Aurora and Little Auk

I got a call from Gary on Tuesday evening to say that he was out with his camera and there was a little showing of the Aurora, but not enough to drag me out of the house just yet.

He also said that he might pop over to my house as it was blowing a gale, freezing cold and could do with a cuppa to warm himself up. 5 minutes later he arrived at the door with a bag in his hand and a Little Auk inside of it.

I was very surprised as I did not expect something like this and that time of the night.

He said, he was just about to go down onto the beach to take a few pictures when the spotted it out the corner of his eye. It was lively enough but looked a bit skinny. He asked me for a box and could I keep it in a warm place until the morning and we would let it go at the harbour.

We found a box and gently placed the Little Auk inside and then put the box a dark place where it could get some well earned rest.

Gary decided to give the cuppa a miss and head back out again to see if the aurora was showing again. He must have only been out 2 minutes when I got a call to say, come out now its starting to show well.

By the time I got there I missed the best of it but at least I got a little bit.

I got home around 1am and put my pictures straight onto the computer to see what they were like. (Not so good)

The cloud spoiled it and other comments from people further north said the same thing. Oh well at least we got a little glimpse of it.

The next day we took the Little Auk down to the harbour to let it go. It was very lively and looked well rested so we released it into the harbour. Hopefully this little fella will make it and it has a better chance now than it did when Gary first found it.

Aurora Borealis

I missed the best night for the aurora and I did receive a good few phone calls from 1am through to 2.30am and I am kicking myself as I missed a really good one.

I don't really like to take my phone to bed, as sometimes I get a message or a tweet through the night and it wakes me up but after missing all the calls, my phone will be coming to bed with me now.

I did manage to see a faint aurora and it was a good to have a play around with my camera too.

I meet up with Gary and we tried a few different places. Some not very well known and some places that everyone goes too. We have also decided to try some experimenting soon so watch this space.

Anyway I know this blog is supposed to be about my adventures around the Farnes but when its quite at sea and on the bird front you have to go out when its a cracking night. We are lucky enough to live in a place where we have clear skies and very little light pollution so it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Here is some attempts of the aurora borealis and some night skies around my local area too. I do hope you like them.

Cold but Good

It has been a cold but good week on the water with mixed weather and seas, but the best thing of the week was the Guillemots.

On Tuesday they were there in their thousands but the next day they were gone. They are just not ready yet of course, but when they returned they gave myself, Tony and all our guests a great show.

There is nothing better than the sight of thousands of seabirds flying over your head and when the Guillemots are ready to settle, this has to be the perfect time of the year to see this wonderful sight.

We can't forget the seals and they are still around and the never fail to put a smile on people's faces.

There has also been a few Razorbills hanging around their favourite area's.

Sunny Sunday

I decided to get my arse out of bed early on Sunday morning to see if I could get a few pictures of the sunrise at Bamburgh.
I tend to get into winter mode and getting up at that time in the morning was a bit of a struggle I have to say, but I did and I was so pleased I did as it was just unbelievable.

I parked the van at Stag Rock and strolled down to the beach and walked to the area I wanted to be. I started to set up my gear and before I had even pressed the button a wave came in and went straight down my welly top. I danced like a little girl a her first party and if anyone had seen me they would have pissed themselves laughing.
As I danced away from the wave I realised that I had left my camera on it's tripod so that could have knocked over and they it would have been a different kind of dancing.

Yes, if Dell Boy had been watching me would have called me a plonker too.

Bud (my dog) thought I was having a bit of fun with him and he decided to jump around too. What a pair I can tell you.

Drama over I moved up the beach a little bit and started to click away.

By the time I had finished it was really warm so I gave Joan a quick ring to say that I was going to walk back to Seahouses and enjoy the sunshine, plus give Bud a good walk too.

I strolled along the beach stopping all the time to take pictures. I really enjoyed myself and it was nice being on the beach at that time of the morning with hardly a soul around.

After arriving back at home I went straight to the computer to see how my pictures came out. Some were good but more were rubbish.

Never mind here is the final pictures for you.

   

Good to be on the water

I was back on the water on Saturday and it was a beautiful day for a trip.

I had a few people wanting to go out so we all meet at 12pm and off we went.

It was lovely and warm, the sun was shining and the islands looked very inviting.

As we approached the islands we could see a good few Guillemots were flying past which is always a nice sight to see, the shags looked just beautiful in their green plumage and the crest of feathers on top of their head was standing proud.

As we approached Staple Island you could see that the Guillemots must have been here for a few days as the cliffs are starting to look white again. Just around the corner we saw lots and lots of seals enjoying the sunshine and who can blame them as it was just beautiful.

On Brownsman Island a few hundred Guillemots were enjoying the sun too but you could tell that they are not ready to stay just yet as the second we got closer they were off. I must admit I do love to see them when they fly over the boat in their droves. It's quite a specular sight and one that I could never get bored off.

The Longstone Lighthouse was our next stop and it looked like it had weathered the storms well throughout the winter. Not that it ever does, as it's built to last not like some things nowadays.

Back to Brownsman for some more good sightings of the seals and then we steamed across to the Inner Farne. On the way across a friend shout for me to stop as he had seen a Little Auk and it would have been rude not to stop and see the little fella. A Black Guillemot was also spotted in the distance but it was not hanging around.

As we arrived at the Inner Farne another Little Auk was resting on the water, so again we stopped to take a look. This Little Auk was very obliging and did not give a monkeys about us or the boat. In fact it came right up to the boat and touched it at one stage.

They are cracking birds and I do have a soft spot for them.

After that we went around the corner, along the cliff faces, under the lighthouse and then headed home, but not before looking at the Cheviot Hills covered in snow, which were really pretty.

It did turn cold as the sun started to drop, but what do you expect at this time of the year and I was not to worried as I was inside a nice warm wheelhouse. lol.