By Rachael Hustler, Scottish Lowlands placement student
The new year marks four months into my placement with GWCT and there are plenty of highlights from my time in Scotland so far.
A big reason why I chose a to spend my placement year with the Trust was because of the fieldwork it entailed, and therefore a clear stand out so far has been the week I spent at Auchnerran completing winter bird and rabbit surveys. Just staying on the farm for a week and being surrounded by the beautiful Scottish landscape felt great for the soul! It was also a good opportunity to practise my bird ID skills, explore the diverse habitat on the farm, and experiment with some new technology, including the thermal binoculars we were trialling. I look forward to returning to the farm to take part in mountain hare surveys in the spring.
Rabbit and winter bird surveys at Auchnerran farm. Photo credits S. Howell
Starting a new role normally involves meeting new people. The farming community has previously appeared rather exclusive as I don’t come from that background myself. However, my interactions with members of this community have always been overwhelmingly positive, and the level of engagement in conservation is always higher than I expect. Consequently, in the last few months I have really enjoyed taking part in farm walks and other events, meeting colleagues in Scotland and at HQ during staff conference.
Left: Agroforestry workshop hosted by integrating tree’s network.
Right: PepsiCo FAB project farm walk at Gilston. Photos credits R. Hustler
Looking forward to the rest of my placement, I feel there are many things to be excited about, not just better weather. One of these is a study we are starting looking at different designs of supplementary feeders for farmland birds. Overall, I’m excited to continue to make the most of my time in Scotland and with the GWCT.