This summer, thanks to the support of the British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) through their Seabird Ringing Grants, and the folks at the Shiants Seabird Research Group, I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to spend one magical week on the Shiant Isles searching for birds.

The research that the Shiants Seabird Research Group does on the isles contributes to national and international efforts to better understand the ecology and population dynamics of these amazing creatures. It was an honour to have the opportunity to be part of this project and contribute to their ringing activities. I had the chance to work with an amazing group of people on one of the nicest places on Earth!

 

I will be forever thankful to the BTO for their support and the Shiants Searbird Research Group for welcoming me into the group during the week and making me feel like one of their own. I had a great time sleeping in a tent for the whole week, getting water from the well, helping out to move the dinghy about, and just in general being in an amazing and remote location “off the grid”!

   

And of course, the wildlife. Species seen included white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), razorbill (Alca torda), common guillemot (Uria aalge), arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), great and arctic skua (Stercorarius skua and Stercorarius parasiticus), european storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus), atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), european shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) among other nice birds!

I had the chance to ring species such as razorbills, guillemots, skuas, shags, artic terns, and puffins! All in all, amazing!

Thanks to Jim, Noelia, Rhys, Rhys2, Ian, Rosie, Dean, Sophie, Liz, Andy and Carole for the great times!