After a packed winter season, our wonderful wintering waders and waterfowl will be heading up to their breeding grounds with rested wings and full bellies to spend the summer raising the next generation. It’s not just the birds that are heading north though, our very own Ranger Julie tells us what she will be up to over the next few months.
“After a hectic six months with Bird Wise I am going to be migrating away from north Kent for an even busier summer. First stop is Oban in Scotland to join a small ship, Seahorse 2, as a wildlife guide. We’ll be traveling to Skye and the Small Isles, Rhum, Eigg Muck and Canna where we hope to see an exciting mx of seabirds (Puffins here we come) plus whales and dolphins. After that I have a dissertation to write for the final year of my ecology degree for the Open University. I’ll then be completing my seabird and whale surveying training, with the charity Marine Life, on cross channel ferries, Dover to Calais and Dover to Dunkirk. Once that is done I’ll be eligible to undertake the longer route surveys, so all being well, I’ll be leaving Tilbury on container ships during June /July. The final destinations being Bilbao in Spain, across the Bay of Biscay, a real hotspot for cetacean sightings and Helsinki via Poland. Then it’s back up to Scotland to join a new ship, Elizabeth G, for three trips as their wildlife guide. I get to go to St. Kilda again, after last year’s holiday there I am really looking forward to visiting for a second time. Then it’s the Inner Hebrides, and Skye and the Small Isles again. It will be interesting to visit the same places in spring and autumn to see the changes in bird population. As a break I will be spending a couple of weeks exploring the Highlands around the Cairngorms and visiting my mum. Then at the end of September back to north Kent. See you all then!”
Just because our wintering birds have headed off to their summer homes it doesn’t mean that we sit back and wait for their return. Over the spring and summer we will be representing Bird Wise at a number of outdoor events and festivals across north Kent so keep an eye on our Events page for details of where to find us. There is also plenty of planning to be done for the winter season so we’ll be keeping busy.
At the Bird Wise Board meeting last month, it was agreed that we will have 2 full time rangers to cover the winter season between October 2019 and April 2020 and a part-time resource to cover the summer season. We are really pleased that both Julie and Mel will be coming back to ranger with us again for the winter season and Mel will be covering the summer months on part-time basis. This means that we’ll be able to get straight back into a full programme of activity in the autumn as both rangers know the coastline, the people and the birds that use it.
Ranger Julie has promised to keep us updated whilst she’s on her travels (if she finds time that is….) and we’ll be sharing those with you. You can stay up to date with Bird Wise by following our social media feeds on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Until next time – stay Bird Wise.