Marine corpses and teenage memories

Hello and Happy New Year from all the team in Shetland.

There has certainly been some wintery weather recently.  The beach where I frequently walk (West Voe, Sumburgh) has been frozen for nearly three weeks.  It's quite amazing.   I often see otter prints on the sandy beaches around Sumburgh.  It's interesting to find otter prints frozen solid in the sand, like a frosty fossil.  This photo below was actually taken before the winter, but it shows tracks of the otter as it returned to the sea. 

The bird life I've been seeing along these shores include purple sandpipers, turnstones, ringed plovers and a single oystercatcher.  On the water I frequently see goldeneye and long-tailed ducks.  On a lunchtime walk today, a goldeneye flew in and landed on the snow covered shoreline twenty or so metres in front of me.  I fully expected the handsome duck to fly off as I approached.  But no, on it sat. occassionally preening.  I have seen an otter trying to catch seaducks at this beach.  It came down from the dunes, slipped under the water and surfaced underneath the unsuspecting bird.  That time the duck got away but I have found corpses of long-tailed ducks in the dunes.

Thinking of corpses, in December a couple of unusual fish turned up on the shore line.  A friend told me she had found a large fish and showed me some pictures she's taken on her mobile phone.  It looked rather unusual so I went to the beach with my camera, ruler and notepad.  I had to paddle into the sea (not as cold as you might think considering it was December) and pulled out a 1.6metre long fish.  From my photos, a marine biologist thought it to be a dealfish or an oarfish.  I've never seen anything like it.  A search of the internet came up with tales of sea serpents and seven metre long individuals! 

A couple of days later, I found what I think is some sort of bream.  It was being fed upon by a great black-backed gull with a broken wing.

On the last Sunday of December, it was possible to do my beached bird survey.  I found the great black-backed gull dead in the strandline.  The poor bird didn't have much chance of surviving.  I also found a first winter common gull which had been oiled.  Martin Heubeck, who co-ordinates the survey, said he hadn't had an oiled bird for a few months and took it away for analysis. 

Thinking of oiled birds, sixteen years ago Shetland was a very different place.  On January the 5th 1993, the Braer oil tanker ran aground spewing tonnes of oil onto our shores.  I was at high school then, but took time off to help with the clean up efforts.  It's a long time ago, but when I think back I can clearly remember walking the shores in very strong winds.  We took hessian sacks for live birds and plastic bags for the dead.  It's quite heartbreaking to remember picking up oiled shags and other birds.  I remember a variety of emotions - anger, worry, frustration - but also gratitude and warmth because of the efforts people put in to help the situation.  It is only since working with the RSPB that I fully appreciate the work that went into all the organising, recording, cleaning, public affairs and so on.   It must have been an immense undertaking for all.  For teenage me, it was an influential time that helped shape my future and where I am now. And I made life-long friendships.  However, I hope that the teenagers of the future never have to witness major pollution incidents like the Braer, Esso Bernicia, Exxon Valdez...

Finally ona lighter note, a rather unusual visitor has been recorded in Shetland -  a bearded seal!  I haven't been able to see it, but from the photos it looks like  the Arctic visitor was quite at home on the snowy shores of Yell  http://www.nature-shetland.co.uk/naturelatest/latestcetaceans.htm

I wish you a healthy, happy and nature filled 2010.