From the edge of the world: part 6

One of my roles is to welcome all visitors and introduce them to the main features of the island. This can be quite a difficult task, when some arrive feeling unwell or cold from the crossing, or just plain keen to get out and explore. Many people have waited a long time to make the journey to St Kilda and I want them to have as enjoyable an experience as possible. I try to keep things short but informative, and include points of safety both for the visitors and for our wildlife and heritage.

Visitors come from all over the world and may arrive by cruise ship, day boat, yacht, landing craft or helicopter. It’s vital that we maintain biosecurity, and the prevention of introducing non-native species via the jetty is one of my responsibilities. No pets are allowed ashore, and all visitors have to arrive by an open boat so that rats cannot be harboured. Rats would have a devastating effect on the seabird population on St Kilda, which currently boasts the largest colonies of Atlantic puffin and fulmar in the UK, the second largest gannetry in the UK, and 94% of the UK population of Leach’s petrel. In addition, there are notable populations of European storm petrel, great skua, razorbill, guillemot and Manx shearwater; so vigilance is key!

All of our seabirds are monitored by our seabird and marine ranger, Sarah. I too have experience in bird monitoring, and so am keen to be involved whenever I have the time. It was fantastic to be part of the recent survey to monitor puffin breeding success, which is carried out over a predetermined location on the island every year. We’re really looking forward to seeing our first pufflings (fledged puffins) soon!