Camera work for the RSPB
~ Friday, 11th February 2011 A good friend of mine, Carlo Forte, has been involved with installing and removing the bird cameras at South Stack on Anglesey for the RSPB for a few years. He has been doing it for Plas y Brenin, who were asked for help by the RSPB a number of years ago. I offered to give Carlo a hand, partly because I am skilled in dealing with ropes, but mainly because it seemed a nice way of giving something more than a donation to a very worthwhile charity.
Mousetrap Zawn has been home to a few Puffins for several years, aswell as Choughs, Guillemots, Fulmars, Rock Pipits and Razorbills to name a few. Our task was to remove a Puffin camera for repair, then re-install it and fit a new camera near a Choughs nest before the nesting season began.
The access was pretty easy, but a little loose in places, certainly not everyones cup of tea, but with care and of course a need to not disturb the ground too much we managed to get to and from the camera sites without hassles.
Our main problems came with the technology. The cabling to the Chough cam meant that job required a revisit and a delayed repair on the Puffin cam caused a short delay before we could fit that one in place. However, like all things worth doing, our perseverance paid off and both cameras are now successfully installed and working.
The RSPB at South Stack are making some healthy changes to the cafe and shop at the moment. They are planning to open in April and stay open year round. How good is that for birders and climbers? You can get a brew after a chilly winters day at Gogarth!! The cameras can be viewed from Ellins Tower as usual and I think they are planning to have one of them displayed in the cafe aswell. Make the most of them, the birds are only here for a short period, from now until the end of July.
Thanks again, Andy.
