On the move

Andy Mitchell - one of our brilliant team of leaders - has been living and working on the Orcadian island of Egilsay for seven years and he's got the itch.   Not enough to send him South (like to Inverness) but just as far as Orkney Mainland.

Andy says he's achieved most of what he wanted to on the RSPB reserve for which he was Warden and it now needs a new approach and fresh ideas - and so does he.  For the moment (until October) he's going to be doing an RSPB contract as the Corncrake Officer throughout Orkney and then he'll review the options. 

"Egilsay is one of those remote places that needs time to appreciate its charms and I’ve certainly done that" he explains. "However, the number adults has dropped from 22 when I arrived to 12 now and there are six holiday homes as opposed to one in 1999. So, Joanand I are missing a social life and missing being involved in events so it’s off to the bright lights of Mainland. I’m sure I’ll miss some things about the island – the quiet, the drumming snipe on a clear, still May evening, the view from the cottage – but it really is a time for change."

Meanwhile he'll still be leading tours for Island Holidays Plus - I've got the Falklands lined up for him in November, Cuba in March (and Andy was one of the three people who pioneered British birdwatching in Cuba) and Bulgaria in May.  We plan ahead!

Comments

[Andy Mitchell]

My first contact with a blog - and I'm on it! Sorry about the photo but Libby insisted and it was the only one I could find. Just to explain, this was the grand opening of the walkway I had just built on the Egilsay reserve with the excellent help of volunteer Vanessa from New Zealand. The drink is a 'mojito' from Cuba, invented for Ernest Hemingway. Come to Cuba some time with me and Island Holidays and taste the real thing in the sun!