Flatey Island 2011.

So we’ve survived our 10 day trip to Flatey Island and seeing as though Flatey Island ringing activities have been featured on this blog many times before! I’ve decided to leave it up to the newcomers of ‘Team Flatey GB’ to detail this years trip!

The famous Manx Ringing Duo – Sean Gray & Kev Scott – joined Chris & myself on this years ringing expedition and both have created two excellent videos of the trip, which I think sums it all up!!

Kev’s video.

Sean’s video.

Here’s some highlights -

Capturing Puffins by locating birds in nesting burrows & fleyg netting - yielded a number of new & recapped birds including this bird (above) carrying a datalogger, attached in 2008 to determine the birds wintering areas.

Capturing adult Snipe on the nest & ringing pulli before leaving the nest.

Surveying Kittiwake breeding productivity, ringing chicks & capturing adults by noosing or fleyging.

Another successful year for flick netting adult Red Necked Phalarope & ringing pulli, with 71 birds ringed.

Ringing a Grey Phalarope chick & marvelling over their smart looking parents!

Flick netting Snow Buntings with 10 adults captured.

Kev holding a Puffin

Sean with a Kittiwake.

2011’s Ringing Team

Sverri, Sean, Mattis Aevar, Kev, Aevar, Chris & Me.

All that is left for me to say is thanks to both Sean & Kev for joining us this year & to Aevar Petersen and Sverrir Thorstensen for having us all along! It’s been another successful trip with other 1100 new birds ringed of 18 species.

Me & Chris are now in central Reykjavik preparing to fly North in the next few days to capture & ring Whooper Swans for WWT’s ongoing research work…………