Wild and Free

When I was a teenager, many years ago I was a frequent visitor to a bird observatory on the coast near Seahouses, Northumberland. I had a unique opportunity to watch birds in the company of fellow enthusiasts. Taking the boat ‘Glad Tidings’ over to the Farne Islands was always a highlight. Old Billy’s weather-beaten hands were at the tiller. We gasped with amazement to see the crowds of guillemots nudged close together on the crevices of the vertical rocks. Our ears were filled with the plaintiff’s cries of kittiwakes. The salt sea spray splashed over our faces as we stood up in the swaying boat, binoculars at the ready to get a
closer look.

Our group took part in a research scheme which involved ringing birds in order to track their migration patterns carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology. To do this we had to catch them, and on the Farne Islands in May there was a fair chance we could do this.

It was a great experience to put one’s hand down a rabbit hole and bring out a puffin. He would be squawking and grunting, full of indignation at being disturbed in his private underground apartment. It was thrilling to hold this wild beauty in my hand. After applying a light aluminium ring to his leg and taking some measurements we would then gently give him back his freedom.

On other occasions, I remember going out to muddy estuaries with claptraps. We would set these up at low tide in places where we saw the waders to be most numerous, then with string in hand, we would return to a position higher up the beach and wait for an unsuspecting wader to wander into the trap area. A quick tug on the string triggered the net to fly over, and the bird was caught under the net. To examine a bird like this was something I will never forget.

My memories of beaches and waders has led me to realise what a very unique habitat this is, it teems with a precious abundance. Its richness is such an inspiration, it is a precious gift It is a garden which gives us so much. When you look at the birds flying overhead you feel their wild freedom.