November Update

So far it has been really good throughout November and we have still been getting out on the water which is really good for the time of the year.
We are still seeing loads too and with the seal pupping season in full swing now its still worth going out.

We have seen a good few things over the last few weeks with a nice woodcock at the Longstone Island and of course we have seen the Black Guillemot a few times.
We have seen a single Bottlenose Dolphin as well and a pod of 30 which is always good. This has to be the best year for the dolphins and we are still seeing them too. I will leave that for another blog post.

We also saw a single puffin just as we approached the islands and we also spotted a single Great Northern Diver on the way out of the harbour. I do love the divers and its not very often we get to see them so close either. We have a good few lingering Guillemots at this time of the year to and we even saw one on the rocks the other day. Its also the time of the year for Little Auks but I have only managed to see a few so far this year.

I have also been taking divers out and they are having some great fun with the seals are they are very playful at this time of the year. What we don't tell the divers is that they are really horny too. Shhh I did not say that...

I suppose at this time of the year its all about the seal pups and the rangers have been out and about doing their seal counts. The last time they were out the numbers were up to 1497 so they are on the way to breaking the record but that will all depend on the weather and the seals themselves. Hopefully it will be a good season even if they don't break the farnes record.

Hopefully I will do a few more blog posts before I tell you all some exciting news. Watch (Read) this space.

Thank you once again for reading this blog and I do hope we are keeping you all up to date with what's happening around the Farnes.

Black Guillemot

What a week we have just had. It all started on the 24th October with a Humpback Whale, then on the 25th a Albino Seal and a Red-Necked Grebe and now a Black Guillemot. I know Northumberland is getting some good birds lately and a Black Guillemot is not at the top of the list but its really nice to see and its the first time Andy has seen one in winter plumage too.

Lets hope our good luck continues and we get a chance to see something mega just like the humpback whale

Albino Seal

It started 3 years ago when we first saw this rare albino seal and now I'm starting to get really curious.
Where does it come from? Why does it return roughly the same time and the same place for the last 3 years?
I have so many questions that need answered, so I need to start investigating a little bit more into this one and if you are reading this post and know something then please get in touch.

Its funny as I was in the middle of my speech about the seals when I saw this white seal swimming under the surface and my first thoughts were that the visibility was very clear and it must be brilliant for the divers to play with the seals.

I looked across at Andy and he said the same thing. He also asked if I had seen the seal that was very white in colour. I was just about to say yes when it came to the surface.
We both looked at each other said its the albino seal at the same time and then we quickly told our guests about this beautiful mammal.

This was 3 years on the trot and it still amazes me that it has not past away, as I was always under the impression that albino's struggle to survive as they either get bullied or just pushed to one side, but this fella seemed to be very relaxed with all the other seals. In fact it was really relaxed with the boat too and I have to say that this was the first time that it came close to the boat with not a worry at all and gave myself and a few others great opportunities to get some good pictures.

If I don't see it again this year then I pray I will see it again next year and in the meantime I hope to find out as much as I can about the wonderful mammal.