Fur seal pups on the back walkway
The 'wet' (animal handling) lab
The 'dry' lab
Fur seal pups outside the lab
The view north from the main door, showing the VSAT dome and Roche Peak
Dining and living room
View south from the dining table, over the beach with seals and penguins
Hot cross buns on Good Friday
Kitchen
The boot room, where we store and dry our outdoor gear
The main office
Dry food store
The freezer room, where we keep the beer and chocolate also
The main accommodation corridor
The medical cabinet
The main water holding tankThe new base on Bird Island, Prince House, was completed during 2005 and has been fully operational since then. Accomodating up to twelve people, although ten being the usual maximum, it is a well insulated new building with everything you would expect from a modern scientific station. The living quarters are spacious, warm and comfortable, and the workspaces are also built to an excellent standard, allowing us to carry out our jobs, helping deliver a programme of world-class science in this remote environment.
Our water supply comes mostly in the form of rain water, which is collected off the roof into a large holding tank, from where it is filtered to make it safe to drink. Electricity is provided from large diesel-powered generators that we shut down every night (operating essentials overnight on battery power) and start up first thing in the morning.
We have two labs, one for 'wet' work (animal handling etc.) and one for 'dry' (microscopes etc.). The office is large and warm and is a nice place to retire to after a day on the hill. Internet and telephone service comes over a VSAT satellite link with a company based in Aberdeen, and means that our phones here have UK numbers and are in effect merely extensions on the BAS internal phone system in Cambridge. This makes inter-base communication very cheap and easy indeed. The internet connection isn't fast, but is adequate for most things, and during quiet periods it is possible to listen to radio stations streamed over the internet.
Communication around base is with handheld marine VHF radios, and with a VHF repeater on top of one of the hills, we get good coverage over all the island. We also have Iridium satellite phones for emergencies.
Food is supplied twice a year, once at the start of the summer season (November) and once before we go into winter (April). There is a large range of very good food that is sent in, including many spices and herbs for making cooking more interesting, and a large selection of chocolate, essential for snacking whilst out doing fieldwork in cold weather! Of course, the quality of the meals we eat depends not only on the ingredients, but upon the various talents of the 'chef du jour'! The cook of the day makes the daily bread, and the variety of loaves produced ranges from huge wholemeal bloomers to skinny crunchy baguettes! On special occasions the chef will produce a culinary treat, for example mince pies at Christmas time, hot cross buns at Easter and birthday cakes!
The situation with alcohol relies upon trust that we will not abuse it. Other BAS bases have a 'two can rule' which states that base members have to stick to a limit of two cans of beer (or glasses of wine, etc. etc.) per night. We do not have this on Bird Island - but we are expected to limit our consumption to the point where we are never going to be a liability in an emergency situation. Having said that, Saturday nights tend to be our 'party night' and a nice time to let our hair down a little.
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