It’s early morning on Berry head as Nigel and I make a bee-line for a special seabird nesting site. Nigel wants to show me what’s happening with the shag families just south of South Fort. The cliff top is fluffy with grasses and pink valerian. In the cocky blue eyes of a Jackdaw I think I can see the abyss.
We lean on a wooden perch high above the slopping waves as Nigel checks the resident birds and hands me his binoculars. The lens is occupied by a large, fuzzy, grey and heavenly ugly Shag chick. So that I let out a bird like squeak.
I fit my recorder with its full fluffy grey plumage and turn it on. One press and its eye flashes red, two and we are recording. The wind buffets us gently while Nigel tells the engaging story of a shag couple and their nest building antics.
At the end of the session we shelter behind a bush to make at least one clear recording for the “Wildbones” collection I am making for radio.
Wild Radio Project 