Saturday 8 March 2014

Quick Update...


Just returned to Yorkshire after spending a couple of months helping out on the Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project. The project aims to remove invasive rats from St Agnes and Gugh and should provide much needed safe breeding habitat for Manx Shearwaters and Storm Petrels. My work mainly involved baiting and monitoring for signs of rat. The project is going really well and with no rat signs for about 13 weeks things are looking good.

Bait Station
I had a fantastic time working with a great bunch of guys. It will be nice to revisit the islands in a few years to see the results of the project. For more information about the project visit... www.ios-seabirds.org.uk/  
 
St Agnes
I would have included a few more photos with this blog but the weather was pretty rough and I didn’t get chance to take many. 

Bird highlights at this quiet time of year came in the form of several Glaucous Gulls, Iceland Gull, numerous Great Northern Divers, Siberian Chiffchaff and an elusive female Bullfinch. 

Record shot, Sib Chiffchaff
I’m now looking forward to heading back up north to St Abb’s Head… just in time for a few cheeky migrants. First though, a quick week walking/climbing/camping on Arran.