Scary Bird.

How cool is this pic? That’s me with a GOLDEN EAGLE on my arm!! I was terrified! Its beak was the size of a large fist and it weighed a tonne…
This was taken by Johnny Bugeja, the Chronicle photographer, quite a while back now. I found it today while I was looking through an old disc drive. It was snapped in Gibraltar while I was researching an article on the raptor unit run by the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (www.gonhs.org)
These guys are great. Gibraltar is a key staging post for migrating birds of prey, but is also home to flocks of vicious seagulls. Many raptors are attacked and end up injured. The GONHS team cares for them and reintroduces them imto the wild.
They are also involved in conservation programs, both in Gibraltar and around the world. A first class effort!
Here’s the article, first published in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

Why the New Flame sank.

The National Geographic channel broadcast a fascinating documentary filmed off Gibraltar during the removal of the wreck of the New Flame.

This ship ran aground about a year before the Fedra after a collision with a tanker.

The programme provides rivetting insight into the dirty, dangerous and difficult work of salvage companies. If you like ships, it’s really worth seeing.

The New Flame incident should not have happened. The collision came about because of a number of factors, including the lack of formal cooperation between the port of Gibraltar and nearby Algeciras, in Spain.

It’s not me that says this, but the experts. The official accident investigation report was published by the Gibraltar Maritime Administration just last week.

Here’s the story I did for the List.

The day I got frisked with the treasure hunters…

I got an interesting item of mail this week, a Fedexed package sent by the Discovery Channel with a review copy of a documentary on Odyssey Marine Exploration. It’s the latest episode in a series.

Odyssey is a fascinating company that uses hightech subsea equipment to search the world’s oceans for sunken treasure. Its two ships were based out of Gibraltar for some time and I got to know their business quite well.

In 2007, Odyssey recovered 17 tonnes of gold and silver coins - yes, the figure is right - from a secret location in the Atlantic. They flew the haul out of Gib airport and announced the find. In doing so, the company unleashed the wrath of the Spanish government, which accused them of looting a Spanish wreck.

Odyssey insists it follows strict archaeological practices and is now locked in a legal battle with Spain in a US court. That one has yet to be resolved.

The Discovery documentary charts the entire saga and includes some footage of one Odyssey’s ships being boarded by the Guardia Civil off Gibraltar. I was on that ship and if you look closely, you can see me being detained as I walk off in the Spanish port of Algeciras. They held us there for several hours and took my laptop, camera and notebook. I got it all back eventually, plus the bonus of a good tale to tell. But it took some arguing with the judge, for which I have to thank my good friend Carlos Perez, a Spanish lawyer who helped me. The episode is fun to recall now, but it was frightening at the time. Here a link to one of the various stories I wrote that day, this one for Reuters. And another.

No joy in lesbian housing case...

I just finishing covering one of those court cases that leaves you feeling baffled and slightly lost for words.
A lesbian couple wants joint tenancy of a government flat but are told they can’t have it. Government policy is that unmarried couples can’t have joint tenancy (unless there’s a chid involved).
So what’s the problem? Just get married. It’s a good solution for the heterosexuals, not so good if you’re homosexual though. Gay marriage? Not allowed, I’m afraid.
The lesbian couple challenge the decision on the grounds of discrimination, human rights etc and lose - twice! (Read about the first time here)
Here’s what I don’t get: this couple has been in a monogamous, loving relationship for nearly 20 years. On what possible grounds could anyone say no to giving them a government lease that is in both their names and therefore protects both their futures? On the grounds of protecting the ‘traditional family’ unit? Would that be the traditional, divorce-prone family unit?
I can’t understand the government’s approach to this issue. It seems outdated and out of touch with modern reality. At least, for me it does.
But watch this space. Methinks this case could go all the way Europe. This argument may not be over yet.