Herring Gull Bully

As I was finishing my speech the other day I noticed alot of Gulls flying around The Inner Farne so I decided to investigate. As I got around the corner I saw a Herring Gull trying to kill a Kittiwake. It was not nice to see but I could not help myself so I took a few pictures.

After watching it for a while I had to put my camera down and stop this fight going on. I hoped that if I move the boat alot closer the Herring Gull would get a fright and fly away. Lucky for the Kittiwake it did.

Little Tern

Arriving at the Inner Farne the other day, one of the Rangers told me that there were some Roseate Terns on Lady's Path (The rocks on The Inner Farne) but when I looked there was nothing there. Just as I said Oh well next time maybe, 2 Little Terns landed on the beach. With all the passengers on the boat ready to go home, I quickly told them that they would have to wait a few minutes until I got a picture.

One old lady said to me, "Go on then son, but don't be long as I need a cup of tea". With a smile on my face from the lady's comment, I dashed into the jetty and snapped away. When I got back on the boat the old lady said to me. "Well son did you get your picture" I replyed yes thanks. She said, "Good, now lets go home".

We let the ropes go and headed back to Seahouses.

Oh by the way I made the old lady's day by making her a cup of tea for her journey home, but for me the Little Terns made my day by far.

 

Icterine Warbler

On Wednesday we had thick fog in the morning but by 10.30am it had burned off. With calm seas and lovely weather I was itching to get out to the Islands. At the end of a perfect day I was told by the Rangers that there was a Icterine Warbler on the Inner Farne so I asked if I could come back and see it. With the green light I went back out at 5.30pm to see if I could get a chance to see this cracking little bird.

After being attacked by the Artic Terns on the way up the bank side I got a shout to say that they had seen it feeding on a bush beside the Info Centre. I grabbed my bins and then I saw it, my first Icterine Warbler. Boy oh boy was I a happy lad.

Not being satisfied with just a look I sat on the ground with the camera ready to snap at the first chance I got. With it being very sunny and a lovely evening the bird was hopping around the bush feeding on flies and insects. Every now and then it would come into view but then hide again. As I waited it did eventually show, and I got the picture I wanted.

Sorry its a bit far away but I was not as lucky as the Farne Island Rangers.

 

Black Guillemot

Over the last week we have had a Black Guillemot lingering around the Inner Farne and every time I've tried to see it, it decides to hide. I even popped out the other morning to see if I could find it but without any success. I thought my chance had gone as it was not seen for a few days, until today.

My brother Toby gave me a phone call to ask me if I would bring out some milk for him, as the milk he bought in the morning had decided to jump of the bench, do a little somersault and land on the floor. Nothing to do with the big waves as he left the harbour this morning. After making him wait for a while I decided to let the ropes go and head out.

As we left the harbour on top of some cracking waves we steamed out towards Toby and all of his divers, who looked very happy to finely get their cup of coffee.

Job done so of we went across the rolling waves towards the Inner Farne. As we approached the Inner Farne I got a call to say that the Black Guillemot was back. As the cheesy grin appeared on my face I got my camera out to start taking pictures when the battery died. As you can imagine there was a few choice words coming out of my mouth but then I thought, ah what the hell at least I can see it.

Happy with my sighting we headed home, but just before we got to the harbour entrance we were welcomed by 2 Harbour Porpoise playing in the waves. We stopped the boat and they turned around and started to circle the boat. It was great to see but I was very surprised as they are normally very shy creatures. They put on a great show and then dived down but never surfaced again.

Back in the harbour I was kicking myself about my flat battery that I decided to open the booking office and give the battery a quick charge and head back out.

With the battery charged I steamed towards the Inner Farne praying that it was still there. Bingo, One winner.
A very happy lad and after taking a few shots I could see that it was in first summer plumage and was just amazing.

Hopefully I will get some closer pictures next time. Finger crossed it stays that is.

Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day today which feels really nice to say. The Islands were buzzing with activity today, with birds flying around, grooming themselves, preparing their nests, mating and when you have weather like today it makes it even more special.

We saw lots of Purple Sandpipers and Turnstones today which is really nice to see. We also saw a Robin, a Wheater, 3 Rock Pipits and on the Inner Farne we saw 2 Little Terns and 2 Roseate Terns which was the highlight of the day. I don't have any pictures of the Roseate Terns so I have put them on the top of my hit list this year. I do hope they stay and increase in numbers, as they might breed, and that would be great news for the Farne Islands.

I do hope this weather continues but I'm not very confident that it will, but for the moment I'm enjoying it as much as I can.

 

Bath Time

Now I know I said I would blog alot more but I need to be out and about around the Farne Islands to get something to blog about.

This has been the worst start to a season we have had for many years, and if it's not been strong winds it's been heavy rain that has stopped play it's been totally dead. To make things worse we have now lost more days at the sea in April than we did for the whole of last year and we will probably lose more before the year is over.

Oh well life is here to test us I suppose. Never mind back to the birds.

I was sitting on the boat the other day watching Guillemots bathing themselves when I noticed that they were totally turning themselves upside down with their feet in the air. I had never noticed this before so I had to get a picture.

The shots I got are not very good and they are taken over a few days and some of the light is not the best, but I did manage to get some pictures to show you what I mean.

I also watched a Shag having a bath but this was more like some kids splashing around in their own bath.

 
On the bird front around the Farnes we have all our birds back now and alot are now sitting on eggs. The Artic Terns are back but they are not settled just yet. A few more days I think and they should start to settle and you know what happens after that......Oh Yes it's hard hat time.

Puffin Pictures

The weather has been a bit up and down over the last few weeks and we have missed a lot of days due to bad weather. I know it's my lively hood and you have to take the rough with the smooth, but when I see some of the people's faces when I tell them we will not be going out today due to bad seas, it hurts. This Easter was very hit and miss and we missed a good few days, but when we did get out I did manage to get a good few pictures of our favourite birds.( THE PUFFIN )

They have been coming and going over the last few weeks but today they seem to be a lot more settled. I seen a few mating on the water at The Wideopens and today was the first day I seen a lot in the water at Staple Island. I also heard today that the Wardens (Oh sorry Rangers) have seen the first Puffin egg, so another sign they are getting settled.

Well it's getting to that time everyone, when all the birds are coming back and you will be clicking like mad getting that award winning picture. So here is a little taste of some Puffin pictures you might be able to get.

All these pictures were taken during that lovely spell we had before Easter and I don't use any Photo Shops either as I just point and shot, so if your any good or a pro just imagine the shots you could get. This is one of the reasons why my Catamaran is a great boat as I can get you in closer to get that perfect shot.

Sorry that sounds as I'm blowing my own trumpet, but I do try to do my best for everyone and if I can get these pictures while trying to steer the boat at the same time well it just goes to show you.

The season starts

The season starts on the 1st April and all of the Rangers have now arrived and have been preparing the Islands ready for the boats and visitors to enjoy the breeding season. We have been operating all winter and had some fantastic trips but we had our boats have been inspected by the MCA today, and this gives the boats a license to operate to our full capacity.

The weather this week has been just fantastic with beautiful sunshine and flat calm seas. To make things a lot better the birds have been arriving back in their thousands.

I also seen a good few Turnstones around all of the Islands, 4 Purple Sandpipers and 20 Sandwich Terns were roosting on Knocks Reef and 8 Harbour Porpoise. The Sandwich Tern count maybe more than that now but that's what I counted and it will not be long before hundreds are here. I was even told that some of the Shags are now on eggs. Now that's quick.  

Here is a few pictures I have taken over the last week.

  

Guillemots steal the show.

Its has been amazing week so far with flat calm sea's and beautiful sunshine and I just hope it continues to be honest. All the boats are now painted and ready for the season to get started. I know I've been out all winter but it's just nice to see the sun shining and the birds coming back.
The Guillemots have been coming and going for over a month now, but this time they seem to be a lot more settled. The Puffins and Razorbills are starting to turn up, with big groups of them resting on the water. At the moment the Guillemots are steeling the show with big numbers all around the Islands. Last week the really put a show on for the customers and myself, by flying over the boat in their hundreds. Sometimes when I watch Nature programs I get so jealous of the guys seeing thousands of Penguins or Killer Whales and I realise that I do see something like this every year when the birds start to arrive to the Farne Islands.

 This video was taken on my phone a few days ago and it shows you just how lucky I am to be able to go out to the Farne Islands everyday and see amazing sights like the Guillemots arriving. Enjoy.

First Puffin of the year.

Last Sunday I was on a trip around the Islands with a few customers and a good friend. It was a beautiful day and the seas were calm and as I looked at my friend I could see the smile on his face as we approached the Islands as their were thousands of Guillemots everywhere. This is just what he needed as he had been working hard lately I don't think he expected to see as many.
I must admit it is a beautiful sight and you know it will not be long until all the birds are back.

As we traveled around the Islands I spotted 50+ Turnstones, 3 Purple Sandpipers, Oystercatchers, 1 Peregrine, Fulmers, Kittiwakes but the best sighting of the day was the Puffin.

I do like the Puffin and it's really nice to see them again. We only saw 8 and they might not hang around for long but for me and most of all my friend it was the highlight of the trip.

Here are some shots I got....Welcome Back to the Farne Islands guys.

 

I can't miss out the Guillemots so here are a few shots.

Guillies Galore

As it was the kids holidays this week I was prepared with warm clothes for my long day's at sea, then I sat down to look at the forecast........Yes you guessed it...Strong Winds.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had our first real northerly winds since Easter last year. Yes we have had a few winds before that, but not strong enough to bring the birds down from the north.  Well as you can tell we never got out to the Islands, but did on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I saw a few Guillemots on Thursday and on Friday about a 1000 in the morning and then by the afternoon it was up to about 2000+.
They were flying in from the east by the bucket load so I was getting myself all excited. On Saturday morning the wind had picked up again but this time it was from the west so I thought I would give it a go and see what it was like. On the way out it was ok but by the time we had reached the Islands it was starting to blow a gale. As we arrived at the Islands there was rafts and rafts of Guillemots on the water and as we approached the Inner Farne there was thousands on the cliff faces. I also noticed a good few Kittiwakes, Fulmers, Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones and 4 Rock Pipits. There was a female Peregrine hunting the pigeons on the Wideopens and she was very successful as we watched her make her kill.

With the winds getting stronger and stronger we decided to stay at the inner islands and with the beautiful blue skies and seas picking up I think we made the right decision, as the Guillemots stole the show.

I get to see this every year and I'm still amazed by the sight. They are not settled yet and they might leave again as they tend to come and go for a bit until one day they decided to stay, but for the moment in time I just love them when they first arrive.
When they first arrive they are very nervous as the boat gets closer to them, but this gives you the perfect chance to get a great picture as they fly around in circles or over the boat and with the beautiful light today what more could I ask for.

I also noticed that the Guillemots are later this year than last and I wonder if all the breeding birds are going to be late in general. Who knows only time will tell, so for now here is a few pictures I got today.