Good-bye to the seabird researchers

The ever onwards march of time is marked on the island by migrations - movements of island inhabitants short and long-term. The island constantly hosts creatures, some for a few minutes, some a few days, a whole breeding season but very few are completely resident. And so another migration takes place as at the end of a challenging season the seabird researchers pack up and head for their wintering grounds. In achieving a fruitful season collecting data they have had to battle torrential winds and howling rain, equipment breakdowns, lice infestations, scratches and pecks, dodgy cooking,  rough boat trips and scores of 4am starts. But through all of this samples have been collected, behaviour observed and seabirds counted, caught and ringed (including over 1000 shag chicks) and in doing so have added to our knowledge of these iconic birds that some many people across the world love.Many stories about seabirds that you here on the news originated from numerous hard field seasons on the Isle of May
And now there is nothing to show they were here except for some smelly overalls, a lingering odour, shag lice on the sofa and a scattering of cosmo magazines. They have returned back to where they came from in the spring, to normal lives with clean clothes, make up, regular showers, office hours and a social life only to give it all up again next April for another season on the May.
Meanwhile Jeremy and I still have another 2+ months to serve until we migrate for the winter so we will continue to recorded the changing island in the blog. So keep watching.