Rum National Nature Reserve (NNR) is a special place to look after, but the remote and rugged terrain means that some fieldwork requires a bit of extra help. Staff from across our northern National Nature Reserves recently gathered on the island to carry out some essential tasks to help protect the reserve’s unique habitats and wildlife. Reserve manager Lesley Watt tells us more in today’s blog.  

One of the key tasks we wanted to achieve while we had a lot of help was our annual monitoring of Manx shearwaters. Manxies, as they are affectionately known, make an amazing journey of 10,000 miles from the coast of South America to breed on Rum each March. The island is home to one of the largest breeding colonies of this seabird in the world, with around 120,000 breeding pairs.

Every year we monitor the productivity of Manx shearwaters by sampling their burrows. These birds nest underground, high in the hills of the Rum Cuillin. To avoid predation, they only access their burrows under the cover of darkness, and so it makes them very difficult to survey. 

The aim was to locate accessible burrows which had an egg inside. We will then return to the same burrows in late August (just before the chicks start to leave the burrows) to see if that same egg has developed into a heathy chick. This gives us an indication of the breeding productivity and how the Manx shearwater are performing in different parts of the colony.

We were pleased to find that all appears to be well with the colony at this stage of the breeding season, with birds sitting on eggs in their underground nesting burrows. This monitoring is vital however, as any drop in productivity can alert us to issues which may need intervention to help solve.

Another task it was invaluable to have help with was preparing for some work to control and remove non-native rhododendron from a remote area in the south of the island at Papadil. With a 2.5-hour walk needed to reach the site, and the unpredictable weather on Rum, we decided it would be helpful to have some shelter for contractors to use.

Two flat-packed shelters were flown into the area in the winter, when we had a helicopter on Rum removing old deer fencing and helping the Mountain Bothies Association with some work at Guirdil bothy on the island. The team successfully managed to get both built in a day which will make a huge difference for the contractors, staff and volunteers working on removing rhododendron here.

It wasn’t all hard graft, however. We also had time to discuss the history and management of the National Nature Reserve and get helpful input on the island’s management plan which is due to be renewed in the next few months. We also met with Professor Josephine Pemberton from the University of Edinburgh’s Red Deer Project, who gave visiting staff an overview of the work they are doing at Kilmory in the north of the island.

The fieldwork coincided with some spectacular weather which also allowed for some great wildlife spotting opportunities. Staff had close encounters with golden eagle, red deer, crossbills, merlin, seabirds, lapwing and curlew along with great views of Manx shearwaters and a minke whale from the ferry – a great reminder of why this kind of hard work is so worthwhile.

Find out more about Rum National Nature Reserve: https://www.nature.scot/enjoying-outdoors/visit-our-nature-reserves/rum-national-nature-reserve