‘The Arctic Turns will stay with me forever’
LAURA Kudelska has worked at RSPB South Stack since August 2015, originally as a Project Officer working on funding bids. In June 2016 she became Site Manager at the reserve. Laura is originally from a farm in South West Wales and has lived on Anglesey for five years.
What does a typical day involve in your role?
On a nature reserve of more than 300 hectares of land with 150 sheep, six cattle and 250,000 visitors there isn’t one! In the quieter winter months I am busy working on projects like the new play ground, so lots of emails, paper work and phone calls. Sometimes I get out of the office to do physical work like rebuilding walls. In the busy months I can often be found on the reserve supporting the staff and volunteers in the daily running. This can include first aid, meetings about fencing fields, checking live cliff camera footage – anything you can think of !
The variety and knowing that in some small part I am helping to protect a place for nature. One new pair of Chough on the site is extremely exciting for me! My daily work is inside and outside and it’s a pretty amazing view that none of us tire of. I work with an amazing group of staff and volunteers who make the most stressful day seem okay.
Filming the Arctic Tern colony of 8,000 birds on The Skerries will stay with me forever. The smell and noise of the colony is unforgettable. For two years I went out on a lot of boat trips some at dawn, running from when they arrive in May to when they leave in August. I watched hundreds of hours of footage in the early hours of the morning so there was a lot of sleep deprivation. It was all worth it to be part of something so amazing. I knew nothing about them at the start and I learnt so much. Watching a pair meet for the first time after many months apart, their mating rituals, a chick hatching, a chick trying to fly for the first time, they do crash land a lot! Each August I would see these small birds only a couple of months old head off on the longest migration on earth and it happens right here off Anglesey!
Nature, since I was very young growing up in rural Wales I have always been fascinated by nature. I am extremely lucky to have had the childhood I had. I use to collect feathers, press flowers, follow animal tracks, and look for mammals. I lived on a farm with a river and woodland next door so there was a lot of nature to learn about. This has led me to the job I do now. I also love spending time in the outdoors with a camera and my dog, Skye.
That’s a tough one, I work with such an amazing group of staff and volunteers we have a laugh every day. One occasion that sticks in my mind from last year is when our Catering Manager Eluned spotted what looked like Bottled-nosed Dolphins out of the cafe window. This is always a highlight for the staff, volunteers and visitors at the reserve. She was so excited to see them she let the whole cafe know. Dozens of people ran out of the cafe to the corner of the car park to see them with the visitors outside running to join them.... it turned out to be a group of kayakers. They where a long way off and it took a while before everyone realised they weren’t dolphins!
Spring - all the colour that it brings and the warmth in the air after a long wet winter, there is nothing better. It is like everything has woken up, flowers carpet the floor and birds are busy building nests and feeding young.
To create a scene of pride for local people, a great place for visitors, while nature thrives. Over the coming years we are working on creating a better place for birds like the Chough, mammals, reptiles, plants and insects while looking to improve the visitor facilities. I hope that wintering flocks of Chough will become the norm and people will ‘flock’ here to see them.
Probably a Chough, they are very sociable found in flocks in the winter. They pair for life as well. The best thing about them is that they love to fly in the wind – watching them dancing and doing acrobatic moves, they look like they are having a great time.
80% of lowland heathland in the UK has been lost in last 200 years. South Stack is surrounded by some of the most dramatic coastline in the UK with a mixture of seabirds like the Puffin and heathland wildlife. There really aren’t many places like it. It is so unique it has a flower that grows here and doesn’t grow anywhere else in the world! It is one of the few places in Wales that you can see a Puffin without catching a boat. Our 10,000 seabird colony is one of the most accessible in Wales to see. Our Visitor Centre is open every day of the week apart from Christmas Day, so if visitors are interested in learning about this great place there is someone around that can help.
In next month’s article I’ll be interviewing Mel and Bab’s, who have been volunteering at RSPB South Stack for five years. Make sure you grab yourself a copy, it will be a great insight into the numerous opportunities and rewards that volunteering with the RSPB offers, as well as information on how you could join us at RSPB South Stack and help some fantastic wildlife.