Anne-Marie’s View

As mentioned in my post of 11th January, Anne-Marie came to our rescue over the festive season and did an excellent job. She has also been kind enough to send a post for the blog regarding her time on the island:

“When an all user e-mail came through Paul Buckley in the RSPB's International Department on Fri 21 November saying that an organisation in the Seychelles was looking for someone to volunteer on a small island for a month, working on the endemic Seychelles Magpie Robin and leaving at short notice, I didn't hesitate.
"Maybe you'd like to think about it over the weekend?" Paul said, but I didn't. I'd worked in Mauritius on pink pigeons 13 years previously and had wanted to visit the Seychelles then, but didn't make it. So, just less than 2 weeks later I arrived in Mahe via London and Paris, opening the plane door to a level of heat that promised to banish the last vestiges of my second winter cold.
I was greeted at the airport by John Nevill, where I had a good update on the project and then it was a short flight to Denis. From the air it looked fabulous, luxurious woodland and aqua fringed white beaches.
On arrival I was met by Catherina who I was to cover for, and because we were due to overlap for just one day, we promptly dropped off my bags and set off on the second round of magpie robin feeding of the day. It was then that I met “Charlie” and little did I know what impact he was to have on my life in the coming weeks! Although I could say that something like love developed between myself and this magpie robin fledgling, reared by Catherina after being found in the nest with feather damage, I did sometimes feel a little tied down, what with the 5.30am wake-up calls and the nightly cockroach collections!
Luckily for me, but not for her, Catherina's stay was extended by another day and so by the time she left I was well versed in how to feed and monitor the robins. With Catherina gone, I spent my first few days settling into the pattern of feeding the robins and constantly marvelling at the wildlife, going 'My God there's a fairy tern, frigatebird, ghost crab, hawksbill turtle, rhinoceros beetle, etc.….. The only downside to report was the mosquitoes, which seemed to have a predeliction for my whiter than white legs! My short sleeved t-shirt and shorts were quickly replaced by a long-sleeved Breton shirt and some XL Denis Island shorts, borrowed from Jean-Jacques!
I am glad to say that the month I was there went slowly and I can honestly say I loved every minute of it. Of course, a lot of this was also to do with the people on the island. Up until 3.30pm each day my time was spent feeding and monitoring the robins, but after a swim, a far cry from the 15 degree water temp in Irish summertime and one of my favourite parts of the day, I would integrate into island life. Warmly welcomed by my neighbours Shane and Jean-Jacques, good friends of Catherina, I quickly got to know a larger group including Maurice and Anselm, Alex at the diving school, Ravish and Robert. From bike mending to snorkelling I was very well looked after and given the cooking skills of Seychellois men, I seriously considered transporting them back to Ireland!
It has taken me a while to register now that I am back home, and at work, but all good things come to an end. I am reassured by Catherina that all the magpie robins previously in my care are in good shape and will be keeping up-to-date on the project through the Denis Island blog, you never know there might be a fledgling named Anne-Marie some day!”

I think it’s the least we can do to name an SMR fledgling after Anne-Marie – although as we name them long before we actually know their gender we may have to change the name to “McDevitt” later on, as bearing in mind the very low global population we can not afford to create any ambiguous birds!

Our sincere thanks go out to Anne-Marie for all her hard work and goodwill in adapting to island life.