The Bagsy Blog: Falkland Islands I

Saturday, 1 October 2016

Falkland Islands I

While monging through the plethora of images that might adorn our headed, to herald yet another new month, we happened upon one that was not only thought suitable but also inspired some long overdue research. That of the Yellow-footed Gull (above) is associated with a third exciting trip along the full length of the Alaska Highway, a sensational and not to be missed adventure in itself. For some years prior to 2011 we had been pursuing all the 54 species of Gull in the World, but up until then any additions to that list were simply as part of any particular trip rather than a dedicated ‘twitch’! With only c3 species left to record at that time it was decided to try for the penultimate c2 (if indeed that phrase is grammatically correct) in ‘one fell swoop’, although considered mightily ambitious even for a seasoned traveller such as myself. The goal was eventually achieved with both species being not only seen but also photographed, but what had never been calculated, until yesterday at least, were the number of miles travelled on certainly my longest ‘twitch’ ever. The accompanying caption tells the tale of the first, but the second