Exciting news! National Trust for Scotland are recruiting for 3 seasonal ranger posts across our islands this year. Please indicate at the top of the application form which is your preferred location. (Currently only the Staffa job description is on the website, but the Lunga and Staffa/Lunga/Iona roles should appear there next week and are very similar.) https://www.nts.org.uk/volunteering-jobs/job-search/highlands-islands-region
One of the organisations our ranger service works in partnership with is the National Trust for Scotland. Guest blog from Louise King, this year’s NTS Staffa seasonal ranger, looking back on this summer.
Staffa is particularly well known for two things: Fingal’s Cave, a remarkable sea cave carved into the free-standing basalt columns, and the comical, pint-sized puffins that make the island clifftops their home between April and early August each year. As incredible as these two elements are, there is even more to Staffa. It is a completely awe-inspiring island, with a constant fluidity to match the flowing topography of the landscape and the surrounding seas.
Before being entrusted with the position of ranger (my dream job!) thanks to the funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, I had been fortunate to visit Staffa on several occasions. Even though I now step ashore almost daily, no two days are alike. There is always something different to see, a new nook to explore, changing colours through the seasons, distinctive bird song filling the air, the weather showing its power, and unexpected wildlife encounters.
My day begins on the geologically rich shores of Fionnphort in Mull, where the tour operators’ boats welcome us aboard. There is always a hum of excitement in the air, as people from all walks of life gather to visit the spectacular Inner Hebrides, each with their own stories.
From the get-go, Staffa is in sight, along with several other island properties we manage in the area: Iona, Burg and, very excitingly, the newest Trust property at the Treshnish Isles. My work supports our conservation charity’s vision to care for, protect and share these special places, now and for future generations to enjoy. The 6-mile boat journey north is an experience in itself, whether riding the long rolling waves of the Atlantic swell or gliding through mirror-like seas. The seas of the Hebrides are abundant in marine life. Particular highlights so far have been lunge-feeding minke whales, seals sunning themselves, my first-ever basking shark, leaping common dolphins, blooms of jellyfish and boisterous bottlenose dolphins – not bad for the daily commute!
Upon reaching Staffa, many people are overwhelmed by the sight of the Great Face’s basalt columns towering over us. After landing at Clamshell Cave, manoeuvred expertly by the skippers, I scramble along the causeway to Fingal’s Cave, checking the path as I go to ensure it’s safe for visitors. The cave is rarely quiet, be it the sound of roaring waves that inspired Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides overture or people making their own music on calm days. Often, there are echoing gasps of amazement … and even the occasional bagpipe rendition too.
I then climb the staircase to the top of the island, following the newly laid meandering paths to the puffin colony. Here, people eagerly await the puffins’ emergence from the sea below. These little birds take to the skies in a wheeling flight, flapping in unison in large circles out from the sea along the edge of the cliff before landing, often with a less-than-graceful thud, by their burrows. The sight of these bright-billed birds mere metres away brings a chorus of excited gasps, some people even shedding joyous tears. It’s a special moment in people’s lives that I feel humbled to witness.
I spend a lot of time here at the north end of the island by the burrows, engaging with visitors to help give an insight into the ‘secret life’ of the puffins, answering any questions and discussing the environmental importance of these seabirds.
Beyond my set daily tasks, my adventures vary. So far, they have led me to cover more of Staffa than I could have imagined. I have studied wildflowers, rambled in rockpools and surveyed many of the breeding bird species including puffins, shags, fulmars, black guillemots, gulls and storm petrels. Hearing the latter’s soft purr and calls from among fallen rocks was a special moment, made more so because I was able to share it with some kayakers. Despite their own amazing travels inciting a little jealousy in me, they said this made their holiday.
I have also had the opportunity to explore many of the caves on Staffa, including the Cannonball Cave whose cylindrical chasm is thought to have been created by a tree trapped in the lava flow that eroded away – how cool is that! From wildflowers coming into bloom and baby birds being born, to surprise encounters with otters, white-tailed eagles and a humpback whale towards Lunga, I never know what’s in store for me!
One of my favourite spots on the island, where I find a little peace between landings, is perched above the Great Face, looking down onto Boat Cave. Here you can clearly see the three untouched formations of ash, basalt columns and chaotically jointed pebble effect. On stormy days, the wind whistling round the cliffs stirs up the birds who float effortlessly, whilst calm days provide the best spotting opportunities for marine life and passing boats. It certainly puts a lot of things into perspective.
Working on Staffa is not without its challenges. Being exposed to the elements, it’s easy to see why this island has remained uninhabited. Some days appear miserable, wet and windy; others offer no shelter from the glaring sun (who knew that happened in Scotland!). Luckily, no matter the weather, each day brings a surprise and some fun of its own.
The impact Staffa has on people personally is astounding. Whether you find serenity or have your senses overwhelmed, it evokes a reaction in everyone. I am unbelievably privileged to be able to share with people, and impart my knowledge on, such an extraordinary place, full of history and natural landscapes. I love doing my bit to protect Staffa, so it can be cherished for many years to come.
The conservation and engagement work carried out by Louise on Staffa was supported through funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have now raised more than £1 billion for thousands of charities and local good causes.
Staffa is one of the islands we look after here at the ranger service, it’s part of our partnership with the National Trust for Scotland.
Plenty of activity on this little island recently! Louise King, the new NTS seasonal ranger has arrived and is enjoying getting to know the place and enhancing our visitor experience with plenty of information, often to be found at the puffin colony where birds are returning and have just started coming on land to sort out their burrows for egg laying. Louise brings a lot of knowledge about rockpool creatures and marine mammals, here she is investigating the intertidal zone.
Sadly the birds that are not returning are our fulmars. Cliff faces that were dotted with nest sites a few years ago are now eerily quiet. Fulmar populations are declining nationally, with marine plastic and climate change affecting food supplies, but ours gave up their breeding attempt mid-season last year and have not returned. We don’t know if they were spooked by something or whether it’s just part of the general decline for this species, but it’s sad to lose a breeding species from the island. Hopefully they will try and re-establish a colony in the future.
More positively, Louise and Emily spent a night on Staffa with volunteer bird-enthusiast Igua, to enable a dawn black guillemot count which revealed numbers of this auk species are healthy. Birds nest in hidden cracks in the cliffs, but fly down before sunrise ready to head out to sea to fish, displaying their big red clown feet as they perch on the edge of the rocks ready to dive in!
In other wildife news, we are keeping a close eye on the colony of shags breeding in Clamshell Cave this year. As they are so close to the landing jetty we need to ensure they have fledged all of their chicks before we start improvement works there in late summer/autumn. This means Staffa will be closed to all landings for a couple of months from mid-late August onwards.
On the maintenance side of things, we hosted NTS Footpath Manager Bob Brown last week to help us plan future repair work. We love welcoming visitors to explore this National Nature Reserve, but tens of thousands of human feet every year do take their toll on the ground surface, so we are gradually making paths more durable and less muddy. We also completed a spring beach clean and good to see there wasn’t too much rubbish needing taken away.
As avian influenza (bird flu) continues to be a threat to seabird colonies, we will be installing a disinfectant mat and roping off some areas to reduce disturbance to our seabirds, please watch out for signage on the island and play your part in protecting our wildlife.
More frequent updates can be found on the Staffa Twitter account.
There are 3 roles available:
This role can also be found on CJS here: https://www.countryside-jobs.com/job/feb23/seasonal-wildlife-ranger-mull-and-iona-community-trust-1602-1
Meanwhile the National Trust for Scotland are recruiting for 2 roles which will work alongside our ranger service here on Mull, Iona and Staffa – a Staffa Seasonal Ranger, and an Inner Hebrides Property Manager.
More details of the Staffa role can be found here: https://www.countryside-jobs.com/job/feb23/seasonal-ranger-national-trust-for-scotland-1002-6
More details of the manager role can be found here: https://www.countryside-jobs.com/job/mar23/inner-hebrides-property-manager-national-trust-for-scotland-1002-3
Would you like to work with us on the lovely island of Staffa for a few months this year? Find job description and application form here.
This is the year that Scotland hosts COP26, when world leaders will gather in Glasgow in November aiming to make progress on tackling climate change. Our summer Nature Adventure Days programme for 11-18 year-olds wove this theme through explorations of our countryside and coastline, thinking about ways in which we influence our natural environment locally and globally and about how we can amplify the voices of our young people and their opinions on climate change.
Thanks to continued funding from Baillie Gifford, this year the ranger service was able to offer 5 days of activities working in partnership with Headland Explorations. On the 7th July, 8 young people enjoyed a day on Staffa, travelling with Staffa Trips and experiencing a close encounter with a minke whale! A low tide gave the oppportuntity to explore the coastline below the puffin burrows with the whirr of puffin wings going back and fowards above our heads. We had lunch at the puffin colony and then took part in a storm petrel survey, playing a recorded call and listening for the response to find nest sites hidden amongst fallen boulders and old walls.
We thought about how the landscape and its wildlife has changed due to human actions, and might change in the future. On Staffa this ranges from the impacts of sea level rise (already being felt in the loss of other islands around the world) and increasing storms, facilities built for visitors (the hotel proposals that never came to be; a tourist shelter in use 200 years ago is now wildlife habitat again; whereas current visitor levels require improvements to paths and stairways to help with erosion and overcrowding), to the changing population numbers of seabirds and grazing animals.
The 21st of July saw another group of 8 young people voyage aboard the beautiful B.Marie with Alternative Boat Hire Iona. On a warm day with not enough wind for sailing, they decided on a trip around the south coast of the Ross of Mull to Traigh Gheal beach where they cleared up rubbish swept in from the sea, and enjoyed some impromptu raft-building and dinghy training! Lunchtime conversation centred around where all this marine plastic comes from, and how we can reduce it at source by choosing less packaging in the products we buy. Some clothing is even made out of recycled plastics collected from the oceans! We also talked about the areas where we don’t have direct control over our own choices, and part of the answer is to campaign and make our views known to decision-makers who can do something about the bigger issues.
The following week saw 4 intrepid adventurers climb up into the cloud on the Ardmeanach hills above Tiroran, to be rewarded with opportunities for rock-scrambling, an exciting find of a golden eagle wing feather, and an epic game of hide-and-seek in the woods on the way back down. Carpets of colourful flowers prompted discussions on biodiversity, and our lunchtime chat focused on pollinating insects, their importance in producing much of the food we eat, and what we can do to help them flourish. We looked down over Tiroran Community forest which we are also trying to make a better place for nature.
On 4th August we were rock climbing near Knockvologan with 11 young people. On the nearby beach of Traigh a’Mhill Knockvologan Studies artists helped us find ways to work as a team and produce giant artworks, inspired by the geoglyphs that ancient peoples used to mark their landscapes. Today’s lunchtime conversation was about how feeling a connection to our local environment (such as through rock climbing, outdoor art or growing our own food) can help us care for it – and that we can make choices such as purchasing local food or Fairtrade products to help others improve their own local environments while producing crops that we can’t grow here in our climate.
The final Nature Adventure Day this year found a group of 6 young people kayaking with Bendoran Watersports. After a great time on the water they thought about messages they would like to pass on to those in power politically or commercially, see if you can spot any of them here. If you would also like to make your views known ahead of COP26, please add your voice to the Climate Scotland campaign and show our leaders you care.
Our ranger service is under threat due to lack of funding. If you value the work that we do, please consider donating here. NatureScot will match fund every contribution up to a total of £6000 so every little helps!
Emily
Bright rowan berries, bracken changing colour…although mixed with a lovely splash of purple from scabious, knapweed and heather flowers, it definitely feels like autumn is approaching, especially with the wild weather we’ve been experiencing lately. Our recent guided walk to Shiaba discovered the burn (usually easily fordable) to be a raging torrent so we had to be content with viewing most of the buildings in the distance! Luckily as we stopped for lunch the clouds started to clear allowing views of Carsaig Arches and Colonsay too.
Here on Iona and Staffa we’ve just hosted the National Trust for Scotland’s footpath repair team, and also a hardy group of Thistle Camp workparty volunteers, who’ve been out in all weathers making improvements to our well-used paths. With tens of thousands of visitors a year our footpaths need constant maintenance to counteract the impact of all those feet. So enjoy our new stepping stones and a slightly less muddy experience next time you are walking to Columba’s Bay, the Hermit’s Cell or Staffa’s puffin colony! Thistle Campers also worked on repairs to drystone walls and collected rubbish from a number of Iona’s beaches. The footpath team will be back next spring when they will also be carrying out repair work to the landslide-affected path at Burg.
In my last blog post I told you about our first Nature Adventure Day along with Headland Explorations, well the programme continued with a group exploring St Martin’s Caves on Iona, foraging for seaweed and cooking it on a beach fire lit using flint and steel and natural tinder (dried bog cotton and grasses). We had seaweed soup, seaweed-flavoured popcorn, fried seaweed and a carragheen pudding! Thanks to Miek Zwamborn for sharing her expertise.
The last day involved an adventurous sail on Mark Jardine’s B.Marie, high winds causing us to abandon our original plans to travel around the south coast of the Ross of Mull for climbing and beach cleaning, in favour of heading around the north of Iona to sheltered Port Ban. Everyone enjoyed having a go at climbing and investigating the plant life of the bay with a game of wildflower name pictionary. Many thanks to the Dutch family from Erraid who kindly used their own boats to collect the beach rubbish from Traigh Gheal a few days later.
Other successful summer days included Woodland Tribe at Tiroran Community Forest where children and young people got to create their own adventure playground which should last up to 5 years. Feel free to use it next time you’re there, and if you haven’t already seen the Woollen Woods, most of it is still in place too. I’m now busy helping Bunessan Class 1 with their nature trail topic, along with Philip Yielder (Community Forester at Tiroran) so look out for a new trail to follow in the forest this autumn!
I also really enjoyed the opening celebrations for the Loch Pottie path, standing in the rain 10 minutes before the agreed time I was wondering whether anyone would turn up, but a last-minute rush saw over 100 people led by the pipe band and children on bikes all walking the path together to declare it open. It’s since been great to see it well-used and appreciated by everyone from visitors on an evening stroll, to locals walking their dogs and children cycling to the shop. Look out for new interpretation signage in due course.
The last of our wildlife surveys for the year saw me joined by some volunteers with a head for heights as we checked up on the spread of bracken at Burg and counted our population of the rare Iceland Purslane plant. Work also continues on the bothy renovations at Burg, and on the Fingal’s Cave walkway on Staffa which is nearing completion.
As some of you will be aware through our displays at the agricultural shows we were covering endangered species, one of which may well be YOUR ranger service. The Ranger Service is a partnership made of National Trust for Scotland (NTS), Forest and Land Scotland (FLS)and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and we are managed by Mull and Iona Community Trust. Unfortunately, FLS cease to fund us totally at the beginning of April next year and SNH have cut their support by 50% so our ranger team may well be under threat unless we find alternative funding. If you have time to drop us a supportive email (to mfinch@mict.co.uk) about an event you have enjoyed, what your children thought about one of the school trips we have organised, the benefits of volunteering or the difference made by our co-ordination of community access projects, beach cleans or any other aspect of our work we’d be glad to hear from you as we can use any positive comments as evidence for potential funders! We will keep you up to date as things develop but any support for our service would be much appreciated.
thanks for reading,
Emily
They say that all good things must come to an end, and my summer volunteering with the Ranger Service is no exception. I can hardly believe it’s already been two months since I arrived on this beautiful island and I’ll soon be heading back to the mainland and home to Yorkshire.
My final week on Mull started at the Tiroran Community Woodland outreach day, where visitors ate delicious cakes while watching eagles and crossbills (so I’m told….) soaring over the trees. We held our own event, planned by yours truly, later in the week. Armed with jumbo pavement chalk, we invited anyone and everyone to come and decorate the newly completed Loch Pottie Path, which joins the villages of Fionnphort and Creich. It was great to see visiting children playing hopscotch just metres away from local poets who had written special pieces for the event.
A classic game, easier to play when you’re a child (trust me)
Translation: what a light and a great view. I’m told it rhymes in Dutch!
A contribution from one of our local poets
We did a lot of survey work this week, too. Since June I’ve regularly been out to monitor a shag colony nesting on the cliffs of Iona and my final visit on Tuesday revealed two chicks I hadn’t seen previously. Good news for a colony that was completely washed away last year!
Towards the end of the week, Emily (Ranger for South Mull, Iona, Burg and Staffa) and I were fortunate enough to spend a morning with the exceptional botanist Lynne Farrell, who has scoured Mull (and various other islands) on a mission to record the plants that live there. What I lack in botanical skill I make up for in powers of observation: we found a total of 110 different species in the small area we surveyed, more than when Lynne surveyed the same plot over twenty years ago.
Lynne and I putting our binoculars to good use to zoom in on the plants over the stream
This week is a good representation of my time here; I don’t think many people will have had a summer as varied as mine. Assisting Emily, I’ve been everything from facepainter to wildlife tour guide to researcher to photographer to teaching assistant.
‘Going Wild’ at Fionnphort beach
Taking a well-earned break while surveying the plants on Burg
I’ve listened for corncrakes under a midnight sun, wild camped with the feral goats of Burg, stood top-deck on a tour boat looking for cliff-side nests and watched a sheepdog herd ducks at my first ever agricultural show.
From left: Lizzy, Emily and me at Bunessan Show
Wild camping on Burg – before the rain came
I’ve surveyed more species than I can count, (including the endemic slender scotch burnet moth and the extremely rare Iceland purslane), and my plant ID repertoire has expanded from daisy or dandelion to include such things as selfheal, butterwort and northern marsh orchid. I’ve watched dolphins playing in the sound of Iona, photographed puffins crash landing on Staffa and laughed at my own naivety for thinking a buzzard could possibly be a sea eagle.
Can’t visit Staffa without photographing a puffin
Bottlenose dolphins are regular visitors to the Sound of Iona
Outside of work I’ve explored the white sandy beaches of Ardalanish, Uisken and Kilvickeon, climbed Ben More, Mull’s only Munro, and eaten a life-changingly delicious cheesecake at Dervaig Artisan Bakery (not in the same day, though that would have been the perfect reward). I’ve also seen one or two absolutely stunning sunsets and views to islands I can barely point out on a map.
Kilvickeon beach, one of my favourites
An incredible sunset seen from Bunessan
I’m sure I’ll be back, but for now I’ll bid a fond farewell to the island and its people. I’m particularly grateful to Emily for her patience, guidance and conversation, which has helped make this summer an unforgettable experience.
Emilie
…and there’s lots of new and exciting things to tell you about!
Lizzy Grieve has started as our seasonal ranger at the eagle hide, and you can read more about what’s happening over on the Mull Eagle Watch blog.
Next week Peter Upton takes up the role of Visitor Services Assistant for the island of Staffa for four months so look out for him if you’re over there this year. I’ve been getting the island ready for the season with some beachcleaning, infrastructure checks and our first seabird count of the year, black guillemots. Thanks to Miek Zwamborn and Rutger Emmelkamp for their help and for the photos below. Please note that there is still no access to Fingal’s cave while we continue to repair storm damage to the walkway.
Over at Burg, there is still a landslide blocking the path to the fossil tree. It’s a lovely walk, even if you turn back at this point you’ll still get a flavour of the coastline with its flowery slopes, and chance to spot eagles and otters. If planning to venture onto the beach and around below the landslide to rejoin the path, please take extreme care and judge for yourself the risk of more material falling from above.
Most exciting for the Fionnphort area as work has started on our new path to Creich hall after years of hard work and fundraising by the steering group. It will make a safe off-road walking and cycling option for local journeys, and form part of several long-distance routes. Very well done everyone, can’t wait to start using it for ranger events!
I’ve been busy with sessions for both Bunessan and Iona primary schools recently. The older class from Iona carried out a study of the River Coladoir on a misty March day. Bunessan nursery children visited Tiroran Community Forest to explore and learn about baby animals including eagle chicks.
We are looking forward to our Woollen Woods event at the forest, come along to celebrate the launch on Sunday 19th May or drop in for a walk anytime over the summer to spot the creatures on display. This project has really caught people’s imaginations and we’ve loved receiving everyone’s creations, thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!
Traffic is building up again on our island roads, so if you’re not used to single track roads with passing places, please make sure you take time to watch this video before you visit and ensure stress-free driving for everyone!
Likewise please take care if visiting with your dog, especially at this time of year when lambs and ground-nesting birds are everywhere. Make sure you keep your dog under close control and follow any local signage.
It’s also time for our events programme to get going again. While a day of sudden bad weather cancelled my attempt at an Iona birdsong walk, Jan had better luck the following week and a lovely day with the Glengorm ranger at their Easter event.
Coming up we have a free guided walk to the mysterious Scoor Cave on 8th May in return for helping out with a beachclean as the gully there really funnels in debris off the sea. You can join Jan on the lovely island of Ulva on the 15th May or come to Iona to learn about wildflowers on the 22nd. Keep an eye on the events page for the full programme coming soon and we look forward to seeing you all at some point this summer!
Emily
Mull & Iona Ranger Service 