Jack's Back!

Hello everyone,

I have returned for another year as Seasonal Ranger/Naturalist at St Abb’s Head and this time I’m in for the long haul. This year I’m looking forward to spending even longer on the reserve, I’ll be at St Abb’s Head until January 2015. I’ll be doing all manner of rangery tasks, from fixing paths and monitoring seabirds to cleaning the visitor centre and picking litter.

So what’s happening out and about on the reserve, well our seabirds are returning to the cliffs for another breeding season. At this time of year Guillemots and Razorbills come and go from the cliffs before eventually settling down to breed around late April. Fulmars and Kittiwakes are also beginning to return and Shags have already begun nest building. Soon the cliffs will once again be a busy and noisy place.

At St Abb’s Head during the spring and autumn we are lucky enough to get more than our fair share of rare and scarce migrant birds. The projecting headland provides the perfect stop off point for migrants following the coast north to summer breeding grounds. This week we have recorded our first Willow Warbler, Ring Ouzel and Wheatear of the year. Be sure to write your sightings in the Nature Centre log book.

Please take extra care when crossing farmland to get to the reserve at this time of year, ewes and young lambs have recently been moved into these fields and dogs should be kept on leads. Also don’t approach young lambs to get that perfect photo as this can cause stress.

We have some exciting plans for our summer events this year. Firstly we will be testing out a new means of engaging with the public with our newly termed ‘Pop-up Ranger’ information points, also did somebody mention boat trips... check back here for updates.

(Once again my blog posts will appear in this Dark Green font)

See you out and about on the reserve. JI.