Week Ending 25th August 2013

So it’s the end of another busy week here on Flat Holm Island. The week has seen 2 reasonably sized groups of visitors visit on the Westward Ho from Western-Super-Mare, and for the best part of those visits the weather played ball and was very pleasant.

The gull colony is now pretty much empty and will stay that way through until the spring when the breeding season begins all over again. Hopefully we will see some of the chicks that were ringed this year return to the island as the colony reassembles next year.

There were slightly fewer butterflies recorded on this week’s survey, but the island was packed full of other wildlife during our invertebrate survey. The team found Cave Spiders in the underground ammunition stores, several species of Dragonfly on the Elder bushes and a couple of new day flying moths.

A Migrant Hawker Dragonfly on the Elder bush

On the bird front we have noticed a large number of Oyster Catchers visiting the island’s West Beach at dusk every night. Now that their breeding season is over it seems that they no longer return to the site at which they nested, and are using the island as a congregation point. In recent nights we have seen up to 80 Oyster Catchers arrive on the beach, while we have previously only observed 10 using the island as a nesting site. Unfortunately by the time that they arrive the light is low and the black birds against the black rocks doesn’t make for a good picture!

It's much easier to spot Oyster Catchers during the daytime!

Although the breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons have now left the island with their fledged chick, a pair of Peregrines were spotted flying over the island this morning. There are of course still plenty of pigeons that they could pick up here as a tasty snack!

Work on restoring the old building directly above the jetty is now complete with Molly and Harriet putting in a lot of hours to get the project finished while the rest of the team were otherwise occupied. The building now looks great and is a much better first impression for those who step off the boats and up the jetty.

Before...

After...Looks much better

This weeks funny story comes from China. With our placement coming to an end on the island at the end of September we are still looking for a new job to take on afterwards. Something tells me that I won't be taking a job enforcing this new law in one of the southern cities....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23766837

See you all next week!

Week Ending 18th August 2013

It's been another busy week out here on Flat Holm with 4 consecutive days of visitors coming to visit the island.

Stuart and I were given the task of returning to the mainland to pick up the shopping for the next 5 weeks, staying overnight in Cardiff before returning to the island the next day. Everything went exceptionally well, with the exception of all the items that were in cardboard containers being destroyed by the rain!

The sun setting behind the Farmhouse over Barry Island

With the school holidays still in full swing we have had a reasonable number of children coming to visit the island with their families, and it always makes me smile as they struggle to come to terms with the fact that we live here without shops, cinemas or bowling alleys that they hold so dearly at home.

The butterfly count this week was well over the 200 mark again, with many of the white varieties of butterfly making a bit of a comeback.

With the number of gulls falling each week we have had more of an opportunity to stop and notice more of the smaller birds that are now calling the island home. Chiff Chaffs, Willow Warblers, Whitethroats and Wheatears are all commonly spotted at the moment, while along the coastline a pair of Whimbrels have frequently been spotted on the rocks down toward the water's edge.

The dry stone walling project is now back in full swing after a number of other jobs taking priority in recent weeks. Day by day the wall gets a little higher, and while it may not be the work of a professional we are all pretty pleased with how it's going.

Mat, Molly and Vicky working on the dry stone walling

Now I'm sure all of us at some stage have worried about being robbed or mugged when we've been carrying something extra valuable around with us (we certainly were carrying our passports and £2000 of cash with us around some questionable places while we were travelling), but in Venezuela it's maybe not what you are carrying in your pockets that you need to be worried about....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23707452

See you next time!  *Photos to follow shortly*

Week Ending 11th August 2013

Our first full week back on the island following our short break has been a fairly busy one, but we have got a lot of important jobs ticked off the list.

Light breaking through the clouds above one of the searchlight posts

After posting the last blog, I realised that there was one important detail that I had missed out. Just before we left the island for our short stay back on the mainland, it was time for the island's annual wild leak survey. The wild leaks that we have on the island grow in only 5 places in the UK, and we are lucky enough to be one of them. They are protected by law and it is a criminal offence to pick them or damage them in any way.

A Bumblebee enjoying one of the 3,135 wild leaks we have on the island

Statistically a population of over 3,000 leaks is classed as "healthy", while if the figures were to fall below 1,500 the population would be classed as "of concern". After a great deal of counting we finally came to record a population size of 3,135 wild leaks for Flat Holm meaning that we have a healthy population!

So back to this week. We began by putting out our moth trap overnight, and ended up having our most successful haul by far; 56 moths which were made up of 26 different species that we were able to identify!

The weeks butterfly walk was also similarly successful, with nearly 300 butterflies being recorded during the lap of the island. A few more species of butterfly have become more prominent since we returned to the island, with the Peacock and Comma butterflies becoming a much more common sight.

A Peacock Butterfly on the head of a Teasel that is starting to flower

The Comma Butterfly with it's frilly wings is now a common sight on the island

One of the lengthier tasks for the week was to top up the water tank that flushes the toilets on the south side of the island. The tank can hold around 6,000 litres, however the bowser pump that we use to pump water into it can only take 1,000 litres at a time. 

Vicky's turn at holding the hose in place

During the time while we were waiting for the tank to fill however I spotted something that made all of the waiting around worthwhile. A Jersey Tiger Moth came and landed only a couple of metres away from where we were filling the tank. The Jersey Tiger is classed as "Nationally Scarce" although in recent years their numbers have been reported as increasing and becoming more widespread. Previously they were often only sighted in and around the Devon area. A few years ago when one was sighted on Flat Holm is was recorded as the first ever sighting of a Jersey Tiger Moth in Wales! 

The Jersey Tiger Moth. Very happy to have seen one of these!

Although we only had the one boat visit this week the Westward Ho brought 93 passengers over from Western-Super-Mare, which meant we had an incredibly busy day. Five separate guided tours were required to accommodate everybody, but the weather was great and everybody seemed to have a fun day out.

So to finish off this week, what do you think is the most unlikely thing ever found on an underground train? Something about this discovery on a New York Metro train just seems a little fishy to me!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23610105

See you all next week!

Catch Up Time! - Week Ending 4th August 2013

Wow... I can't believe that we are into August already! Apologies for the absence of blogs recently, but having had a short break away from the island we've been busy getting all the little things done back on the mainland that we don't get a chance to do here.

Following on from the last blog entry on the 21st July, we had to head back to Cardiff for a few days of training before our official "holiday" began. A very comprehensive and practical first aid course was followed the next day by formal training in the use of Trimmers & Brushcutters, both of which we were able to pass. The latter is especially good news as we are now certified to use the machines in public areas, and that opens up another possible new door for the future.

Heading back down to Kent following the training was great, although as per normal there was little time for relaxing with a large number of jobs to get done and people to see in such a small amount of time. At least the weather really played ball when we visited Mum and Dad for a Sunday afternoon BBQ where a good time was had by all!

Although we are only just over half way through our 6 month placement on Flat Holm, the search is already on for future work as most jobs with a September / October start date are already recruiting. We have put in several applications for a range of roles in the conservation sector, and we have managed to secure an interview with the Kent Wildlife Trust for a similar placement to the one that we are currently on. Hopefully it will go well as a certain amount of time we have spent back home has been used brushing up on our knowledge.

So now tomorrow we head back to our island life once again, with a stop at Maidstone along the way for the above mentioned interview. Although we have only been off the island for such a short time I have to say I am really missing it. To us the island really feels like home and an extension of ourselves and our personality. It will be very interesting to see how the island has developed in our absence, with many of the plants coming into flower and the gulls preparing to leave the island after the breeding season.

We haven't really taken any photos this week, hence the absence of the usual snaps, but here's one from the stock cupboard just to add a little colour to the page.

Sunset over Lavenock Point

So to finish off this week, do you fancy winning yourself £7080? I'm sure most people would like to, and all you need to do is write the country of Switzerland a new national anthem! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23550915

Normal blogging service should be resumed this Sunday, see you all then!