2011 has been another brilliant year

2011 has been the fifth year I have been bone collecting, and the third year I have had this blog, and I think it has been the best year yet. I have explored new woods, watched deer and foxes, spotted new birds and found some fantastic skulls and bones.

• The Best Bits of 2011

The highlight of my year was my new baby brother Harry being born in September. Harry is cute and I enjoy helping out with him.

It was amazing appearing on Autumnwatch and meeting Chris Packham. It was a great treat and I am very lucky.

It was great to finally meet Mrs Powell (another bone collector) at the Scottish Seabird Centre after we had swapped so many skulls.

I really enjoyed going to the Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie Comparée in Paris. It must be one of the best bone museums in the world !

It was really nice being invited up to CAHID in Dundee to see how a proper forensics lab works too, and they have been very kind to me.

I have been on lots of great walks too and discovered great new woods full of animals and bones. My favourite walks have been exploring the ruined mansion, and walking around the Rhynd lochs at sunset with dad.

I have really enjoyed all the comments and emails I have had too, so thank you if you left a comment on my website, on my Facebook page or on Twitter.

• People I want to say thank you to

There are loads of people who have been really kind to me this year, and if thanked everyone it would take forever so sorry if I miss anyone.

Mrs Powell who has swapped so many skulls with me and who has been really really kind to me. Whenever we swap she always puts in something extra and she even sent me a skull for my birthday and gave a soft puffin toy to my brother Sam.

Mr Ben Williams sent me a fantastic box of old bones, some of which I would never ever have collected on my own. That was very, very kind.

Mrs Chalamanda gave me a brilliant alligator skull. I didn't say her name at the time, but I have checked with CITES and it was all fine, so hopefully she won't go to prison but if she does I'll write to her. Dad's friend George too, because he gave me a crocodile head.

Steve Dean of Frozen Critters sent me a beaver skull from the USA which was really really kind of him.

Alistair the gamekeeper, for giving me three roe deer buck skulls.

Professor Black and Lucina at the University of Dundee for letting me use their beetle tanks.

Catherine Smith and Paolo Viscardi for all the advice and encouragement.

Chris Packham for being so easy to talk to when I was on Autumnwatch, to the camera crew and producers who were nice too and especially to Karen for mentioning me to Chris Packham in the first place.

Ross for getting in touch and showing me his bone collection too.

Jack for the sheep skull and bones.

Elise for the roe deer skull and exploring the woods with me.

Mrs Potten for the kangaroo skull.

To dad for helping me with my walks, this blog and for doing the pictures.

To mum for not going nuts every time I bring a new bone home.

• Visitors to this blog


This time last year I had about 4,500 visitors from the US, and about 3,200 visitors from the UK. Now I have had 18,300 from the US and 10,500 from the UK ! It has been incredible how many visitors I have had. In 2010 I had 10,729 visitors to my website, which I thought was amazing, until I saw how many I had this year - 33,641 ! At the moment I am getting about 160 visitors every single day, and so far people from 151 countries have seen my website.

Last year I had about 70 comments on my website, and about the same number of emails. This year I have had 185 comments and 393 emails and I have tried to reply to every single one. Yesterday I got my 200th person following my website on Facebook.

This year has been amazing, and hopefully I will have an even better year in 2012 if that is even possible !

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