Monday 13 July 2009

Gott kvöld from Iceland!!

I came out to Iceland in July 2008 and as soon as I touched down, I instantly fell in love with the country. I came out here to assist Icelandic ringer, Sverrir Thorstenen, in catching and marking Whooper swans for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

No sooner as I got there, my week was up and I was heading back home, awaiting our first arrival of Whooper Swans back in the UK.

I was hoping to get back out to Iceland again this year and when Sverrir invited me to help out with ringing on Flatey Island – I jumped to the opportunity. Each year Sverrir along with Aevar Petersen (the Head of the Icelandic ringing scheme) spend 2 – 3 weeks ringing seabirds and waders on Flatey Island.

So after a late night flight this evening from Manchester to Keflavik airport, I’m now staying over night in Keflavik before transferring to Reykjavik city centre tomorrow on the 14th for a day of meetings. On the 15th July together with Aevar and Sverrir we will sail to Flatey Island – spending 11 days there in total.

I’m now in Iceland for a month and depending on Internet access – I’m hoping to bring a daily update on the birds we catch and also so that my friends and family back in the UK will be able to see what I’m getting up to. If there are no posts for the next 11 days, there is no Internet cover on the island! If this is the case, I’ll provide a full update on my return to the mainland.

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