibly varied. Even during peak Razorbill monitoring time, when I visited Bull Hole every day, the days were still always different. From the birds around, the visitors spoken to, or the long list of varied jobs to be done! That’s the special thing about Skomer. People sometimes ask if we get bored out here, but with the island changing so rapidly and bringing new views, wildlife and jobs, there’s no time to be bored. I’ve thought a few times that it’s like a moving train – you have to just try and keep up with it. The birds are breeding, we have to capture it while there’s time, and the time flies!
We’ve put our new boat ‘Gwylan’ to good use this year – for
island things but also perhaps a bit of fun time too! One of my favourite jobs
has been gas runs. Loading the dumper with empties the night before, driving
down to the beach and then loading them into the boat, swapping for even
heavier ones at Martins Haven, and the process in reverse until we have lots of
full bottles neatly returned to the Farm.
Although they’re hard work, it’s usually a beautiful early morning
journeying across to Martins Haven and a good team effort. We have been able to
make the most out of useful trips in Gwylan, with a bit of fishing (little luck
except one spectacular session!) or to potter out into St Brides Bay and see
the Manx Shearwaters coming in and rafting, which is always magical.
In the last few weeks, I’ve also done a couple of seal
rounds. Every 3 days we check all the beaches and haul-out spots on the island
and count adults and pups. While Ceris, Will & Leighton had some
well-deserved time off, I covered the Neck for a few sessions. The Neck is a
stunning place and once you get over the stress of finding the paths (like
earlier in the year!) and all the burrows, it’s a joy to go out there and see
the island from a whole other perspective.
It’s quite hard to summarise the season or even pick out
just a couple of highlights when there have been so many. Recently though,
watching the solar eclipse from Skomer Head was pretty special. It was a great
example of people on the island getting together to share a natural phenomenon
in a spectacular place. Just like when we gathered at the Amos back in July to
watch the guillemot and Razorbill jumplings – another incredible feat of
nature.
I have really loved seeing so many people enjoying the
island, whether it’s their first time or 30th, if they’re here solely to see
puffins or are wanting to see as much variety as possible. I love that the
island can be an introduction to wildlife and seabirds, giving people
exceptional views that leave them enthralled and wanting to know more. But it’s
also a special place to those who are already engaged with nature, who can
identify everything, and have maybe visited many times and keep coming back.
Apart from the nature, that’s the special thing about
Skomer: the welcome towards everyone, no matter their experience or knowledge.
The weekly volunteers are a big part of this, always bringing enthusiasm,
positivity and a lot of hard work. It’s been wonderful to meet so many over the
last 5 months who have all made their mark on the island in one way or another.
Some familiar faces of past LTVs and old Skomer hands, and lots of new people
too, who have hopefully caught the Skomer bug!
It has been an incredible whirlwind. I’ve learnt a huge
amount, from monitoring, plant and bird ID, to practical things like
brushcutting, building and boat maintenance – my brain has felt very full for a
lot of the time! With the island quieting down in the last couple of weeks, I
finally feel like I know the deal now. But here we are, heading off tomorrow,
so maybe my preparedness will have to wait for next year.
I'll miss all the swims, games of kuub and incredible
birds, but will be back for more in 2027!
Diolch yn fawr!
Izzy - Seasonal Assistant Warden
Nature Networks
This project is funded by the Nature Networks Programme. It is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government.
Ariennir y prosiect yma gan y Rhaglen Rhwydweithiau Natur. Mae'n cael ei ddarparu gan y Gronfa Treftadaeth, ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru.
