Having very successfully completed the Diego Garcia tracking and colony counting phase of the BIOT bird expedition, the team have been joined by Principal Investigator Malc Nicoll as they prepare to leave for Nelson’s Island. With assistance from the British military and the crew of the Patrol Vessel they have loaded 21 jerry cans of fresh water, 2 of fuel, 7 expedition barrels of food, camping and communication equipment onboard. With the team ready and supplies onboard, they are finally on their way to Nelson's Island.
Hannah Wood, Postgraduate Research Assistant at the Institute of Zoology, blogs on their arrival to Nelson’s Island as they get set up and begin their next phase of research.
Hello from Nelson's Island in the British Indian Ocean Territory. Yesterday Malcolm Nicoll, Pete Carr and I were kindly dropped off by the crew of the BIOT Patrol Vessel who helped us transport all the supplies we will need for spending nearly two weeks living and working on this uninhabited island. We were very lucky with the weather and even glimpsed a pilot whale just before we reached the beach.
After carrying, lugging and man-handling everything along the beach to our chosen site, we set about building our base camp. We have a solar shower and camp beds set up underneath a tarpaulin and an office and stores areas with all our food and science equipment. We have even decorated the entrance with whale vertebrae we found on the shore and have christened it Whale Bone Camp – it’s feeling very comfortable!
Today the real work began. We are surrounded here by hundreds of comical red footed boobies, and their smart-looking cousins, the brown boobies, which breed here. We began tagging the red foots this morning and so far we have deployed 14 GPS tags which will hopefully tell us where the birds are feeding at sea while they are raising their chicks. More on the science in a later blog, but for now it's dinner time on the beach and an opportunity to look out for nesting green turtles!
Keep following our updates from the field as we continue our expedition to Nelson’s island via @BIOTscience and @ZSLScience
This research was kindly funded by the Bertarelli Foundation as part of the Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science.
Select a blog
Our people are our greatest asset and we realise our vision for a world where wildlife thrives through their ideas, skills and passion. An inspired, informed and empowered community of people work, study and volunteer together at ZSL.
A blog for lovers of ZSL London Zoo, bringing you extraordinary animal facts and exclusive access to the world's oldest scientific zoo.
Do you love wildlife? Discover more about our amazing animals at the UK's biggest zoo!
We're working around the world to conserve animals and their habitats, find out more about our latest achievements.
From the field to the lab, catch up with the scientists on the cutting edge of conservation biology at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology.
A day in Discovery and Learning at ZSL is never dull! The team tell us all about the exciting sessions for school children, as well as work further afield.
Every month, one of the pieces held in ZSL’s Library and at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo will feature here as Artefact of the Month.
Read testimonials from our Members and extracts from ZSL's award winning members' magazine, Wild About.
The Chagos archipelago is a rare haven for marine biodiversity. Hear from the team about our projects to protect the environments in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
ZSL works across Asia, from the famous national parks of Nepal to marine protected areas in the Philippines. Read the latest updates on our conservation.
An Open Access journal for research at the interface of remote sensing, ecology and conservation.