Sounds of Christmas from Bird Island
Dr Lucy Quinn is zoological field assistant at the British Antarctic Survey research station on Bird Island, South Georgia – a job which involves daily expeditions come rain or shine to monitor the extensive animal colonies on the island. She is a woman who loves her work, and you can share the magic of Bird Island through these wonderful sound recordings that Lucy has sent back of the rich – and noisy! – wildlife around the station at this time of year. Lucy narrates each clip, and you can really get a sense of what life is like in the subantarctic wilds of South Georgia.
Play the files below to hear:
- About to go up the hill
2. Monitoring albatross colony
3. Macaroni penguin counting
4. Wandering albatross checks
5. Reflection back at base
6. Christmas special
Lucy says, “I started work in autumn 2014 for BAS as the zoological field assistant in charge of carrying out the data collection for the albatross research on Bird Island. I feel hugely lucky to get to work on Bird Island in my dream job, and will hopefully continue to work here until spring 2017. The work includes extensive population monitoring for all the albatross species here on Bird Island, as well as helping out with fur seal, leopard seal, penguin, giant petrel and burrow-nesting bird research.
“Outside the zoology-related work on Bird Island, I enjoy hill-walking, cycling, crafting, cooking, playing the piano, and wildlife-watching – thankfully all of which I can still do here on Bird Island, minus the cycling on anything other than an exercise bike, obviously!”