Personalities 13 R

Personalities 13 R. J. Tulloch obby Tulloch is a Shetlander, whose name is also synonymous with B Snowy Owls and whose ready smile and enjoyable company are known to many. Born on a croft at Aywick, Yell, he can trace his ancestry to the Norse occupation. His interest in birds began with a dead Puffin which he used as a teddy bear, and was fostered by his primary teacher at East Yell School. Bobby became a baker, and his travels in the trade throughout the island gave him the opportunity to see birds, although he had little contact with other birdwatchers. After National Service, spent mainly in Hong Kong, he returned to Yell. His interest in birds increased and he met visiting ornithologists in the summer and often took them to exciting islands, such as Hascosay. On a visit to Shetland, George Waterston, then Assistant Director (Scotland) of the RSPB, suggested that he work for the Society: Charlie Inkster, the RSPB watcher in Yell, was 90 years old and it was appropriate that another Yell man should take over. Bobby started in 1964 and is now Shetland Officer. His wife, Betty, is the district nurse for Yell; Mid Yell has always been their home and they recently moved a short distance to an imposing manse overlooking Hascosay Sound. Bobby first visited Fair Isle in 1964 and our families have been friends ever since. We showed him new birds and trained him to ring and use mist-nets: his first recovery was a Starling drowned in custard at Yell School. We had great fun when Bobby was one of a group of up-and- coming Shetland birdwatchers: each summer, I visited Bobby and Betty in Mid Yell, we explored islands by boat, ringed Gannets at Hermaness, trapped Storm Petrels in the cliffs, and watched migrants on Skerries, where he first went in 1965, in the footsteps of Sammy Bruce. One day he sailed into the harbour there as two birds came flying across the water: one settled on the mast and proved to be a superb Ortolan Bunting. Another time, he was lying face down on a recently manured 'tatty' field, inching towards singing Lapland and Ortolan Buntings, when a hen Greenfinch appeared: a new species for him. Snowy Owls have been part of his life for over a decade. In the early 1960s, several of these owls arrived in Shetland, and Bobby and Dennis Goutts tried to photograph them, using ingenious hides, such as peat stacks and, once, a pantomime horse, with Dennis and his camera in the front; but Bobby's heart was not in this latter exercise, since the local Shetland stallion was too close for comfort. In 1967, Bobby experienced one of his most exciting ornithological moments, on Fetlar with 11 Swiss birdwatchers: a male Snowy Owl looked rather aggressive and, while looking for pellets on a rocky outcrop, Bobby disturbed the female off three eggs. Keeping this secret, he glided home, hardly hearing the Swiss 176 R. J. Tulloch 177 queries about Whimbrels and Red-necked Phalaropes; a few trusted friends received a brief phone-call, 'Nyctea scandiaca c/3'; this was the Start of the Snowy Owl story and the Fetlar reserve. These are part of Bobby's work for the RSPB, but at the same time he has tirelessly studied the distribution and numbers of birds on the different islands throughout the year, and the effects of tourism and, more recently, of the tremendous changes brought about by North Sea oil. Throughout, Bobby has kept his finger on the pulse of bird conservation in Shetland; the RSPB is indeed fortunafe to have a Shetlander on the scene, a man of the islands with a ready ability to get on with his fellows and put over the wildlife point of view. 78. Bobby Tulloch (left) with bearded seal Erignathus barbatus [Andy Gear) Talented as a lecturer and a broadcaster, Bobby's skill with the camera is also well known. His early interest in photography was encouraged by Dr Ian Brooker, and he now has a fine series of photographs. His populär lectures about Shetland are always beautifully illustrated and have taken him throughout Britain. He is an esteemed member of the National Trust for Scotland Gruises and has visited many countries in northern Europe. Since 1968, he has been the Scottish Ornithologists' Club recorder for Shetland; he is also president of the Shetland Bird Club and a member of the Sullom Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group. With the late Fred Hunter, he wrote A Guide to Shetland Birds (1970) and is now compiling a Shetland mammal guide. His interest in mammals is great and he was delighted to photograph—in Yell in 1977—the only bearded seal recorded in Britain this Century. As a Shetlander, he is an expert Seaman, a competent fisherman and a dab hand at dredging up clams and catching 'spoots' (razorshells) at low tides. He is keenly interested in local history and the traditional music of Shetland and Norway; his ability with the fiddle and piano-accordion have been a delight to many and he is in great demand as a songwriter. To all of us, he is a special friend: our birdwatching visits to the Northern Isles are enriched by his knowledge, companionship and humour. R. H. DENNIS .

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