A Bird in the Hand is Worth - Part II

               As far as Birds in the Hand are concerned, as well as the membership of the                           Portland Bird Observatory

a huge quirk of fate found me serving on Semi-submersible Oil Rigs in the North Sea for quite a number of years. Ostensibly, they cover 3 disciplines Drilling, Accommodation (Floating Hotels) and Production. Having served in all 3 classes and in order as above

STENA HUNTER

BORGLAND DOLPHIN
which at the time was home to tradesmen building the Tiffiny Platform and where on one weekend boxer Jim Watt and football manager Malcolm Alison came out to entertain us.
No alchohol remember but what a couple of nights in the onboard theatre,

and the girl we all loved
BUCHAN ALPHA
now lying in pieces in a Scottish scrap yard or beyond!

The common denominator was of course Birds with the Buchan being far more productive where at night during migrations it would be true to say a MILLON may pass overhead. 

Many however simply fell to their deaths, into the sea or on deck, due to exhaustion but others were happy to stop over for a rest. Feeding them was a strict no no as a danger to our regular helicoper flights.

Just a very few of the Casualties that would be wrapped and sent to the
North Sea Bird Club prior to Bird Flu.

WATER RAIL
(annual)

BLACK-HEADED GULL
(not quite as common as one migt think)

It was tradition and also good manners to give the Captain of our ever present

Standby Boat the Far Seeker 

a call on the radion just before mid-night if only to check that all was well.

That particular night Captain Ron Main (later to become a shipmate on the Buchan - long story)

was delighted to tell me that the crew, fit and well, also had a gift for me. 

Believed to be a House Martin and a Linnet, both alive, he suggested a time to throw down a line to complete the transfer. A taped up Twix chocolate box was found inside the mail bag which was better opened in my cabin in case of an escpee only to find that the House Martin was a

STORM PETREL
which to none-Birders was considered a 'good shout, while just as plausable a

LITTLE BUNTING
The Petrel was dried and fed on fish oil and reported to Ron that it would be released back to the wild late afternoon. His reply was that "it is handy to have an 'expert' on hand while there was a small gathering of crew members on one of the columns prior to release. With all the Bon Voyages in place it was gently dropped into the sea where within a flash it became an early Hors d'oeuvre to a Great Black-backed Gulls supper - alway good to have an 'expert' on hand!

As for the Bunting it faired much better as we got immediate permission to have it flown ashore on the next crew-change chopper. It was collected by a licenced 'bird ringer' from the village of Stonehaven just south of Aberdeen,

 banded and also released 

to a fare better fate!

MEALY REDPOLL

another casualty and unfortunatly a 'live one' was never recorded.
It is not known how he knew it was my birthday but in burst the
Duty Engineer
carrying a paper bag and issuing his greatings, there have been worse gifts than

LITTLE STINT
The largest ever handled was certainly this juvenile

GEAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
while among the smallest

YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER
were annual and often numerous.

LAPLAND BUNTING

was also a lucky but solo record.

Even at some distance the promenant white wing-bar on the bird stuck out like a sore thumb,
something of a heart-stopper, but taken below it was seen to be white paint rather than the markings of the extremely rare Two-barred Crossbill.

Best until Last

The 'Skylark' huddled among the stout manilla ropes of the Heli-deck anti-slid netting during a mid-night rounds already looked water-logged so time to employ the trustly kid's fishing net. Taken below, it was eventually seen to be a

SHORT-TOED LARK
a scarce visitor to our shores and up to this day still the only one on the

North Sea Bird Club List