Tuesday 3 June 2014

Time to get back on the blog!

It's been a long time since I've posted up here on the blog.... a lot has happened.... way too much to fit in to one post (or even several!) so I'll just have to give you the skinny..... I'm still working as a Field Ecologist for AECOM, but I've moved away from Caithness and I can now be found roaming around the mountains of Argyll. The new sites are great, (they actually have some birds which makes a nice change), and this month is the big one.... breeding raptors! Alas, I can't go into much detail as the work that I'm undertaking (location etc) has all got to be kept confidential, but there are some goodies and hopefully later on in the year I'll be able to put up an update as to how the breeding season went!

As for other bits and pieces, well, where to start?! I finally saw my Holy Grail bird on Orkney - a white-phase Gyr Falcon, then a year later was fortunate enough to find my own on my site in Caithness..... found a Fea's Petrel off Duncansby Head, saw Orcas, as well as Sperm and Humpback Whales, incredible northern lights, several excellent twitches (and some not so great!!), a couple of trips to Azerbaijan for work, a holiday in Romania, 2 consecutive October holidays in Shetland - the second proving the most fruitful with a stonking mega - Thick-billed Warbler..... continued training for my ringing C-permit, found quite a few decent birds on my local patch and did Tough Mudder for charity!! Rather than fill this entry with endless paragraphs, I'll just stick up photos instead... they'll probably tell a better story anyway!
Red-footed Falcon near Aberfeldy

Roller in East Yorks
Ptarmigan on Ben Kilbreck, Sutherland

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll in Shetland Oct 2012

Waxwings in my garden in Thurso

Me with a Waxwing after putting some bling on its leg
Amazing Aurora borealis over Thurso - Nov 2013
The Holy Grail
  
Snow Bunting on site in Sutherland - March 2013
Sperm Whale in Oban
Cracking Woodchat Shrike at Chew Valley Lake, Somerset
Large Blue at Collard Hill, Somerset

Ringing a Black Guillemot in Caithness

Kittewake taking a breather on my leg for 10 minutes after being fleyged and ringed

Storm Petrel relaxing after getting a new ring

Collared Flycatcher in Northumberland

BLEEDING ORCAS!!!!
Tawny Owl in Lairg

Purple Emperor in East Sussex

Pechora Pipit on Shetland Oct 2013

Ringing a female Tawny Owl in Argyll
More pictures to follow!!!

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