Well, tonight's the night! The first of a three part series "Simon King's Shetland Diaries" is being broadcast on BBC2 at 8pm. Having helped behind the scenes, I am very very very excited about it!
The RSPB in Shetland have been involved throughout, with three RSPB nature reserves being used. Simon and his family visited Mousa to film storm petrels, Fetlar to follow red-necked phalaropes and Sumburgh Head for puffins and guillemots. Noss and Hermaness National Nature Reserves (managed by Scottish Natural Heritage) with their immense seabird colonies will also feature. Of course, the series will cover more sealife than simply birds, with otters and orcas starring too.
Pete Ellis (Shetland Area Manager), Simon King and me at Sumburgh Head in winter, having been investigating options for rigging up a camera in a puffin burrow.
I hope that the series will inspire people to visit our Shetland reserves and feel a real connection with nature (hopefully not a physical connection from having strayed into a skua territory!). Travelling to Shetland is not cheap though. There are many RSPB reserves throughout the country which can provide you with your own maritime RSPB Moment,( http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/habitat/coastal.asp) be it with gannets at Troup Head or kittiwakes at Bempton Cliffs, razorbills at South Stack or puffins at Rathlin Island. At the right time of year, you are never more than just a few hours from a seabird spectacular. Television is a wonderful way to share nature with people, revealing secrets and stories, but I think nothing can beat being outdoors and experiencing it yourself. Underpinned by enjoyment, environmental education is about gaining knowledge, leading to understanding, appreciation, concern and action. Maybe "Simon King's Shetland Diaries" will help people act to Safeguard Our Sealife. From exploring our website you can find out more, such as here http://www.rspb.org.uk/applications/lettertothefuture/index.aspx
News in Shetland - snow is bringing both beauty and problems to Shetland. It's very difficult to reach the office at the moment, which is situated in the lighthouse at Sumburgh Head.
I saw two otters cross the road leading to the lighthouse a couple of weeks ago. Cantering up the hill from west to east along the wall you an see in the above picture. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. For me, just knowing that otters around is satisfying. This picture below is from West Voe, and you can make out where an otter has slid down the snowy slope before entering the sea.
I did my Big Garden Birdwatch on Sunday. I feed the birds in my garden and the snow brought more birds than last year. I had two common gulls, one herring gull, four blackbirds, three rock doves, one hooded crow, one song thrush, 63 house sparrows and 116 starlings!
I hope you watch Simon King's Shetland Diaries and enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed being involved. It has been a privilege to meet such enthusiastic, professional and dedicated people who have helped make the series.
All the best from the chilly north
Helen
I thought the programme was great! A fine balance of wildlife, family and Shetland as a whole. I've seen killer whales many times, but the seal hunting sequence still got my heart thumping.