Ranger Round-Up 2026: Week 4

Welcome to the new weekly ranger round-up, where our Summer Marine Rangers Emma and Charley as well as our Gull Ranger, Patrick, will come together to share everything they have been up to! Enjoy reading through these weekly summaries and please pop into Blue Adventures if you want to say hi to the team.

Eyemouth Coastal Clean-up

We began the week with a coastal clean-up out our back door on the sandy beach of Eyemouth! With the hot weather and school holidays pulling loads of people to the shoreline, the edges of the beach had gathered a fair bit of leftover litter from hot and busy days in the sun. A small group of us headed out to clear the worst of it and give the bay a bit of love!

As always, we also recorded what we collected for the Marine Conservation Society. These records help map litter trends around the UK and build a clearer picture of what’s ending up on our beaches - super useful for national conservation efforts!

We collected around 10kgs of rubbish today, which really showed us how quickly things build up here in the high season! We hope you’ve all managed to spot our new gull-proof bins, they’re solar powered, crush down contents to fit more inside, and to prevent gulls from getting inside and scavenging. There are now two of these bins in Eyemouth, and they’re super handy to help keep our beautiful beaches looking its best during these busy summer weeks.

MEC arts and crafts

This week we assembled a table and chairs for children coming to the MEC, for arts and crafts. Everyone is welcome to the MEC to learn more about the species that can be found across the BMR coastline - from jellyfish to gulls. There are no creative limits here…

Rockpool Ramble

Tuesday afternoon entailed a wonderful rockpool ramble at St Abbs, which brought in locals, tourists and lots of families. It was heart-warming watching not only the children enjoying their time outdoors, but the parents too - it is the perfect holiday activity. We learnt the key differences between the common and rough periwinkles, identified glass shrimps and shore crabs, and discovered numerous crab moults scattered across the shoreline.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Shorewatch - St Abbs 

Wednesday began with a Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) Shorewatch just outside St Abbs Visitor Centre. The WDC Shorewatch scheme is the perfect opportunity to:

• Bring marine conservation expertise to local communities

• Engage local people in the process of protecting the marine environment 

• Collect vital data that can be used to inform MPA designation

Shorewatches consist of 10 minute effort-based surveys, which can occur at specific sites across Scotland. At the BMR, we use the St Abbs and Eyemouth WDC sites for events with the public - all free of charge to attend!

Although there had been multiple sightings over the week about minke whales and bottlenose dolphins - and even potential common dolphins - we had little luck spotting any cetaceans sadly. However, every watch is important data for WDC - as they compare the frequency of sightings between seasons and years.

Himalayan Balsam Blitz - Coldingham

Himalayan Balsam is a tall invasive plant with pink-purple flowers that have explosive seed heads. These seeds are small and easily carried by wind or water. Himalayan Balsam out-competes native species, particularly along river banks and can impede flow at times of high rainfall - increasing chances of flooding! It has become so widespread in the UK, that it is an offence to plant or allow this species to grow in the wild, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Here at the BMR, we lead Himalayan Balsam Blitzs, with the help of our trusty volunteers and members of the public who are up to the challenge! 

Charley set out on this mission around Coldingham Bay - with some Himalayan Balsam definitely more difficult to access than others! The technique involved wiggling the stems out of the ground and removing the plant entirely, to prevent the seed heads from bursting and therefore growing in other areas! Once we got going, it became ridiculously addictive - the satisfying pull, the instant clear patch (until you look up and see another patch…), and the “just one more…” mentality kicking in as we worked along the area, losing track of time very quickly and easily!

It was a well-attended event with a lovely mix of trustees and long-time volunteers, and we had so much fun trying to get all the balsam out before it pops for the season. A proper feel-good blitz, helping out the health of our local environment and ecosystems within - a great seasonal win for Coldingham Bay.

Nature Journalling - MEC

To wind down after a busy week, Emma led a Nature Journalling event for children and adults - to help them connect with the outside world. Themed nature journals could be based on a species or a place, from St Abbs Head to Coldingham Bay or cetaceans at sea. This event allowed people to reflect on their experiences in nature, writing down anything that came to mind - whether that was something new they learnt about starfish or fond memories they made with friends at the seaside. It was completely open to their own interpretation. Prompts and guidance were provided, to help guide their nature journaling experience.

National Whale and Dolphin Watch Week - Coldingham Bay

On Saturday, we collaborated with the National Trust for Scotland for a National Whale and Dolphin Watch at Homeli Knoll on Coldingham Bay. It was an incredibly gusty day but we persevered from 11am-3pm and saw a variety of seabirds, from diving gannets to herring gulls and one fulmar spotted flying with stiff wings. We also spotted several grey seal heads popping up, including one seal shielding its fishy dinner from seabirds flocking around it. Emma managed to spot a pod of 3 bottlenose dolphins swimming through the waters near a diving boat, only 500m from shore! Although this was our only cetacean sighting for the day, volunteers and members of the public still had a blast - particularly watching the Herring Queen boat procession occur toward the end of the survey! We had an incredible group of volunteers who stuck with us throughout the event, keeping their eyes peeled for cetaceans: Paul, Debby and Lynn - thank you so much for your enthusiasm.

Coldingham Gala

The Coldingham Gala sparked the end of the week, with Emma, Charley and Patrick setting up a stall to engage and educate the public. It was a good opportunity to advertise upcoming events and more generally talk to kids and adults about the marine life you can find in the BMR. We also set-up a trash or treasure game that intrigued lots of children (and adults), where you had 30 seconds to separate out recycling, other rubbish and natural treasure that should be left on the beach. It was a massive success and allowed participants to understand the importance of picking up rubbish off the beach and helped them distinguish the difference between seaweeds and plastics (which can look very similar at times!). Thank you to everyone who came to say hello at the gala, it was lovely meeting you all. 

On a final note, the Marine Education Centre in Blue Adventures is getting a makeover! Keep your eyes peeled for our beautiful new windows… all will be revealed next week.