What a lovely couple...

Izzy and I sat and watched the happy couple this morning from the centre at Skálanes. We thought it was lovely how they were so obviously into each other and wish them all the best for their future together. We loved how they even paused on the steps to allow some photographs to be taken. As you can see from the photos I have posted below, I am talking about two of our local snipe and not the latest Royal Wedding (although we do also wish William and Kate all the best).

As Izzy described in her blog yesterday, we were out looking for an Arctic Fox den. We located the den up on the lower slope of the mountain and we will now monitor the impact that the fox has on the ground nesting birds at Skálanes. We also undertook some Fixed Point Photography, where 360° photographs are repeatedly taken at set locations each month over the season.  In the short-term it allows us to see the vegetation change and in the long term allows us to see how certain species (like the Lupin) colonise different areas.

Izzy is looking at putting together some Bird/Vegetation/Invertebrate transect methodologies and I'm currently looking at a field guide, risk assessments and other fun documents for the reserve.  Anyone who thinks working as a Ranger means being outdoors all the time should take a look at some of the paperwork!

Only 16 days now until we open... 15th May!

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER

Hope you all have a great holiday, and get a chance to relax.

Many thanks to Oli for his Icelandic easter egg. As you will see from the photos below these are very special, and put our British easter eggs to shame. It has been a long time since I have seen so much crammed into an easter egg. (We are gradually working our way through it!)

The egg(s) before we started on them!

Yes, ALL of this came from within that one large egg, which is apparently for couples.
No doubt Izzy and I will make short work of it all in due course!



Dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t!

The last couple of days Izzy and I have been working on repairing the breach in the Wetland Dam.  As we have now spent a good couple of days on it, I think it is worthy of a blog post to itself.

Now you would think that Izzy and I would be used to putting in dams after spending the winter at RSPB Forsinard damming up hill drains to create bog pools.  There is a slight difference in scale however, between the hill drains at Forsinard and the wetland area at Skálanes.

We are not creating a new dam from scratch as the original dam is still in place.  Flood events over the last couple of years have eroded around the side of the original dam. What we are trying to do is secure the right hand section of banking and tie it into the original dam, plugging the gap. Sounds easy when you say it like that, doesn’t it.

I should also mention that we are using reclaimed wood (which was once a footbridge) and making a slight design change to the old overflow pipes which are not working as they should. Anyone who has worked on a reserve knows that it is good to recycle where you can!

Phase One involved the construction of a wooden framework on the right bank to prevent future erosion, with the framework then extending across the gap.

Phase Two saw rock, soil and old turf going into the right hand ‘bastion’ and then into the middle section. There was still through flow via the left hand section, which meant that while the water level in the wetland area was rising slowly it was not stopping us working on the dam.

Phase Three involved sealing the dam so that we could start to fill the left hand section.  By the end of yesterday there was a noticeable rise of 10cm from the morning (20cm since we started the project) on the front wall of the dam. Some seepage continued through the base of the dam, but this was negligible and no dam of this construction is 100% watertight. There was a noticeable drop in water level on the lower pool as less water was draining into it and this meant that areas of vegetation and mud were visible. These will make good foraging sites for waders.

Phase Four should have seen us fitting the reclaimed pipes to the dam to provide natural through flow at the maximum ‘normal’ water level. However two things happened over night. Firstly the water level rose faster than expected and it rained (quite a bit!).

I took a walk out to the dam with Bjartur this morning, half expecting to see a gapping hole where our new section of dam should be. To my surprise it was still there, all be it a bit wet.  The water level had risen by another 30cm over night and was sitting just below the 50cm mark on our depth marker at the front of the dam. This brought it right to the top of our dam wall and the wave/wind action is still currently blowing water over the top of the new section of dam, so that there is water flowing across the top of it.

Hopefully the rocks, turf and clay soil we added to the core will remain fairly intact, but until the wind dies a bit there is little we can do. Having assessed the level of the water we have actually realised that the dam has worked a little too well in terms of flooding the wetlands. (See photos below)

Plan B – Always have a backup plan! After assessing the water level we have decided that at the first opportunity we will cut sections out of the top plank on the front wall to place the drainage pipes. This should create ‘controlled through flow’ and also drop the water level by around 10cm. Until then, we can only hope the water/wave action does not erode away too much of the work we have already done.

End of day 23/04/11 - Note stones in water and banking

Morning of 24/04/11 - Water level has increased by 30cm on last photo

Watch this space to find out whether the dam holds or not!

Photo Blog

I thought that I would  try and post some photographs today from Skalanes, so here goes:

Fulmar soaring abve the cliffs near the centre



White Wagtail on the centre roof



Bjartur has learned to bring his dish at dinner time!

Is nowhere safe for a wee snooze!?

Banana Bread: Evolution! (With chocolate!)

More photographs to come. We have been working on repairing the wetland dam over the last couple of days and hope to have it fixed soon. We now have snipe and redshank pairing up and displaying on the reserve and it surely cannot be long before the Whimbrel turn up.  Both Black-Tailed Godwit and Red-Necked Phalaropes have bred in the wetlands before and we hope that by repairing the dam and bringing the waterlevel up by 30-40cm that we will have restored the habitat that they have liked in previous years.

More on the dam later...

Fire in the Flows

There has been a serious fire at the RSPB Forsinard Flows nature reserve in Sutherland where Izzy and I volunteered over the winter. Early reports suggest extensive fire has damaged some sections of the Forsinard reserve. It all seems to have started after the passage of a chartered steam train on the Forsinard Railway Line. Sparks have set fire to moorland just south of the reserve office, on the Dubh Lochan Trail. At it's height the fire front was estimated to be 3 miles long and took a great deal of effort from fire-fighters, RSPB staff and overnight rain to extinguish. Assessments will now be made on the extent of the damage, both to habitat and breeding birds in the area.

Our thoughts and best wishes to the staff, who no doubt have their hands full dealing with the aftermath.

Paul
More details reported in the Press & Journal at: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2230544

Redwing (Turdus iliacus)

I thought I would take some time to talk about some of the birds we are staring to see at Skálanes.

Redwing

Redwing at Skálanes

Size Length: 20 - 24 cm Weight 46 - 80 g

“The redwing (Turdus iliacus) is a relatively small thrush species, readily identified by the reddish-brown flanks and underwings for which it is named. The upperparts of the body are greyish-brown, with a long, conspicuous, creamy-white stripe above the eye, while the underparts are buffy-white, with blackish streaks radiating from the throat. The beak is dark, with a yellowish base, and the legs are pinkish-brown.

The male and female redwing are similar in appearance, while the juvenile resembles the adult, but is streaked with buff above and is more heavily spotted below, with less reddish colouration.

The song of the redwing, usually given by the male from a high, prominent perch, consists of rather simple, repeated phrases of fluty notes, ending in a softer, twittering chatter. This song often varies between different locations, and during winter and on migration the redwing may also give a low, twittering chorus. The calls of this species include a distinctive, high ‘see-ip’, ‘seeze’ or ‘dssssi’, which is often heard at night when the birds are migrating. Redwings also use a harsh ‘chittick’ when feeding or roosting, as well as various other rattling and chuckling calls.

The breeding range of the redwing extends from Iceland and the Faroe Islands, across northern and eastern Europe, and across Siberia to the Altai region and lower Kolyma River, Russia. A migratory species, it spends the winter in western and southern Europe, North Africa, around the Black and Caspian Seas, and into southwest Asia.

The redwing breeds in a range of habitats, including open forest margins, forest clearings, shoreline thickets, tundra willow (Salix) and birch (Betula) scrub, parks, gardens, and rocky areas.

During the winter, it can be found in open woodland, fields, hedgerows, orchards, gardens and scrub thickets, particularly where berry-bearing bushes and grassy areas occur in close proximity.

The diet of the redwing includes of a variety of invertebrate prey, including beetles, flies, caterpillars, bugs, dragonflies, grasshoppers and crickets, spiders, millipedes, small crabs, molluscs and earthworms. In autumn and winter, it also eats a range of seeds, berries and other fruits, including ivy, holly, juniper, apple, buckthorn, currants (Ribes), bramble, elder and rowan.

The redwing breeds between April and July, building the nest in a variety of locations, including in trees, shrubs, on the ground in thick vegetation, on tree stumps, in tree hollows, or on buildings. Although it usually nests in solitary pairs, the redwing may sometimes form loose colonies, sometimes close to colonies of fieldfares (Turdus pilaris).

The nest of this species consists of a bulky cup of grass, moss and twigs, bound together with mud and vegetation and lined with grass and leaves. The female redwing usually lays between 4 and 6 eggs, which hatch after an incubation period of 10 to 14 days. The young redwings leave the nest at around 12 to 15 days old, but are dependent on the adults for a further 2 weeks. The male redwing will sometimes continue to feed the young while the female begins laying a second clutch of eggs.

A fairly common species with a widespread range and large population, the redwing is not currently considered globally threatened. Its numbers may vary locally due to the impacts of particularly harsh or mild winters, but it is not known to face any major threats at present."

Source: www.arkive.com

In the UK the redwing is most commonly encountered as a winter bird and is our smallest true thrush. The redwing is a rural bird, feeding in fields and hedgerows and does not often visit gardens, unless the weather is particularly cold and it is hard to find food. There are only a few pairs nesting in the UK.

At Skálanes redwing are very common breeding birds in the spring and summer, often nesting in the long grass or lupin. We see them often darting past the centre, sitting singing on fence posts or skulking along the gullies and burns.

This redwing unfortunately flew into a glass window at the centre and broke it's neck

Visitors!

Yesterday, while sitting in the lounge Bjartur (Oli's labrador) started barking.  Now this is not an uncommon event in itself as weird noises, low flying Redwing/Greylag Geese and random gusts of wind set him off.  This time however we discovered that he was actually barking at PEOPLE!

Wandering out and having a chat with the group, we discovered that they were from Belgium and were traveling around Iceland.  They had been staying in Seyðisfjörður and had come out to Skálanes in the hope of seeing some Puffins. Unfortunately none of our Puffins have turned up yet, so to make it up to them (and because it was nice to have visitors) we invited them in for tea and coffee. Quickly explaining that the centre is not open until 15th May, and to excuse the clutter, we spent a pleasant hour with them and even convinced them to try some of my Banana Bread!

Our first visitors of 2011 from Belgium

Another intersting visitor today was our first Merlin (Falco columbarius), who we spotted hunting on the south side of the carpark. Merlin are small falcons that specialise in catching other small birds. They have bred at Skálanes in the past, so hopefully we will have a male turn up soon. We assume she is after the Redwing, as we do not have any Rock/Meadow pipits yet and the Greylag Geese are a bit on the large size.

We finally managed to finish painting the decking yesterday, despite some windy conditions, and just in time as today we have had sleet/hail showers and gale force winds, despite which the sun has been shinning at all times!

The finished decking with sauna and hot-tub (Note wild weather in the background!)

My Challenge...

Living on a remote reserve you would have thought that the wilderness, the distance to the nearest town, living in a different country with a different language and culture would be challenge enough.

Well not for me...the extra challenge I have set myself for the next 5 months is to try and become better in the kitchen. Hopefully without anyone developing food posioning, as the nearest hospital is a 45 minute drive away in Seyðisfjörður.

In the spirit of this I decided to try and take 4 bannanas that were slightly past their best and turn them into Bannana Bread.

Have a look at the photos and judge the success for yourself...

 Look at the concentration required!

  Bring on the oven!

Well it's not burnt, that's a start!

 It looks and tastes fine! (I'm as suprised as you are)

Taste Test - Izzy 'Mm....' (Honest!!)

All hands on deck...

The reserve at Skálanes is owned and run by Ólafur Örn Pétursson (and his family) and opens on 15^th May. So it is all hands on deck as we try to get the centre ready for the volunteers, student groups and visitors that will start to arrive after that date.

All hands on deck…except for Oli that is! He is off on a nature exchange to Slovakia for a week and has left us to our own devices. So back to the deck…the whole thing needs sanded down and treated to protect it from the harsh conditions that we sometimes get here.

Aside from working on the decking we have been tidying things up around the centre and enjoying seeing the first migrant birds appearing on the reserve. There are more and more of them on a daily basis! (Including a Swallow today!)

Some photographs below:

 Izzy cleaning the salt off of the windows

 Paul & Izzy

 All hands on deck...

 View looking east towards Skálanes

Swallow (Hirundo rustica) on the washing line

 Greylag (Anser anser) Geese are pairing up to breed

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) have invaded the reserve

Those magnificent men in their flying machines...

Spring has returned to Skálanes and after a rather delayed flight I have as well.  I should have known that something was wrong when the plane arrived at Glasgow Airport and we all boarded on time for our 14:20 flight. After spending two hours sitting on the aircraft we were treated to a two-course meal at the Glasgow Airport Holiday Inn while we awaited our replacement aircraft reaching us for our rescheduled 21:00 flight! It appears that the original plane could not tell whether it’s front undercarriage was up or down. The pilot in all his wisdom, pointed out to Air Traffic Control that if he was on the ground and the wheel was down, then if he did not put it up and flew to Iceland, then it would still be down by the time we got there.  They did not seem to like this, so we got a later plane instead!

At just after 00:00 I made it to Eryn and Stefan’s flat in Reykjavik and met up with Izzy for our onward journey the next day. Needless to say I slept very well after that journey!

A quick visit to the Register Office in Reykjavik on Thursday saw Izzy and I get our stamp of approval to reside in Iceland for the next 5 months.  With a couple of hours to kill before our next flight we visited the ‘Settlement Museum’.  Similar in style to Jorvik in York, in that it is a Viking era longhouse in the basement of a modern building, we were very impressed by the interpretation and information available.

The flight from Reykjavik Domestic Airport was uneventful, although Izzy did seem amused by the propellers and the interesting landing!

From there it was a car journey by 4x4 over the mountain pass to Seyðisfjörður and on to Skálanes. I would like to point out that the dirt track to Skálanes is far better than 95% of UK roads!!

Skálanes is not all as I remembered it. When I left in August 2009 it was green, lush and just at the end of the summer season. Now it is just coming to life, with the first returning birds and hints of vegetation pushing up through the soil.  The turf wall we built the last time has filled in nicely, the sauna is complete and the winter storms have coated the windows in salt!

The next couple of weeks will see us getting the place ready for the start of the 2011 season, which starts in May, and the arrival of the livestock that stays at the house. Bjartur (Oli’s Labrador) is already here with us, although for anyone who knows him…he has already mounted an expedition ¾ of the way back to town and I had to go bring him back!

I will get some photos up at some point soon. Keep an eye open for more updates soon!

Grounded...

Location: Glasgow Airport (still!)

Flight was meant to leave 55mins ago, but we have a technical problem. Isnt travel fun...

D-Day...

Location: Inverclyde

A couple of hours to go as my flight isn't until 14:20, but finally the day has come to return to Iceland.  Clothes and gear are all packed, eventually and with some persuasion, and everything seems to be in order.

I'm not sure what the internet situation is like out at Skalanes yet, as we will probably be using slow mobile internet, but I will try and post a blog at the first opportunity. Even if it means having to stop off at Skaftafell to use the broadband and have tea/cake! (Awful I know!)

Anyway...time to get some sleep before the travels ahead.

Skalanes Updates: Coming Soon!

Inspired by Iceland

 3.5 days until we travel north to Iceland on Wednesday 6th April! We will not actually be arriving at Skálanes until Thursday 7th April as we have to register at the Icelandic Registration Office in Reykjavik.  Normally you can visit Iceland as a tourist for 3 months without any extra paperwork, but as we will be there for 5 months we need to register.

Our flights (mine from Glasgow, Izzy's from Heathrow) should see us land in Keflavik International Airport where we will then catch a 45 min bus ride to Reykjavik.  Next day we will fly from Reykjavik to Egilsstadir in the east. Where Oli will hopefully remember we are coming and collect us for the drive to Skálanes.
Final attempts at packing are currently being made, weight limits double checked and documents found, lost and found again!

As long as fate smiles kindly on us (no arline strikes, volcanic eruptions etc.) next Wednesday or Thursday, all further communication will be coming from the East Fjords. As a primer for this, take a look at the video on the link below:

INSPIRED BY ICELAND - Inspired by Iceland