60 Degrees North

The sixtieth parallel marks a borderland between the northern and southern worlds. Wrapping itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway, it crosses the tip of Greenland and the southern coast of Alaska, and slices the great expanses of Russia and Canada in half. The parallel also passes through Shetland. A visit to these Northern Isles has been on top of my bucket list for many years. Finally I have persuaded my wife Ros that a holiday here would be an adventure. Her resistance to such a trip has been weakened by watching the wonderful series 'Shetland' on ITV based on the books of Ann Cleeves (I have read the complete series). She doesn't want to show too much enthusiasm about the trip but I can see that she is looking forward to it as much as me. We start our journey north in May, on my birthday.

Our journey starts by limo from Brighton to London Heathrow from where we take a British Airways flight to Aberdeen. We then transfer to the Aberdeen ferry terminal for the Northlink ferry crossing to Lerwick on Mainland Shetland. A crossing of some 200 miles over the top of the North Sea, below the North Atlantic. These crossings are notoriously rough at times...

Lerwick is the capital of Shetland and dates back to times of Viking occupation from 500 - 1000AD.

We will spend several days on Shetland, one of the best places for birdwatching in the UK (yes, Ros is aware of this!)

Our journey back on the ferry will include a stop at Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney.

That is the plan. I hope it can be fulfilled....

Ready for Rutland

That's it. Didn't take long to pack. I like to travel light for weekends away and am a big fan of Rohan clothing for birdwatching and trekking. Excellent for layering, windproof, outers often waterproof, lightweight, easy to pack (I roll items for packing, takes up less space and Rohan stuff doesn't wrinkle) will dry in 3-5 hours after a wash and, best of all, does not require ironing.

I will leave early in the morning for the drive to Chailey to meet my colleague, then we will travel onward in his car. The route will be M23, M25 then M1 to Northampton, then the A43 to Kettering, by-pass Corby to our destination at the delightful market town of Uppingham

We will spend Saturday at the Birdfair the main purpose of the trip. And of course there will be two nights at the wonderful Crown Inn the cosy bar, the excellent Everard's ales, the good food and the friendly locals.

I probably won't be posting over the weekend as the mobile and wi-fi signals in this area are virtually non-existent. I will certainly post some photos next week when I get back home.

Phil Hollom - one of birdwatching's great pioneers

I was not aware until today that Phil Hollom died in June this year at the age of 102. I never met Phil Hollom but like most serious birders I knew his name. He was a founder member of the BTO and was naturally its oldest member when he died. I had no idea that Phil piloted Wellington bombers during the Second World War.

Phil was a keen birdwatcher from a very young age and was responsible for The Popular Handbook of British Birds that appeared in 1952 and a second volume, The Popular Handbook of Rarer British Birds published in 1960. But the guide that anchored Phil Hollom in the hearts and minds of the birdwatching fraternity was  A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe that he worked on with Guy Mountfort and Roger Tory Peterson, who produced the paintings. The guide was first published in 1954 and was, and is, a book which gave clear pointers on how to separate similar species, with maps and a succinct text. It was translated into 12 languages, racked up four editions and eighteen reprints. I purchased my copy, a reprint of the Fourth Edition, in 1985, 29 years ago. I still use it today. It contains some of the best bird paintings of any guide I know. 

It is always simply referred to as the Peterson, Mountfort and Hollom. That is what I always call it and any birder will know what you are talking about.

Thank you Phil. R.I.P..... 

Westward Ho

Ros and I will be travelling tomorrow to Portishead, to the west of Bristol. We are looking forward to spending some relaxing time with my wife's family over a long weekend. Although birdwatching is on the agenda I am aware that I will be located not so far away from the badger killing fields of Gloucestershire. I acknowledge and support the efforts of our cull protestors. If I can, I will join you for one night....