IslayBlog.com -> 2008 ->
Wednesday, 20/Aug/2008
So Long, and Thanks for All the Birds, Gus
My first guided walk on Islay was in 2003, led by someone called Gus Keys. Back then he took us around Saligo Bay and Traigh Bhan. Other walks were to follow, including a very memorable walk on The Oa and to Beinn Mhór. It looks like at least for the foreseeable future there won't be any further walks with him on Islay. Simple reason being that he is leaving Islay:
As the Islay Birds blog writes, after almost 10 years on Islay Angus (Gus) is moving on. He will be managing 4 reserves for the RSPB from Wigtown in the south west of Scotland.
While his main interest was obviously in the birds he also had an immense knowledge in the local history of the reserves he was responsible for. This made his walks interesting for everyone: He could explain how the RSPB was caring for the birds even to ‘ignorants’ like me, at the same time he could also talk very knowledgable about historic sites in the area. A loss for Islay and a gain for the reserves around Wigtown.
I don't know if he'll be reading this, but thank you for the nice walks, Gus! I hope you'll be returning to Islay frequently and that our paths will cross again.
PS: If you're interested (and quick, closing date is 22/Aug/2008) to work for the RSPB on Islay, there's a Site Manager for Smaull Reserve currently being advertised.
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