Graham Victor Frederick Thompson

The Natural History of Skokholm Island (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Skokholm is a remote island nature reserve located off the southwest coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. Home to over 100,000 seabirds (including the third-largest Manx shearwater colony in the World), it was made famous by pioneer naturalist Ronald Mathias Lockley in the 1930s and 1940s as a result of the many books that he wrote about it. He leased Skokholm for 20 years from 1928 until 1948, during which time he established Britain's first Bird Observatory (in 1933). The field outing of the 8th International Ornithological Congress was held on the island in the following year. The Pembrokeshire Bird Protection Society (now the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales), of which Lockley was a founder, took over the lease in 1948, and ran the island as a ringing station and nature reserve. In 1954 it was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

A huge number of studies have been carried out looking into the lives of the various birds, the House Mice and Rabbits, invertebrates, plants and plant communities. In 1963 the Edward Grey Institute for Field Ornithology became involved and began a number of studies looking at seabird biology and populations. The Council for the Promotion of Field Studies (now the Field Studies Council) was, at this time, running the island under license from the Wildlife Trust. The Medical Research Council and then the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine undertook a study on the genetically unique island House Mouse, and the Ministry of Agriculture studied the Rabbit population as the disease Myxomatosis swept across Britain, but did not affect the island animals at all, making the site even more interesting.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Trafford Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 1
• Erscheinungstermin: 16. Januar 2008
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781490721422
• Artikelnr.: 51631055

Autorenporträt

Born in central London in 1964, it was perhaps a surprise that the author became infatuated with wildlife. His mother puts it down to his grandfather taking him to feed the pigeons and sparrows in the local park. This early interest blossomed through expeditions in search of birds along local canal banks, on wasteland, and in parks. Visits to zoos, membership of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' junior section (Young Ornithologists' Club), and family holidays the length and breadth of the UK (including the Pembrokeshire island of Skomer) widened his horizons. A first visit to Skokholm was made in 1982, when the author was 17 years old, the first of many visits which including weeklong stints as Voluntary Warden. Studying "Advanced level" Botany at college evening classes forced him to become more interested in plants! A degree in Ecology followed, opening up avenues in his quest to become a nature reserve Warden, with Skokholm always in mind. Working in central London on a tiny nature reserve, and then 5 years as a Countryside Ranger in East Sussex further strengthened his desire to work on Skokholm, regarded by him as an escape from all of the World's troubles! A summer as Assistant Warden on his "dream island" of Skokholm finally led to his dream being fulfilled - he was appointed as the Warden in the autumn of 1995. That's when the "behind the scenes" view led to the inception of this, his first (and certainly not his last) book about life on an island nature reserve. The story of his personal adventures there and his extensive natural history diaries have yet to be published. He now lives in the Massif Central region of France where he and his wife Theresa have established a bird-watching and natural history holiday business under the name of Massif Nature.