Hello All,
I haven't been able to update for a while as i don't have internet at the moment, but for those of you that don't know, I have managed to find somewhere to live in Inverness, so I'm not living in the Hostel any more! Yay! I chose to go with house number 1 in the end (see previous post) and am all settled in there. My 2 housemates are both really nice, one is a hairdresser and the other works for the council, so we all do very different jobs but we get on well which is the important thing!
This is now my second week working as the RSPB's Slavonian Grebe Reserve Officer. I split my time between the North Scotland Regional Office in Inverness, and at Loch Ruthven, where I will be spending most of my time from now on.
Monday 4th - First day! Got shown around the office and introduced to everyone, and then taken to Loch Ruthven to put up some 'No Bank Fishing' signs, as there were problems with members of the public bank fishing last year, which resulted in the death of one of the Slavonian Grebe chicks. Also checked the Mink rafts with Kate, as Mink are one of the biggest predators of ground nesting birds, but thankfully there haven't been any at the loch in recent years.
Tuesday 5th - Read through some important papers and information about Slavonian Grebes and drove up to the site all by myself for the first time, and didn't get lost!
Wednesday 6th - Drove up to the loch again and surveyed the crows in the area, as they will predate the eggs of Slavonian Grebes, so we need to keep an eye on numbers.
Thursday 7th - Went out with Kate and Claire to do some practical work putting up stiles at one of the saltmarsh reserves, and sorting out the sluice pipes at another reserve so that the surrounding fields flood (good for breeding waders)
Friday 8th - Did some more reading, wrote a piece for the RSPB Loch Ruthven Blog, and made 3 midge traps so that we can measure the level of midges at the loch as they are important food for Slavonian Grebes.
Yesterday (Monday 11th) it was decided that from now on I should make daily visits to the Loch in order to keep an eye on Slavonian Grebe behaviour and any nesting or mating behaviour that they show, and so that we can see how many pairs are associated with each of the 6 main sedgebeds. So in the morning I got all of my supplies ready and in the afternoon, I went off to complete my first intensive sedge bed watch of the season! And was rewarded with good views of a pair of Slavonian Grebes performing one of their ritual dances! AND lots of Sand Martins and Swallows, the first I've seen this year!
Today (Tuesday 12th) I went to the site in the morning so that I could spend a while finding the best places to view each sedge bed from, and so that I could watch each bed for a long time. Today I was able to see a Red-throated Diver in breeding plumage, as well as an Osprey which flew right over my head!
So all in all, a good experience so far, and it will only get better when the Grebes start nesting and having babies everywhere! Excited much?? I am! :D
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Saturday 2 April 2011
Dilemmas!!
It's my 3rd day in Inverness, and I have seen all of the 7 house shares that I had lined up. Of those 7, 2 are pretty crap, 1 is ok, and 4 are really good! So now I have a difficult decision on my hands. The problem is that each of the final 4 has good points and bad points, which makes it quite difficult to choose, but I need to make a decision before Monday really, so that I can let everyone know! So, I need your help! Here are the choices:
Option 1
£330 per month, with £330 deposit. All bills included in rent.
Nice modern house, shared with 2 females in mid 20's. My room would be the downstairs double bedroom. Also have use of kitchen/dining room, bathroom and living room (upstairs). Decking outside as garden.
10 minute walk to RSPB office, 30 minute walk to town, but bus stop close by and regular buses.
The room is currently occupied, so the earliest I could move in would probably be Monday/Tuesday.
Option 2
£380 per month, with £380 deposit. All bills included in rent.
Nice, quite large modern house in fairly new area. Owned by couple in late 20's, husband away on business all year but visits on weekends. Wife will often be visiting him as well. My room is good sized double room, which she will repaint sometime soon (so may have to move out for a few days while this is done). Also have use of kitchen/dining room, living room and bathroom. Fairly large garden.
30 minute walk to RSPB office, 45 minute walk to town. Bus stop close by, but only 1 bus per hour.
Can move in any time.
Option 3
£360 per month, with £360 deposit. All bills included in rent, but no wireless internet, although she will consider getting this.
Nice, old, large house very close to city centre. Will share with 1 female in mid 20's, whose boyfriend often comes to visit, and she will often be off visiting him as well. My room is good sized double room, no wardrobe, but plenty of storage space eslewhere. Also have use of large kitchen/dining room, living room, WC and bathroom, which will be replaced in early May due to crack in bathtub - may mean moving out for a couple of days while this happens, or no showers for a couple of days. Smallish garden.
20 minute walk to RSPB office, 5 minute walk to town, all buses go from town centre.
Can move in anytime.
Option 4
£360 per month with approx. £90 deposit. All bills included in rent.
Nice mid-sized house in ok area. Will share with 1 female in 30's, but is often out with hobbies. My room is good sized double room with loads of storage space, and TV with freeview! Also have use of lounge/dining room, kitchen and bathroom. Front and back gardens.
15 minute walk to RSPB office, 25 minute walk to town, buses stop nearby and are regular.
Can move in anytime.
So all quite similar really! Which probably makes it harder to make a decision. Option 1 is cheapest, Option 2 is furthest away from everything, Option 3 is the oldest house, and Option 4 is average really. The house mates in all cases are really nice, so just need to decide! What is your opinion?? Help!
Option 1
£330 per month, with £330 deposit. All bills included in rent.
Nice modern house, shared with 2 females in mid 20's. My room would be the downstairs double bedroom. Also have use of kitchen/dining room, bathroom and living room (upstairs). Decking outside as garden.
10 minute walk to RSPB office, 30 minute walk to town, but bus stop close by and regular buses.
The room is currently occupied, so the earliest I could move in would probably be Monday/Tuesday.
Option 2
£380 per month, with £380 deposit. All bills included in rent.
Nice, quite large modern house in fairly new area. Owned by couple in late 20's, husband away on business all year but visits on weekends. Wife will often be visiting him as well. My room is good sized double room, which she will repaint sometime soon (so may have to move out for a few days while this is done). Also have use of kitchen/dining room, living room and bathroom. Fairly large garden.
30 minute walk to RSPB office, 45 minute walk to town. Bus stop close by, but only 1 bus per hour.
Can move in any time.
Option 3
£360 per month, with £360 deposit. All bills included in rent, but no wireless internet, although she will consider getting this.
Nice, old, large house very close to city centre. Will share with 1 female in mid 20's, whose boyfriend often comes to visit, and she will often be off visiting him as well. My room is good sized double room, no wardrobe, but plenty of storage space eslewhere. Also have use of large kitchen/dining room, living room, WC and bathroom, which will be replaced in early May due to crack in bathtub - may mean moving out for a couple of days while this happens, or no showers for a couple of days. Smallish garden.
20 minute walk to RSPB office, 5 minute walk to town, all buses go from town centre.
Can move in anytime.
Option 4
£360 per month with approx. £90 deposit. All bills included in rent.
Nice mid-sized house in ok area. Will share with 1 female in 30's, but is often out with hobbies. My room is good sized double room with loads of storage space, and TV with freeview! Also have use of lounge/dining room, kitchen and bathroom. Front and back gardens.
15 minute walk to RSPB office, 25 minute walk to town, buses stop nearby and are regular.
Can move in anytime.
So all quite similar really! Which probably makes it harder to make a decision. Option 1 is cheapest, Option 2 is furthest away from everything, Option 3 is the oldest house, and Option 4 is average really. The house mates in all cases are really nice, so just need to decide! What is your opinion?? Help!
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