My name is Björn Marten Philipps, I'm 26 years old and I'm the warden on Trischen this season. I grew up between Kiel and Flensburg on the Baltic Sea and started birding during my civilian service in the Meldorfer Speicherkoog 2006/2007, just a stone's throw from the North Sea between Büsum and Friedrichskoog. For many waders the Speicherkoog is an important resting place at high tide, and I spent a lot of time observing and counting birds. With the North Sea right outside my front door, the island of Trischen was about 17 km away. But on clear days, I was able to see a small island rising only a few meters above the sea from which I sometimes had visits from Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) or a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus).

Since that time, I have studied not only biology and special needs education but also the 'diaries' of the wardens and a variety of literature on the Wadden Sea. And I visited this unique habitat as often as I could. At the moment I'm taking a sabbatical from university to look after Trischen in the 2011 season. My tasks include the following activities:

• The regular and systematic counting of resting and migratory birds
• The counting of marine mammals around Trischen
• The mapping of breeding birds and the documentation of breeding success    
• Vegetation surveys and identification of sedimentation / erosion
• The documentation of the island shifting on the basis of GPS measurements
• The identification and prevention of major disruptions
• press and public relations

So my work as a warden isn't restricted to the conservation of this unique habitat, it also involves systematic collection and monitoring using various parameters. Monitoring isn't restricted to Trischen, it is done in the whole Wadden Sea between Den Helder in the Netherlands and Esbjerg in Denmark. This task not only aims at gaining a better understanding of the ecosystem, it also helps to protect it better. The island of Trischen was already a protected area titled sea bird reservation more than 100 years ago. About 75 years ago it was designated a Nature Protection Zone. In 1985 the National Park of Schleswig-Holsteins Wadden Sea was created and in 2009 it was granted the status of World Nature Heritage.

But now I'm looking forward to my time on Trischen, a jewel in the National Park and a small patch of genuine wilderness!