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Our work here
The RSPB manages 1,075 ha of mire, bog, machair and dunes on the Isle of Coll. The reserve is a key site in the Corncrake Recovery Programme and a haven for wintering geese, breeding waders and farmland birds. Other wildlife includes otters, sand lizards and great yellow bumblebees. This rich biodiversity reflects the island’s low intensity farming practices, which we are working to maintain.
Coll Corncrakes
Coll’s corncrakes breed on in-bye fields. We have already more than quadrupled their population on the reserve to 66 calling males. Small adjustments to farming practice made in partnership with local farmers are largely responsible for this success. These include providing early cover, mowing in August rather than July, and adjusting the arable rotation system. We are continuing to refine our techniques and share our knowledge.
Fields and wetlands
Other birds of the in-bye fields that benefit from corncrake conservation include skylark, twite and reed bunting, while the fields host important wintering populations of barnacle and Greenland white-fronted geese. We use grazing to maintain feeding areas and undisturbed roost sites for the geese. We are also grazing our wetlands and maintaining their high water level for breeding waders, including redshank and lapwing, and plants, including Irish lady’s tresses.
Sand dune and machair
These internationally important habitats protect such notable species as sand lizard, belted beauty moth and the extremely rare Short-necked Oil Beetle Meloe brevicollis. We are working to maintain their condition, using low intensity grazing with cattle and sheep.
Uplifting uplands
The reserve’s upland habitats include heather moorland, bog and unimproved grassland. We are working to maintain these for their plant life, raptors and passerines such as twite. Work includes low intensity grazing, while allowing native scrub to develop on selected ungrazed areas.
People and progress
We are working to provide good facilities and an informative service for visitors, and to create a useful resource for the local community. We help out with community events and initiatives, and work to maintain good working relations with all relevant local authorities and stakeholders. Meanwhile our ongoing programme of research and monitoring tells us more about important species and habitats, and helps shape our management practices.