At 08:00 precisely on Saturday 13th May 2017
Deck Foreman Ricky (The Hammer) Grant
depressed the
Deck Foreman Ricky (The Hammer) Grant
depressed the
PURPLE BUTTON
onboard the
BUCHAN ALPHA
FLOATING OIL PRODUCTION PLATFORM
FLOATING OIL PRODUCTION PLATFORM
120 miles North East of Aberdeen in the
NORTH SEA!
This effectively brought to an end a 37 year long struggle to
produce, from a water depth of 131 metres, no few than
150,000,000 Barrels of
Brent Crude Oil!
(or, in approximate terms 4.1 million barrels per year at a day rate of 11,106 barrels)
DEDICATED TO 'ALL' THE GIRLS AND BOYS WHO PLAYED THEIR
PART AS CREW MEMBER OF BUCHAN ALPHA!
If there were to be a 'show of hands' of those who had worked with
'BETTER'
shipmate's the air would remain empty!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL
PART AS CREW MEMBER OF BUCHAN ALPHA!
If there were to be a 'show of hands' of those who had worked with
'BETTER'
shipmate's the air would remain empty!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL
Most neatly in Alpha-Betical Order
ATLANTIC GREY SEAL
(clambering onto one of the pontoons to catch a few rays!)
ARCTIC TERN
BARNACLE GOOSE
BLACK GUILLEMOT
BLACKBIRD
BLACKCAP
BLACKCAP (soixante neuf)
oh we do love French food don't we Jim?
BLACK-HEADED GULL
(catching, killing and swallowing a perfectly healthy, until then, Brambling)
BLUETHROAT
BRAMBLING
CHIFFCHAFF
(an 8 inch length of 'fine cotton' was remover from this bird's throat likely saving its life)
COLLARED DOVE
COMMON SCOTER
CONVOLVULOUS HAWK-MOTH
CROSSBILL
(clambering onto one of the pontoons to catch a few rays!)
oh we do love French food don't we Jim?
(catching, killing and swallowing a perfectly healthy, until then, Brambling)
(partially albino)
BRAMBLING
(an 8 inch length of 'fine cotton' was remover from this bird's throat likely saving its life)
(there was a heartbeat or two missed when, what turned out to be,
white paint was spotted on this male bird)
EIDER
GARDEN WARBLER
GLAUCOUS GULL
white paint was spotted on this male bird)
Size-wise, from the sublime
GOLDCREST
to the ridiculous
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
HOODED CROW
(probably qualifying as the most 'unlikely' bird recorded on the rig)
HOUSE SPARROW
JACK SNIPE
and next, therein lies a tale!
With our Standby Boat chugging around us in ever decreasing circles
(and only occasionally disappearing) it was inevitable that they too would collect
their own share of birds. About to disappear after a night-shift, to a cosy, leeward corner
of the upperdeck to commence the early morning Bird Watch, there was a call from the
Captain of the Standby Boat to inform me that his lads had caught a couple of birds overnight
and as the 'EXPERT' they (thought to be a Linnet and a House Martin) would be safer in my hands!!
Throwing down a heaving line, the Twix Chocolate Box was carefully removed from the transfer bag
and gently carried to my cabin to commence a full investigation. First out was the Linnet which was
not a Linnet at all, but a far more 'rare'
LITTLE BUNTING
while the House Martin, which had been 'in my hand' a number of times before,
turned out to be a
STORM PETREL
which I had never 'seen' in the hand let alone anything else!
Both identification were well in order, given the similarity with the species cited,
but now there was the conundrum of what to do with them. My telephone call to
Bristow's, on the beach, was met like so many before it, gaining permission
to transport the Bunting to Aberdeen by helicopter, while taking the Petrel,
in a tissue paper lined box, to the Control Room and getting my 'back to back'
to feed it fish oil and/or fish if possible.
During my absence, it was reported that just about every crew member
on the rig had popped in to visit this tiny sea-bird, which by then
appeared fit enough to be released. EXPERTLY, and under partial darkness, it was taken from the box
and with an entourage following taken to Delta Column to be released to the sea.
It gently fluttered to the surface where it immediately started preening, just
moments before being swallowed whole by a
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
The moral of the tale being
"it's always advantageous to have an EXPERT on hand"!
By contrast the
LITTLE BUNTING
reached Aberdeen safely and transported onward to the Fishing Village of Cove, just south of the city,
by a member of the North Sea Bird Club where it was 'ringed' and released to the
delight of an appreciative audience.The new adornment can be seen in the image above.
LITTLE AUK
Further to that, on the occasion of my 50th birthday one of the Rig Engineers,
Mark Leiper, paid me a visit at mid-night announcing that he had a 'little' present for me.
Handing me a small cotton bag, which some crew members carried for the purpose,
GREENFINCH
HOUSE SPARROW
and next, therein lies a tale!
With our Standby Boat chugging around us in ever decreasing circles
(and only occasionally disappearing) it was inevitable that they too would collect
their own share of birds. About to disappear after a night-shift, to a cosy, leeward corner
of the upperdeck to commence the early morning Bird Watch, there was a call from the
Captain of the Standby Boat to inform me that his lads had caught a couple of birds overnight
and as the 'EXPERT' they (thought to be a Linnet and a House Martin) would be safer in my hands!!
Throwing down a heaving line, the Twix Chocolate Box was carefully removed from the transfer bag
and gently carried to my cabin to commence a full investigation. First out was the Linnet which was
not a Linnet at all, but a far more 'rare'
while the House Martin, which had been 'in my hand' a number of times before,
turned out to be a
which I had never 'seen' in the hand let alone anything else!
Both identification were well in order, given the similarity with the species cited,
but now there was the conundrum of what to do with them. My telephone call to
Bristow's, on the beach, was met like so many before it, gaining permission
to transport the Bunting to Aberdeen by helicopter, while taking the Petrel,
in a tissue paper lined box, to the Control Room and getting my 'back to back'
to feed it fish oil and/or fish if possible.
During my absence, it was reported that just about every crew member
on the rig had popped in to visit this tiny sea-bird, which by then
appeared fit enough to be released. EXPERTLY, and under partial darkness, it was taken from the box
and with an entourage following taken to Delta Column to be released to the sea.
It gently fluttered to the surface where it immediately started preening, just
moments before being swallowed whole by a
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
The moral of the tale being
"it's always advantageous to have an EXPERT on hand"!
LITTLE BUNTING
reached Aberdeen safely and transported onward to the Fishing Village of Cove, just south of the city,
by a member of the North Sea Bird Club where it was 'ringed' and released to the
delight of an appreciative audience.The new adornment can be seen in the image above.
Further to that, on the occasion of my 50th birthday one of the Rig Engineers,
Mark Leiper, paid me a visit at mid-night announcing that he had a 'little' present for me.
inside was a
LONG-EARED OWL
LUMPFISH
MEALY REDPOLL
MERLIN
LITTLE STINT
the first and only to grace Buchan's decks!
(breakfasting on Redwing)
MOORHEN
MAGPIE MOTH
(on one occasion 'thousands' adorned our support columns)
PEREGRINE
This bird first 'took' a Great Black-backed Gull (well over twice its own size)
and forced it into the sea. It was surface tension alone which prevented
it being dragged back to the rig, at which point it gave up on that.
The following day it was again seen with prey on the heli-netting, pictured above,
this time an adult Herring Gull, which it partially ate.
Finally, it was seen by 'The Hammer' rolling amongst the debris in the
Buchan Moon-Pool
whilst killing a second Great Black-backed Gull.
He eventually caught the now soaked falcon and confined it
to a quickly knocked-up make shift cage. The following day it was
flown to Aberdeen by helicopter, where it was cleaned up and released to the wild!
'Well done The Hammer'
of such mass-movements!
(on the heli-netting)
HOVERFLY
Syrphus Ribesii
If you squint rather tightly you may just be able to make out Buchan Alpha's only
TURTLE DOVE
WATER RAIL
WIGEON
(female)
An annual visitor often in numbers, double figures,
YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER
(on one occasion c7 were seen in company with c3 Pallas's Warbler on the same heli-net)
SHORT-TOED LARK
Well Almost in Alph-Betical Order!
Footnote:- during my 18 years in Buchan 13,000 records were sent to the
North Sea Bird Club!
While one
Well Almost in Alph-Betical Order!
Footnote:- during my 18 years in Buchan 13,000 records were sent to the
North Sea Bird Club!
OSPREY
was seen during my time, a bird that was thought to have roosted in
the derrick before continuing north at first light.
the derrick before continuing north at first light.
Dave Penney's Swan Song and surely appropriately that of the Rig
is this magnificent Bird of Prey!
Appropriate, as the Rig Crest depicts a hovering Kestrel surmounted
above the active flare.
While under conversion in Kishorn, in the Highlands region of Scotland,
from a Drilling Rig to a Production Facility
a pair of Kestrel nested in the derrick, bringing off c4 young.
This was considered a great omen for her future in 'production' and the motif was born!
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