Sunshine and Smiles

All it takes is a little bit of sunshine and then people have beautiful big smiles on their faces and today was one of those days.

We have waited weeks and weeks for some warm weather, calm sea's and some sunshine and we had it all today and about time too.

On our way home today we encountered some Bottlenose Dolphins and this was just the icing on the cake. After a great trip to the Inner Farne we were wowed us for 15 minutes before we arrived back to Seahouses and after a quick turn around we managed to catch up with them again and once again they did not disappoint us.

The smiles on our guests faces was enough to please me never mind the dolphins, but I must admit I can't get enough of them. Here are some pictures and a short film at the end.

Long may these encounter continue and thank you for reading.

 

OVER AND OUT

I believe I can fly

On our trip the other day we were at the Brownsman Island when we saw a couple of jumpling just about to take that leap of faith, but as we looked around there was not just a few, there was quite a lot.
We watched one after another jump of the cliff faces. Some were not afraid, while others used the brains and took little jumps all the way to the water. We got a but carried away and before we knew it, we had been there for 15 minutes watching them. Well so did I to be honest and I am the skipper so I could have moved the boat if I wanted to but to be honest I did not really want to go, and I could have watched them all day.

The weather conditions were perfect for them and is probably the reason why loads were leaving all at once. Whatever the reason this did not matter to us as we were enjoying every minute if it and why not as its not everyday you get to see much and wonderful sight.

Here is a selection of pictures which will show the bravery of the jumpling's.

3 legged Guillemot

Well maybe not. This little jumpling was behind his father.

It's not a big jump son. Come on you can do it.

 

Here I go....

Ahhhhh that's freezing.

Come on, you can do it.

Mother tries to give it a little encouraging nudge

Weeeeeeeeee.

 

Not in focus but you can get the idea.  

 

 

Off they go out into the north sea.

 

Don't worry as the season is not over just yet as we still have lots of other seabirds around and there is still loads of Guillemots to see over the next few weeks. 51,000 is a lot to leave in one go.

 

 

 

 

 

Dolphins again 20/06/15

As I was in the shop on Saturday morning buying some milk for a cuppa when I received a call from Ron saying that there was Bottlenose Dolphins just outside the harbour. I quickly paid for the milk, jumped back into the van and dashed down to the harbour.
I was moored on the outside of Ron so I had to move the boat so he could pick up his divers and it was a good excuse to slowly pop out and see if I could catch up with the dolphins.

The second I got out of the harbour the throttle was up and I was on a mission. I spotted them just past Seahouses and they were travelling really slowly along the shoreline, which was perfect for me. When I arrived some were jumping out of the water and others were going in circles. You could see they were feeding and then the pod became split into two groups. I decided to go with the group that was feeding as the other seemed to be on a mission further south.
As I got closer I did not know what to do, should I film it on my phone, use my camera with the small lense or big one or should I use the GoPro. I got myself in a bit of a flap, so I said stuff it I'm going to use them all. (Pure Greed)
If you had seen me, I was going around like a headless chicken. I thought to myself, "what the hell are you doing, put all your stuff down and just watch them". So I did but I was like a little kid in a sweet shop, so I went back to using the whole lot again. In the end I just used one camera with the small lense and got on with it.

They were along side of the boat for ages. Well it felt like ages and they put on a real show too. This kept me smiling for about half an hour until it was time to turn around and head back to the harbour.

All day I was smiling and this is why I think I have the best job in the world.

Later on the in day they were back again and the rest of the boats got a good show too. Lots of happy people today which is only a good thing.

 

Dolphins 16/06/15

On Tuesday we were on our landing trip to the Inner Farne when I noticed another boat going really slow and in a place you would not expect him to be doing it. My first thoughts were, what's he seen and as I looked through my bins I noticed a dolphin jump clean out of the water.
After a quick look at the clock I realised I had enough time to get to the area, and get back in time to pick my guests up. With no time to waste, the engine was started and I was off. I phoned my brother who was not far away and we both headed to see the dolphins.

When we arrived they were throwing trout high into the air, catching it and swallowing it down in one shot. It was amazing to see, and when their belly's were full, they headed south going past Seahouses. My brother's guests witnessed them too and when he went back to the harbour to pick his next guests he was hoping to see them again but by the time he got out the were to far south. Such a pity but at least some of his guests saw them. They will be back no doubt and I will look foward to seeing them again. I know it's pot luck but I can always live in hope.

As I was going through my pictures to see which ones I was going to post I noticed good old Black and Decker. Great to see her again.

This adult female is in the "infrequently sighted" section but its been two years on the trot we have seen her now and she was showing no signs of old age. Great to see she is still fit and well.

 

This just shows you how close they were to the beach.

A wee bit of Sunshine

Boy we needed a bit of sunshine and some calm seas and we got it this week with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday being beauties.

We have had some westerly winds lately and if we are going to get any kind of wind, then this is the best direction for us, as we can still get out to sea without any worries. I'm saying that, but twice last the westerly wind was that strong we never made it out of the harbour entrance, and to be honest I'm glad we didn't as it would not have be a pleasure trip but a chore and that's one thing we don't want to happen.

Since we have had a little bit of nice weather, the seabird level has gone up a notch or two. We saw our first jumpling of the year and you can hear lots of chicks calling everywhere now. We also got a really good glimpse of the kittiwake chicks on the nest and at one point I managed to get a picture of the mother feeding her chick.
I must admit, Kittiwake chicks are cute, fluffy little things and they don't half put a smile on your face when you first see them. You can also hear out guests saying ahhhh when they see them too.

We have also seen a good few Manx Shearwaters flying north through Staple Sound and some past the Longstone as well. I love to see them glide over the water missing the waves by inches. They just seem to make flying look so easy compared to other seabirds. We have also seen our first Great Skua's flying north through Inner Sound this week and they were attacking Arctic Terns as they went by and with all the calm sea's it hard not to miss anything that moves, unless you are me that is, as one of my guests on board spotted 3 harbour porpoise on our port side. Thanks Terry as I got some cracking pictures and nearly all my guests seen them too.

The waters around the islands have started to produce lots of Comb Jellyfish, Moon Jellyfish and Lions Mane. They are all stunning to see and the divers tell me that they are even better  to see underwater and over the last few days the vis has been out of this world. About 18 meters today.

The Comb jellys have a wonderful array of colours even though they look nothing special at the first glance but if you keep on watching them you can see some wonderful colours from green to pink and they seem to beat like the pulse of a heart.
The Lions Mane is all about the tentacles which sting like hell, but you just have to put up with it until the pain goes and then it's ok again. There is few things you can do to ease the pain but to be honest they are a waste of time. Just grin and bear it, that's what I say.

The Sunset Cruises are now in full swing and we have had some beautiful ones this week too and long may they last.

Anyway I think I have waffled on long enough now so I will let my pictures do the talking.

OVER AND OUT.

Razor Sharp

A few days ago we watch a pair of Razorbills going head to head like I have never seen before. Yes you get to see the odd handbag stuff but never really going for it big time.

We stopped the boat and watch them fight and fight and even the Razorbills above them watched in horror. One Razorbill even flew down as if to try and stop it but as it looked on you could see that he/she wanted nothing to do with it.

To make things even worse there was another Razorbill  stuck below all this commotion going on. The Farnes never seems to amaze me and I tell you now we never get the same day twice and you learn something new every day.

The Jumplings are Jumping

Today you could hear lots of Jumplings (Guillemot Chicks) calling and on our last trip of the day we saw our first chick leave the Staple Island and head out to sea with its dad.
I was amazed to see this so quick but if you are ready to go then there is nothing we can do about it.
Oh well we still have a few more thousand to leave so its not over just yet.

Anyway it's just a quick post to let you all know and I will be posting again very soon, but in the mean time here is the little jumpling on his/her own and with his/her dad heading out into the big blue sea.