Kittiwakes

When you are here everyday you tend to watch every little thing that goes on and looking at all the seabirds around the islands its been a good season so far and the Kittiwakes are no different. I have noticed that some of the Kittiwakes built their nests but never laid one egg. I'm not sure if this is the first year they have paired together or they were just not successful but these little things stand out for me. Overall I think they are doing really well and the weather so far this year has helped loads. Its not very often our garden grass gets brown up here but it has this year.

I do like the Kittiwakes and it will not be long before they start to learn how to fly and then after that its all over for another year. Where has this breeding season go too. It feels like 2 minutes since we first set sail and watched all the seabirds arriving back at the islands and now its nearly over. It must be an age thing or is it just me. Never mind either way its been a good one for all the seabirds and I even thing the Shags has sort of recovered too.

I did see a few nests the other day which the Kittiwakes were building and I was thinking to myself, "Its over mate why are you building a nest" but they seemed to be happy getting covered in mud building this nest for no reason at all. Anyway who am I to question what they do as they will know better than me.

I will post an update on how they have done when I get the final figures in but until then here is a few pictures for you.

Once again thank you for taking time to read our blog and hopefully we see you onboard Serenity sometime.

Nature is Cruel

Mother nature is very cruel at times and we hardly get bad weather during the summer so when we get big tides combined with strong N.E. winds you just know its all going to go pear shaped.

About 2 weeks ago all the Kittiwakes that were doing so well have gone and only the ones further up the cliff faces have survived even though they look scruffy they should be fine.
The ones that built their nests close to the waters edge unfortunately did not survive which is such a crying shame. I know they take a risk doing this but usually we only one or two kittiwakes building there nests so close but this year there was loads of them doing it and in my heart of hearts I thought we were going to have a great summer as so many were doing it, but how wrong was I.

It breaks my heart really as we see then build there nests, mate and then we wait and then the first sight of an egg we are chuffed to bits for them. After that we wait and wait until we spot a chick and then we get to see it grow day by day until they leave the nest for pastures new.
Its great to see our seabirds in such a manner but when mother nature is so cruel it quickly takes the smile of your face.

I'm not sure about the puffins but with all this rain we have had I don't suppose it will be good news for them either. Yes I know what goes around comes around but sometimes I wished we just had fine weather for the breeding season and a real summer and then a proper winter and at least we know where we stand. My boy is 5 now and never seen snow yet but then again I don't think he has seen a summer either. Well that might be a bit OTT.

The Rangers on the Inner Farne did all they could with the Arctic Terns and put fish boxes on the beach with sand in them so that the terns nest were higher than the water but the weather was that bad when they woke up the next day all the boxes and chicks were gone.

We all love the islands and when we get home we talk about what we saw but sometimes we never give them a thought during a rain storm or gales and when they dive bomb and peck you on the head, we complain because it hurts but know one ever thinks that have had to protect their chicks during gale force winds through the night and the last thing they need is us going to close to their chicks.
We would do the same for our kids so when the rangers do their best to make sure they will be okay there is nothing they can do to save the chicks during weather like we have had.

Fingers crossed its a one off and everything will be okay at the end of the season.

We found this Kittiwake struggling in the water today and Andy and myself tried to save it. A friend was onboard and told us to keep it warm and get some food into it but unfortunately we tried but failed.

 This was the scene on the Inner Farne beach before the waves took the boxes away. When the rangers woke in the morning they saw the boxes float away. Its such a shame.

These 3 little fellas were healthy enough but just needed a good clean but I suppose they would get that when they eventually jump off the cliff.

Hopefully this post is the only bad one and all the rest are good from now. 

Once again thank you for reading our blog. 

OVER AND OUT

New Life

The noise is unreal at the moment from all the seabirds and the noise level has increased as the chicks are calling at the top of their voices too.

Its great to see new life at the Farnes and doing so well too but as I write this blog the seas are terrible and it feels more like a winters day than it does a summers day. I do hope all the seabirds will be ok during this dreadful weather we are having. On a plus note the Farnes had its 1st ever mega bird pass through the Staple Sound today (29/06/17) a Black-Browed Albatross. This a mega bird and I bet the rangers who saw it will be having a party tonight and who could blame them.

The season is now ticking away and it will not be long before all the seabirds will be gone and another season is over. I don't really like this feeling but I suppose I get it every year and you would think I would be used to it by now. Don't get me wrong we still have a few week to go but we are starting to see gaps appear on the rocks now.

I have noticed this year that the Kittiwakes have done really well and they have had more than just one chick too.

The Guillemots have been jumping loads, which is great for all of our guests to see. Jimmy, (one of the lads that works for us) caught a jumpling on film the other day which was great to see. We also saw the Luecistic Guillemot again and it looks in really good health. I thought it would not survive but it seems to be doing just fine which is great news. 

New Life is just a wonderful thing to see and its hard to believe that in a few years time they will be back looking for their own partners and starting their families too.

Nature is such a wonderful thing and every year it gives thousands of people enjoyment, including myself.

Lots of the seabirds are doing really well and they can become very aggressive towards other seabirds if they think they are going to harm their chicks.
The other day Andy (my crewman) and myself witnessed a shag trying to kill a guillemot as it must have got to close to her chicks. It was in some ways fascinating to watch but then in another way it was sickening. The guillemot got away but the fear in the other guillemots eyes as she was trying to protect her chick at the same time was awful. Lucky for her the shag just went back to her chicks and never bothered her but she must have been so frightened in case she did but then further along the cliff was a young razorbill peaking out of its mother wing thinking I'm glad I'm over here and not there.

There has also been lots of feeding frenzies going on which is great to see and it feeds lots of hungry seabirds too. The seals have enjoyed the sun and we have had some really nice sunset cruises too.

We also have had some great views of the Bottlenose Dolphins and their young too and they always aim to please. Its also great to see the smiles on peoples faces after they see the dolphins as its unexpected and most people don't ever think they will see them in the uk.

Overall everything has been coming on nicely but lets hope this weather has not knocked them back to much.

 Once again thank you for reading 

 OVER AND OUT

Mixed Easter so far.

It's been a mixed Easter so far, with all kinds of weather. Wind, Rain, Calm Sea's, Rough Sea's, Sunny and Overcast.
To be honest Easter was far to early and our seabirds are just not ready to settle just yet. In my last blog I said the the Puffins were back, but the second I said that, they disappeared again.
Since Good Friday there has not been any Puffins, Guillemots or Razorbills around the islands. It's like they knew the weather was going to change, so they decided to leave and come back when the weather is better. This is not uncommon as its tends to happen every year but because easter is quick this year people seem to think that everything should be here, but sorry this is not the case.

Never mind, we were treated to a good show of Bottlenose Dolphins for two days on the trot which kept our very cold guests smiling.
We have seen a single Greylag Goose knocking around the islands for a few days now and there still is a few Purple Sandpipers hanging on too. The Sandwich Terns are starting to arrive too and numbers are building up daily.
We also saw a female seal a wee bit bloody. I don't know what happened but there was lots a blood and it looks like her nostril is a little bit torn and maybe that's why there is so much blood around. She does not seem to be bothered about it, as my mam would say "its a scratch, get on with it".

Anyway, fingers crossed in the next few days everything will change and all our seabirds will be back and the islands will be buzzing again.

Here is a few pictures for you all.

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.