I havent written for ages so please forgive me if this entry is a little long!!!
Ive know been here just over 12 weeks, can you believe it? I certainly can't!! Life seems to be rushing by at the moment and as ive settled down im really really starting to enjoy things.
Ive also progressed enough to be a trainer no longer a trainee. For the last 3 weeks ive been responsible for a work experience student called Jam (Jamiil) from the university of Mauritius. He is here for 6 weeks in total and has just finished his first year. Its yet more responsibility but im loving it, plus it proves i actually no something if im good enough to teach someone else.
There was a time about a month ago when i wasnt sure if i had made the right decision and i wasnt the happiest bunny around but im so glad i decided to stay. Im absolutely loving mauritius, am seeing things differently and my pigeons continue to surprise and entertain me. Talking about pigeons i ringed my first juvenille the other day. I'd previously just done the handling so it was a real honour to be able to ring it myself. I gave it the colour combination (left leg) ID/Dark blue (right leg) orange. I called it Sooali after mum and my sister and the bird is doing fine. I wont know if its a boy or a girl for another couple of months but i will keep you posted.
Other pigeon news...im going to tell you the story of steve the baby pigeon squab. Steve is a very special pigeon who decided to keep jumping the nest prematurely. The first time i found him Kelly (my boss) and some others came and taped up the tree to put him back on his nest. The following day he was on the floor again so yet aain we put him back on the nest. Baby pigeons arent supposed to leave the nest ubtil they are 18-21 days old. Steve was only 10 days old. Oh he's called Steve McQueen after the guy in the great escape. Anyway when i found him on the floor underneath his 10m nest tree for the third time we took him to the aviaries to be hand reared. Three weeks later when he had been fully weaned he was brought back to camp so i could look after him for a couple of days and then release him. This has never been done before!! I beautifully prepared my aviaries with vegetation food etc, but when we tried to get him out of his travel box he escaped. He's really living up to his name. Unfortunately he has no tail as when they constantly caught him at the avaries he lost his tail, so he looks like a cross between a chicken and a fruit bat...so cute!! Anyway he's healthy and has learnt to feed from the hoppers and eventually i will catch him again to ring
him.
Im sightseeing and chilling with my weekends and have discovered you can buy clothes from monsoon, next and dorothy perkins from factory shops out here. So a pir of monsoon jeans set me back 7 quid the other day, absolute bargin.
I hope you're all well please please please send me a couple of lines with what you're up to, any news, etc etc. Missing you all loads.
All my love Jen x x
Finally im sorry about the mistakes in this but there is a que for the internet and ive already been on far too long.
P.s You can see where i live on google earth. The points are 20 degrees (i cant find the litle circle symbol)22'46.83" S and 57 degrees 26'51.69" E. The wooden hut is of course my house just behind it to the left is the shelter and you can also see the echo and pigeon aviaries. The pigeon ones are the larger rectangular ones.
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