Experiencing Life on Fair Isle

Earlier this year, we announced a new partnership with Fair Isle Bird Observatory (FIBO) giving two aspiring conservationists the chance to join a residential placement on the island.

The joint scheme is designed to support young people from the region who are looking to pursue a career in conservation, helping them gain practical skills and valuable experience of life at a bird observatory.

One of those taking part was 20-year-old Ida, who grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and is about to begin her second year studying Zoology with Ornithology at Bangor University. Ida is a keen ornithologist and is hoping to spend her university placement year at a bird observatory, making the opportunity at FIBO particularly valuable.

In this blog post, Ida shares her experience of the two-week placement, what she learnt along the way, and what it was like to spend time immersed in the wildlife and conservation work of Fair Isle.

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Having spent two weeks (and an extra day and a half!) at Fair Isle Bird Observatory, I can safely say that it was one of the best experiences I have ever had.

The journey was long with an 8 hour train ride meeting Meg, the other volunteer, at Aberdeen. We then had a 12 hour ferry crossing to Shetland before catching the small 8 seater plane that would take us to Fair Isle. Despite that, we were launched straight into observatory life. We were taken out for a little tour of the south of the island, and then after a lovely lunch we headed into the north to ring the remaining unfledged Bonxie chicks.

Bonxie ringing was definitely one of my favourite parts. Getting up close to these birds and helping ring them was something I had been really looking forward to and was a great way to start our time on the island.

One of the other highlights for me was Storm Petrel ringing. I had previously done some Storm Petrel ringing, only catching 12 in one night, but this was very different as we caught a whopping 391 (and 1 Leach's Storm Petrel!) over 2 nights. I was also lucky enough to extract a few Storm Petrels from the net myself, in the dark, which made the whole experience even more memorable and very exciting. There is something lovely in hearing the crashing waves while standing at the net watching Storm Petrels swirl round the haven.

I already have my trainee permit for bird ringing, so I was able to ring and process some really cool species that I had never seen in the hand before. These included Barred Warbler, Western Subalpine Warbler (a retrap - but probably the coolest one!), Twite, and Black Guillemot, along with many others.

Of course, bird ringing wasn't the only thing that filled our days. Meg and I spent many hours birdwatching, testing each other on our bird identification skills, and completing puzzles when the weather was less than ideal. That didn't always stop us from getting outside, though. After all, you can always birdwatch, whatever the weather! We did manage to do some Fulmar ringing in the rain but that didn't help with the foul stench of their vomit.

Monitoring was another big part of what we did. We helped with counting fledged Bonxies, Gannet and Fulmar productivity counts. The midges absolutely covered us during the Gannet survey, which definitely added to the monitoring!

As well as pushing the Heligoland traps, which are used to catch birds moving through the island, we also spent some time repairing them. This was definitely needed as the previous morning we had ended up with a few birds escaping through holes in the trap.

Although birds and ringing naturally made up a huge part of our time on Fair Isle, it wasn't all bird-related. We also got involved in island life in other ways, including a joint birthday celebration for three of the islanders, which was fancy dress and hosted in a barn. It was a really nice reminder that staying on Fair Isle isn't just about the wildlife; it's also about becoming part of the community, if only for a short time.

Looking back, two weeks (and that extra day and a half due to weather keeping us on the island) somehow felt both incredibly long and far too short. There was so much to see, so many birds to ring and identify, and so many experiences that I know I'll remember for a very long time.

I want to say a huge thank you to both the West Midlands Bird Club and Fair Isle Bird Observatory for making this possible. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity, and also to the staff who made my time on Fair Isle so enjoyable and memorable.