Aurora borealis

Bunting hunting

Am a much happier bunny now than a few hours ago - against all the odds, I've managed to sweet-talk my way onto the already full Loganair flight back off of Fair Isle on Wednesday morning, so it's Good Shepherd out tomorrow morning (eew), overnight at the Obs, then back on the plane (hurrah!) on Wednesday.

Had surely the world's worst sea trip on the Good Shepherd in September 1995. Can remember vividly the sheer horror of watching Sooty Shearwater fly past beneath me as the boat slid sideways down the side of a huge wave. Am not ashamed to admit that I was practically weeping with relief when I got onto the pier at Fair Isle. At that moment I swore I'd never set foot on a boat again, and duly flew off of Fair Isle a few days later. Over the years that resolution has modified somewhat (well, living on an island it was always likely to!), but one thing has stayed constant and true - never, ever again the Good Shepherd. It's a measure of just how badly I want to see this bird that I'm prepared to sacrifice all I hold dear and set foot on that boat again.

On a much more positive note, the staff at Fair Isle Bird Observatory are as ever just the nicest bunch of folk you'd ever wish to meet. They're booked solid, but have found me a bed for the night in one of the staff rooms. And have promised me a lift straight to the bird when I arrive. I've not been to Fair Isle since the mid 90's, but it seems nothing's changed - still clearly the best Obs around.

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