Andy Schofield, RSPB's UK Overseas Territories Officer writes:
Finally after three flights, five days of travelling (including two days at sea), Pitcairn Island!
It was a strange feeling going to sleep knowing that you had anchored just a few hundred yards from Pitcairn but you would still have to wait another eight hours until sunrise before you could actually see it!
I was on deck before sunrise, excited to see what I had travelled all this way to see, it was an amazing experience to see the Island slowly reveal itself as the sun rose from the inky blackness of an almost moonless sky deep in the South Pacific Ocean. I can’t imagine what the mutineers of the Bounty thought when they approached Pitcairn and prepared to set light to their ship and remain on this small volcanic island forever and a day, although I guess the decision to maroon yourself and to live in the middle of nowhere is made easier if your only other option is the gallows.
Everybody aboard was excited and there was a real buzz to see the Island's long boats getting launched into Bounty Bay to come and collect us from The Claymore. Even though the sea was calm, this close inshore there was a real swell (3-4 metres) rolling in from the huge Pacific Ocean that was all around us, this made boarding the long boats almost a literal leap of faith. Fairy Terns, Black and Brown Noddy’s fed frantically all around the bay whilst Masked Booby’s lazily meandered past and Red Tailed Tropicbirds and Greater Frigatebirds circled high above the swaying coconuts around the huge cliffs.
(Greater Frigatebird above Bounty Bay)
Once ashore we were welcomed very warmly with big smiles, hearty handshakes and traditional Pitcairn shell garlands. Thankfully I was collected by Leslie, my host who had his quad bike with him which was a huge relief as I was quietly dreading ascending the infamous “Hill of Difficulty” with all my luggage.
(View of Bounty Bay and the Pitcairn and the Pitcairn landing from the top of the "Hill of Difficulty")
Well - the view from my desk is a bit of a change, seaviews, swaying palms and lots of wonderful birds.! The heat is searing though (36’ today) and the mosquitos are relentlessly vicious!
(My new desk set up on the veranda of "Down Flatcher", Pitcairn)
One of the first things I need to do is meet with Island Council and tell them my plans for the next three months and get all the necessary permissions. I’m ever so slightly nervous but wish me luck..
We've been working with the UK's amazing Overseas Territories for almost 20 years, but are still only scratching the surface of understanding their wonderful wildlife. One of the most remote and little known Territory environments is found in the Pitcairn Islands, the last remaining British Territory in the Pacific. Home to the extremely friendly descendants of the Mutiny on the Bounty, the Territory is made up of one inhabited island (Pitcairn) and three uninhabited ones.
We have a longstanding programme underway to restore one of these off-islands (Henderson Island World Heritage Site), but were conscious that the environment of Pitcairn itself is in many ways less studied than that of its uninhabited neighbours. Staff members have spent ten days on Pitcairn in consultation with the local community in 2010 and 2012, but as far as we are aware almost no general terrestrial conservationists have spent more than a week or two on the island. No one therefore really has any idea how big or threatened the population of the unique local bird, the Pitcairn reed-warbler, is, several of the island's unique plant species may be down to just a few individuals, and what invertebrate species exist on this fertile volcanic pinnacle is an almost untouched world still awaiting exploration and discovery.
We've therefore sent our new Overseas Territories Officer, Andy Schofield, to Pitcairn for three months to work alongside the Pitcairners and try to answer some of these questions. We're very excited to see what he may find!