Goldrush

There has been lots of Yellow-browed Warblers on the county over the last few days which is fantastic to see, but for me it has been the Goldcrest which is sometimes over looked.

On Sunday I was out with a gang of diver's and all they wanted was to dive with the seals. After the first dive the south side of the islands was starting to get a bit dodgy, so I decided to look elsewhere to dive.

We steamed across to the Longstone, tied up at the jetty and then all of a sudden loads of seals appeared. How lucky were we and it was ideal for the diver's. They all started to get ready and after they were all in the water I went for a look around the island. I had hardly stepped of the boat when I was surrounded by Goldcrests.

They are tiny birds but delightful to see and they never gave a monkeys about me. They were so close to me at times it was just amazing to see, but once again I had left my camera at home. I was kicking myself and to make things worse as good few other birds on the island too. I went around to the other side of the lighthouse to find 2 female Blackcaps and a single male, a Wheater and lots of Robins and the whole time I was saying to myself "I wished I wished my camera". Kicking myself I headed back to the boat with my lip hitting the ground and then I spotted a Yellow-browed Warbler sitting inside an old lobster pot. It was very mixed emotions as these birds were brilliant but having no camera was very upsetting.

Back on the boat I kept on thinking about it more and more, so I was determined to come back and get some pictures.

I never made it out on Monday but Tuesday I did but only for a few minutes and those few minutes were enough for me to get a picture or two. There was only a few left compared to Sunday but enough to put a smile back on my face.

I even went back today (Wednesday) and Andy and Tony tagged along for the ride. There were only 2 Goldcrests left but enough as one of them could not stay away from us and the area we were at was full of flies too.
It was also a beautiful day and a good excuse to stay out there a bit longer. It was nice to sit back and enjoy the view. We all commented on how lucky we are to live and work in such a beautiful place as the Goldcrest's flew around the island. Happy with what we had seen, we headed back to Seahouses, chatting about these tiny birds.

What a way to finish a great day off at the Farnes.