Typsey

Have a Ghillie kettle. Same as but with a whistling top which is great if, like me, you tend to get waffling and forget it's on! Have none of the add-ons that can be bought but as a kettle it is fantastic.

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The first butterflies you see in spring have overwintered in adult form. The last ones you see in autumn overwinter in the chrysalis stage. They are pretty cool really. The peacock butterfly Inachis io has developed an untrasonic alarm signal capable of scaring off bats about the attack.

My memories of running ArcGIS was that it requires RAM. Lots of RAM. Think of a size of RAM and add to it the same number again and you might be in the region of how much you need. Whatever laptop you get make sure it either comes with lots or has the ability to add more to it. Why are you running ArcGIS anyway? If for work then they should provide one. If for pleasure then you need to get out more!

I'm an ecologist. I'm also a part-time cutter and climber but this is normally just for friends, family and local wildlife trust when they need a hand. If you want to get into ecology in a serious way i.e. full-time then you need a degree. Some companies even ask for a Masters. Personally I'm not sure survey work is even covered on most degrees but if you want to get through the initial paper sift when applying then you need one. Holding survey licenses help. A lot. GCN is fairly easy to get and if you work/volunteer for a couple of organisations for a season then you should be able to get the two references you'll need. But do a course as well with a recognised provider to make sure you have covered everything you need to support your licence application. The bat licence is very hard to get. Most people work for at least a couple of years before they have enough experience to apply for one. However, they are not always needed. Activity surveys can be carried out by anyone but if you think you are going to see a bat where you are looking or are about to shove an inspection camera somewhere then you need to back off and have a licensed bat worker with you. IEEM membership is pretty much mandatory for the big companies. They are also working on minimum standards for working as an ecologist and they have set the bar quite high. If I can help out with anything else then drop me a PM or contact me through my website below. Good luck.

Definately go with a Parrot. I was lucky enough to find one fitted in a second hand Focus I bought 2 years ago. It really is fantastic and when I change cars it'll either come with me or I'll get another one. Typsey