Winter Wildlife Trip

I had a few people asking about our Winter Wildlife Trips so I decided put a trip on for Saturday 22nd November and I was really pleased with the response and I was looking forward to it.

With the weather changing its mind every two minutes I decided I would take a chance and go for it and I was really pleased I did as it ended up being a cracking day.

On our way out the seas were really big at times and there was a heavy swell in the water but I had to give it a go as some people had come a long way for this trip and I did not want to disappoint them.

Once we arrived at the Farnes I had a little plan in my head of which way I wanted to go and what I was hoping to see, but I did not except to stumble across a cracking Grey Phalarope tight into the corner of Knocks Reef.

My main reason for being there was that I wanted to see if there were any seals pups on the beach at the Wide Opens and hopefully some ducks would be around too, but to see this cracking little bird was a total bonus.

As we got closer I had to be really careful as the swell at times really big and I did not want to be picked up dropped onto the bottom in the shallow waters. Its a great bird but not worth destroying my boat for. Anyway after manoeuvring the boat so everyone got a good view I moved away. I did manage to get a couple of pictures myself but they were rubbish as I had the wrong settings on my camera and I was not in the right place to start to change them.

We headed across to Staple Island were we saw a new born seal pup on the jetty and it gave us a real dirty look as if to say leave me along.

While we were watching the seal its mother decided to come and say hello to, but it was more like stay away from my child.

We moved further along looking as we were going when we spotted my Lapwing on it own which was a little surprising to see.

We decided to keep on going to see some more seal pups and after a while we turned and headed towards Holy Island.

The seas had calmed down a bit and we were surfing them so it did not seem that bad.

We passed a few Little Auks in the distance. We also saw a few Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins on route and then again another Grey Phalarope flew straight past the boat. Two in one day. Get in.

Once we arrived at Holy Island it was flat calm and it was a good time to give everyone a cuppa.

We were really surprised that it was very quite but we all had our fingers crossed that we would stumble across something good.

We went really close to the rocks and sand banks at Holy Island and we saw loads of Oystercatchers and some Godwits.

After our cuppa and spending a bit of time near Holy Island we went along Ross Sands.

I just took my time just in case something mega would fly past and say hello but it was not until we got level with the entrance to Budle Bay that we saw a few Common Scoters and some cracking Long-tailed Ducks.

The light was perfect and so were the seas and I had a feeling things were going to get good.

We tried to get good views of the birds but they were not playing so then I decided to go slowly then switch off the engines and just drift into the birds with no noise at all. It worked perfectly.

It was so calm and peaceful then all of a sudden I heard the Long-tails calling. This is the first time I have heard them call and boy it was a great call it is. I could have sat there listening to them all day, but they were really close now so it was time to get some pictures.

 
After some great views of these beautiful birds we went down towards Stag Rock were we saw a Red-throated Divers but it was not playing ball at all.

Then all of a sudden I heard Andy (my crewman) shouting Grebe.

Everyone was on the wrong side of the boat and if it was not for Andy we might have missed it.

It was a Red-necked Grebe just sitting there right beside the boat and it put on a really good show.

It was not bothered about us at all and it seemed to enjoyed the fact that we were getting very good views in the beautiful winter sun.

This was the height light of the trip for me and I was smiling from ear to ear.

I would like to thank everyone who joined me on this trip and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I will also be doing another one at the end of January if anyone is interested in joining me then give me a shout.  I have not decided on a date just yet but either watch here or my Facebook Page or Twitter Feed.

www.facebook.com/serenity.boats     www.twitter.com/thefarnes

Velvet Day

It was a beautiful day yesterday and I was heading out to the Farnes in the afternoon.  I was down the harbour early to put some paint on the boats before I went out, but the boat was frozen. I asked Peter to boil the kettle so we could melt the ice and dry the boat before we started painting. The things you have to do to get on.

After some painting I got the boat ready to go out. I picked the guests up and off we went. Once we arrived were saw about about 1000 Guillemots on the water beside The Inner Farne and their were more coming in from the North Sea, so lets see what the next day brings.

We had 2 Long-tailed Ducks and a single Goldeneye beside Knocks Reef a few Teal and a Pergrine Falcon.

We steamed towards Staple Island to see the seals and their were loads.

After the first trip I was going back out with some friends. They like their photography and the birds so we decided (Well I did) just to go to the Inner Farne and then head up to Stag Rock and Ross Sands.

Oh boy was I pleased they agreed to it as it was just stunning and the birds were just great.

We had lots of Waders along the shoreline at Ross Sands, 2 Red-throated Divers, 12 Long-tailed Ducks, 50+ Razorbills, 50+ Common Scoters and 1 Velvet Scoter.

Why oh why could we not have had this weather on Saturday when we did our 4 hour Winter Wildlife Trip. Never mind I was enjoying this weather and enjoying the trip.

Here are some pictures from yesterday and thank you to David for his picture of the Velvet Scoter as mine was a bit to far away and thank you to everyone else who joined me today.

Long-tailed Ducks

After my last post I decided to head I needed a break and headed to the sun for a couple of weeks. Now I'm back, refreshed and ready to go.

I've been out a few times over the last few day's and the weather has been just stunning.

The Guillemots have returned in the thousands again. They may only be here for a few days and leave again but for the moment it's great to see them back. I have also seen a few Goldeneye's, Mallard, Teal,  lots of Fulmars, Shags, Turnstones, Purple Sandpipers, 1 Razorbill, 1 Common Scoter, 1 Great Northern Diver and 3 female Long-tailed Ducks.

Even though it's been great to see all the birds around the Islands again I did not have to go far as we have had 2 female Long-tailed Ducks in the harbour over the last few days and they have really stole the show.

The sunlight in the harbour on Sunday was perfect and the Ducks moved slowly towards the boat, so I lay down on the deck and put my lense through the scupper (A hole in the side of the boat to let the water run of the deck) and clicked away. The light on the water was stunning and the water looked like it was orange.

I have only cropped the pictures and never altered them one bit and you can see how colourful the Duck and water is.

Here are some pictures over the last few days........Enjoy

The light was poor on this Common Scoter but when the sun came out it was gone. Typical.

Guillemots on top of the Pinnacles this afternoon.

Female Long-tailed Duck showing well in the harbour. 

Sunday's Trip

On Sunday I went out with a few guests and we decided to alter our route a little bit. Well I did, but I asked first.

We steamed up to Stag Rock to see if we could see any Long-tailed Ducks.

As we were getting closer we saw 2 Long-tailed Ducks fly away but as we approached Stag Rock we saw a group resting on the water. After a quick count there was 18 in total and they looked beautiful in the sunlight. There must have been more further north toward Ross Sands and Holy Island but I was happy with what we could see.

After viewing them for a little while we turned and slowly steamed towards the Farnes. On doing so a group of 50 Common Scoters flew south across the bow of the boat and settled on the water just below Bamburgh Castle.

When we arrived a the Megstone a single Scoter flew straight past the boat but by the time I picked the camera up it was gone. After viewing the Shags at the Megstone we headed across to Brownsman Island to see the seals. There was not very many on the Brownsman but the Whames were covered.

As we were looking at the seals one of my guests noticed a couple of Long-tailed Ducks resting on the water, but they did not hang around for long. Thanks Rob for spotting them anyway.

After looking at the seals for a while we travelled around the Islands viewing Turnstones, Purple Sandpipers Shags and the odd Curlew. When we arrived at the Inner Farne we watched the Fulmers gliding around the cliff face using the wind to their advantage.

After a few pictures we decided to go home as it was turning really cold.

So here is a few pictures of our day out.