Introduction

In April this year I accepted a post with the British Antarctic Survey to be their penguin and giant petrel Zoological Field Assistant on Bird Island, South Georgia (in the sub-Antarctic region). Throughout September and October I am undergoing all sorts of training in preparation for this role and will be flying out on the 4^th November.

Soon I will get to see these guys in the wild!

As this is such an amazing job opportunity for a seabird ecologist I have decided to write this blog to show the amazing wildlife in the sub-Antarctic to anyone that wants to read about it. I will be in a location with limited internet access so blogs will be irregular but I will try and upload new ones whenever available.

Bird Island is an amazing location to be working at, and in my first on-island blogs I will be describing the journey there and the island itself. But for this introductory blog I thought it would be best to describe how I got here….. very briefly!!

I have always loved animals and wanted to work closely with them in my career. I decided the best way to do this would be to go into conservation work as it is vital to protect the natural world for the wellbeing of people and the planet. As such I studied for a BSc in Ecology, Economics and the Environment at the University of York. During my third year on this course I sat my first entirely marine based conservation module. The comparative lack of understanding and protection afforded to marine environments over terrestrial ones astounded me and I wanted to learn more, much more!

Moon jellyfish in the red sea

Therefore, I signed on for an MSc in Marine Environmental Management, again at York. However, having already committed to some voluntary work in Ecuador after my BSc finished I had to have a gap year before starting the MSc.

Most work in Ecuador involved cleaning cages and feeding the animals. But when a puma needs a lift after anesthetic who am I to refuse! :)

Working in animal rescue centres in Ecuador was a great experience but I had a lot of time before starting my studies again in York. So my tutor recommended I contact RSPB Bempton Cliffs who had been looking for summer volunteers monitoring their seabird colonies.

Cliff top views of seabirds from Bempton and nearby Flamborough are spectacular

In just two months at Bempton I realised how much fun it can be to work with seabirds, particularly as they are an excellent visual indicator of the health of the otherwise unseen marine environment; this makes them an ideal subject for research in to understanding marine environments and increasing the awareness of conservation issues around such locations.

Gannet flying at Bempton

During my MSc I developed an understanding of how conservation efforts are done in marine environments; including doing my final dissertation on work in Madagascar!

May not be a marine landscape (although there is water!), but a trip to Montagne d'Ambre is a must for all wildlife enthusiasts visiting Madagascar

Following the MSc and another four months at Bempton, I moved to Alderney to work with the Alderney Wildlife Trust and take on the day-to-day work involved in managing their Ramsar Site. My work in Alderney was vital to my acceptance as a scientist with BAS, so details of my time there will follow in the next blog.

Razorbill - my favourite :D

Before then a quick note on my name – RememberTheRazorbill. I developed a personal favourite in the razorbill during my time at Bempton Cliffs. Puffins are always the poster child of seabird work in the UK whilst gannets get a lot of attention due to their size and diving habits. Meanwhile guillemots and kittiwakes group together in such numbers that they are always well received. However, razorbills, being more spread out throughout a mixed seabird colony, can often be overlooked and so I made sure to always point them out to visitors to the site and they quickly became my favourite because of it. Ever since I have made sure that razorbills get included wherever I can!