17th October
So the day was upon me. I am finally going to ZSL London Zoo. This is a day I have envisaged so many times since I was a young lad, but under different circumstances I should state. The day starts off at 5:30am, to ensure I am ready... Not a time I particularly enjoy. Once I had heaved myself out of bed & had gotten ready it was time for the adventure to begin, after a very appreciated lift off a friend I was on my train to London. I usually enjoy train journeys, but for a reason I cannot pinpoint this journey is so uninspiring & dull. I find myself just blankly staring into nothingness. Even music started getting boring, perhaps it was the nerves or maybe it's my odd mind creating a placebo effect. We shall never know! Hmm I could do with a psychiatrist buddy to expand on these ideas.
I eventually arrived at London Euston and made my way to the zoo, which would have been a pleasant half hour walk from the station had I not been weighed down many bags full of equipment, which turned it into a trek through an unrelenting concrete jungle. Still I made it to the zoo in good time. I swiftly found my way in and got my Fellowship card all sorted, looks awesome!
Today was originally going to be used to start collecting my data on their striated caracara, but instead it moulded into something far more useful, networking. The single most helpful tool at my disposal. I managed to meet with a couple of the keepers who have/ do look after the birds and managed gain the background knowledge I required as well as it being an opportunity for me to explain my project to them so they didn't just see a random person outside the enclosure for 3 hours at a time in the future (Which lets be honest, would be pretty awkward for all involved). I spent some time watching the birds as well to allow myself to get a glimpse of what I'm in for, collecting data. + the neighboring enclosure houses a Gymnogene! One of my favourite animals, enough to keep me excited for hours.
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| Gymnogene |
Alongside this I got to have a little look around the zoo but didn't have enough spare time to go round the whole place, so on my subsequent visits I've got a plan to divide the zoo up into sections and spend some time in each section every time I visit.
(I must also add how impressed I am with A Day to Remember's new album Common Courtesy. I never really got into them before but it's a stunning record, it's my train album for London (Everyone must listen to it, a landmark album as far as I'm concerned).
18th October
So I made a split second decision last night due to weather reports to just go for it & do my first day of data collection at ZSL. The opportunity was presented to me & I took it! After all opportunity waits for no man.
I arrived at ZSL around the same time and promptly set my gear up and started recording. Everything went to plan & I really like this pair of birds, yet again they have a completely different personality to any of the others I have observed. This pair are really territorial & boy do they show it! once more everything went to plan, surprising but most welcome. Got a chance to sit in on the Animal in action presentation the zoo holds daily. its a great half hour demo where they showcase some awesome critters including, meerkat's, armadillo, owls and vultures. Kept the kids entertained and was nice and informative. Great way for engaging the visitors.
But alas a strap on my camera bag snapped this morning meaning my camera is safely wrapped up in a towel for the duration of the day, I think some makeshift DIY is in order when I get home. (I know you can't start a sentence with 'but', it's part of my artistic license...) I really do love ZSL though, it just has an atmosphere that a lot of other zoos don't have, probably due to its past. The architecture, the enclosures are awesome. You've got to admire how they have built something so impressive in such a small bit of land. They've made superb use of the listed buildings as well, everything looks great. I have at least another 2 visits remaining. Loving every minute of it.
Keep and eye open for more photos on:
sparrowhawk389.deviantart.com
I'm also really hoping to get to the falconry centre soon, it's been too long. If I could I'd be up there every week. In other uni news, I'm going out to carry out a habitat suitability index on water voles next week for conservation. Its something a bit different, should be good!
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