You may have noticed that I have changed the description of the blog, (situated at the top right of the blog) and as the title of this post states, I am now the proud owner of my C Permit!I sent the forms off to the BTO the morning I left for Iceland on Thursday 14th July and exactly 3 months later the permit was in my hands here at Bangor University. I owe huge thanks to everyone that have helped me along the way to obtaining my C Permit and these will be mentioned later on in this post.
This permit is a Restricted C Permit which doesn't allow me to use mist-nets just yet, but I hope to ammend this next year at the beginning of March. This permit is based on the use of catching any species of adult bird by using traps and my hands as well as ringing any species of pullus in any situation.
Most of the birds I catch will be caught using potter, spring or chardonneret trap as well as catching birds with my hands which is something I somewhat used to. These traps will be described in a later post. Dazzling will also play a major role in my catching effors which is catching birds my a lamp and net at night.
Massive thanks go to Steve Dodd, Rachel Taylor, Kane Brides, Stephen Christmas, Kelvin Jones, Adrienne Stratford, Tony Cross, Dave Fletcher, Brian Hopkins, John Wilson, Andrew Cadman, Seumus Eaves, Phil Ireland, Craig Brookes, Karen Moss, Andrew Moss, Will Price, Phil Slade, Sverrir Thorstensen, Aevar Petersen, Peter Alker, Stephen Menzie, Richard De Feu, Wes Halton, Nicola Edmonds, Kevin Scott and Sean Gray for all their continued support along my journey!
Thanks also to Gillian Dinsmore, Ciaran Hatsell, Zac Hinchcliffe and Mathew Bruce for their support also.
I have managed to catch some birds already, 30 in fact with the permit, but a full update will be available of what these have been tomorrow night.
Our ringing totals for the 2 weeks ended with another 138 Whooper Swans being caught which included 48 retraps and 90 new birds. Some were controls included a few birds wearing BTO rings from the UK.
Kane and I usually waited in the truck whilst Sverrir caught the swans on the lake, keeping a close eye on his wear abouts and number of swans on the lake. 
I also had my 1st go with the boat this year and managed to catch 5 Adult Whooper Swans, all in moult.
We were lucky as the weather during the swan catching was glorious as you can see from the photos above. Clear skies and stunning scenery added to a superb end to the trip. 
Whislt in Iceland during our Whooper Swan research work we had a few days off so we decided to travel over to Husavik on the northern coast of Iceland for a day of Whale Watching.
The harbour at Husavik is beautiful and with a clear and calm sea, we had picked the perfect day to go whale watching. During the 3 hour cruise out to sea we witnessed a group of 3 Humpback Whales which ventured to within 1 metre of the tour boat!
The second part of our trip in Iceland began on Monday 1st August where we began catching, ringing and surveying the Whooper Swans as part of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trusts work, (WWT), in the North of Iceland in the pristine valley of Skagafjordur. Our base for the next 2 weeks would be in the northern area around Akyreryi.
This was to be a truly unforgettable experience for Kane and I as the method used to catch these Whooper swans was by hand. Running across marshes for several miles to catch a brood of cygnets and both adults really was great fun!
This Whooper Swan (pictured above) was not going to slip past me and after a few seconds the bird came close enough and it was safely captured and ready to be ringed - albeit a bit wet afterwards! Kane on the right and I on the left always working as a team.
Whilst out in the marshes we managed to catch 14 Wigeon, 2 Teal and 2 Mallard which were all moulting so unable to fly, making an easy catch.
I also managed to track down 2 baby Snipe chicks which were at least 300 yards away. Practising listening to their 'peeping' calls on Flatey Island was the only way I could have found these chicks.
However, relaxing in the hot tub at base camp was just what we all needed after a long day in the marshes!
All photos by Kane Brides. 
On Thursday 14th July, Kane and I flew out to Iceland for our annual trip to Flatey Island where we ring seabirds, waders and anything else we can get our hands on really. Then onto another part of Iceland where we carry out our Whooper Swan survey work.
The weather was glorious throughout our stay and all the team caught the sun. Here, Kane enjoys a moment with a Puffin whilst out surveying one of the islands.
Sean Gray with a Kittiwake - one of many caught on Clodmingo Island.
Kevin Scott with a Puffin, also caught whilst out surveying one of the islands.
Snow Buntings were abundant this year and this male cracking adult male Snow Bunting was one of 16 caught during our stay.
Red - Necked Phalarope caught in a flick-netting session down by a pool below our lodgings for our stay. This year, 61 individuals were ringed.
As always at the end of any trip a group photo is required. (Top Row - Sverrir Thorstensen, Sean Gray, Kevin Scott and Aevar Petersen, (Bottom Row - Myself and Kane).
A total of 2 Storm Petrel and 7 Manx Shearwater were caught during the night and with Manx Shearwater calling offshore and flying right over our heads made for an amazing spectacle and one I will never forget and of the 7 Manx Shearwater caught, 6 were new and 1 control, being a bird ringed as a chick in 2005 on Bardsey Island. Great stuff!
Both Manx Shearwater and Storm Petrel were both new species for us all and were a joy to ring; happy faces all round from Kane and I. 
Carrying on from the trip to Norfolk on 25th and 26th June, it didn't take me long to get back out ringing with Kane and Dave Edwards on the local mosses around Manchester. 
2 Stock Dove pulli also ringed when inspecting a Barn Owl nestbox.
Several broods of Swallow were also ringed during the morning.