Researching Albatross on New Island

In December 2017 I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time on New Island, one of the more Westerly islands in the Falklands archipelago. I was there to follow researcher Dr Paulo Catry, who has been working with the black-browed albatross of the Falklands for over 15 years. I was there with the support of my employers of the time, FITV, and also of the New Island Conservation Trust, who manage New Island to be an internationally important wildlife reserve.

This trip was absolutely stunning. Not only was the scenery and the wildlife absolutely incredible, but my hosts on the island were equally as warm and welcoming. It was great to hear from Paulo about the ongoing work to research the species here, and how every new piece of information can add to local and worldwide conservation initiatives.

Falkland Wildflowers

The vast majority of the Falkland Islands has pretty much been a giant sheep farm for the last 200 years, and so wildflower meadows are pretty uncommon. The falklands actually has approximately 180 species of native plants, and even 14 endemic species, you just have to know where to look. Increasingly local farmers and land owners are appreciating the local flora and allowing it space to grow without being grazed, and the results can be stunning; hinting at what the islands may have looked like before the arrival of settlers.

This short look at native flowering plants was an absolute joy to film. The sun was out, and the enthusiasm of those I was with was completely infectious. It's a hard job sometimes.

UNKNOWN GIANTS: Searching for Sei Whales in the Falkland Islands

Sei whales aren't the most well known of whales, in fact even marine biologists know relatively little about this species. I was fortunate enough to be able to join researchers from Falklands Conservation as they worked hard to study the whales that come remarkably close to shore here in the Falkland Islands. Compared to other places in the world, where Sei Whales live in deep offshore oceans, the Falklands are a theoretically a lot easier to study here, however in practice this isn't really the case. Standing on the small rib as it enters Berkley Sound, the team of researchers were looking for any signs of whales, with the most obvious being the blow of water they produce when they come up for air. This blow leaves a small cloud in the air which can be visible for a small moment, even after the whale has dived back below the surface of the water. Under the cloudy skies of the Falklands this blow was often very difficult to see, if you only managed to catch it out of the corner of your eye, you could easily spend the next five or ten minutes doubting yourself and wondering if it was a figment of your imagination, or just a change in the clouds. This short film follows Caroline Weir, from Falklands Conservation, as she carries out this pilot study in the Falkland Islands to gather the data that could shed new light on population dynamics of Sei Whales and will be used to develop marine management strategies for the waters around Stanley.