Hi everyone!
My name is Lucy and I am the new seabird assistant warden for the season! You will probably find me somewhere near Jenny's cove on the west cliffs studying the productivity of our puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes. You may also see me monitoring the fulmar population of Gannet's rock when you visit the island. I am a bird lover at heart and since finishing university, I have been lucky enough to be working closely with seabirds for the past 6 months during my time with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation on the Round Island restoration team. I was part of a long-term monitoring project, catching, ringing and taking biometrics of, chicks and adult, Round island petrels and red-tailed tropicbirds. We also monitored the wedge-tailed shearwater population of the island. During my time in Mauritius, our team also surveyed reptiles such as keel-scaled boas and Gunther's geckos. On one expedition, I met Dr David Bullock who introduced me to Lundy as he was part of the major rat eradication team. Having been part of one also on Ile aux Aigrettes in September, I became interested in the Lundy as rat-free islands are so rare nowadays! When I saw the miracle story of the seabirds returning to exceptional numbers in two decades, I knew I would love to join the team! So far, I have been loving my time on Lundy, so if you see me around come say hi and have a look at the birds through my scope!
Hello,
My name is Thomas Weston and I am the Bird Observatory Assistant for the majority of this year. I am a 24 year old from Gloucestershire, near Bristol and I am generally found along the banks of the River Severn, so to find me in the middle of the Bristol Channel should come as no surprise. I have an interest in conservation and migration with my main roles being the completion of the daily census, helpig with ringing, helping Lucy with some of her seabird work as well as the day to day routine of the island. Even though I have a particular interest in understanding wildfowl and other waterbirds, this position will provide me with a greater understanding of seabird ecology whilst picking up new surveying skills and methods, whilst living on an island. I have previously volunteered at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust since a young age, and have undertaken projects with Nightjars, Brent geese, Gulls and Greylags. Within the last couple of years I have completed completed a Masters in Biodiversity and Conservation with the University of Exeter and have volunteered at Skagen Bird Observatory in Denmark last Autumn completing migration counts and ringing. I have been ringing since 2016 and achieved a trainer permit with endorsements for passerines, near passerines, waterfowl and large gulls which enables some of the ringing surveys to be completed in Millcombe and at night especially. I am looking forward to working at Lundy and will be based on the island between March 1st until the end of September. If you see me around the island or at the evening log feel free to come over and say hi.
