Black Guillemot and friends

Myself and Chris spotted our first Black Guillemot of the season a few weeks ago, which was really nice for me but Chris was well chuffed as it was the first one for him ever. Chris joined us this year for the first time and even though he knows about boats he was never into his birds as much as we were, so everything he see's is his first time. Yes he's seen a good few birds before but everything is new to him and he's really enjoying it.

Andy and myself have seen a good few Black Guillemots before but on this occasion it was our first. Yes we saw two together and for the Farnes its quite unusual to get two as we tend only to get one lingering during the winter but to have two together was a special moment for us.

We also came across a small feeding frenzy so we decided to stop the boat and have a look. Well I did and you could tell by Andy's face he was thinking "what the hell has he spotted now", but he was really pleased I did as we had two Manx Shearwaters in the middle of the frenzy and they must have really full bellies as they did not budge at all so Andy got a few nice pictures. You see it was worth stopping.....





We were really enjoying the day and with some lovely guests on board it made it all the better. When we past the Inner Farne on the way home we also spotted a lovely female Peregrine falcon sitting on a kittiwakes nest enjoying the sunshine whist keeping a close eye on us and a close eye on her lunch which was not far away. Yes she is just one of the birds of prey that keep our pigeon population under control.

So over all a really good day a the office and fingers crossed many more to come.

Thank you for taking time to read our blog and I do hope you enjoy the updates. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

OVER AND OUT

1st Winter Wildlife Tour 2011/12

I watched the forecast with anticipation this week as we had our first Winter Wildlife Tour on Saturday and I was praying for good weather. God must have heard me as the weather was great. We had a little wind from the north but nothing to worry about.

With all the guests on board we left the harbour about 10.30am and slowly steamed north as the wind was in our faces and I knew the second we turned it would feel a lot warmer.

We got past the rocks outside Seahouses and turned towards the beach hoping to see some Divers, but just before Bamburgh Castle we were greeted by 2 Red-necked Grebes resting on the water, and anoother one 2 seconds later, but we could not get close enough for a decent picture. After that there was 12 Whopper Swans flying west towards the land and then about 10 Common Scoters flying south. A little further on we saw 1 Red-throated Diver flying north close to the shore, then 2 minutes later we had 5 more Red-throated Divers took us by surprise by flying in from behind the stern of the boat then veered across to our starboard side. They were really close to the boat and I managed to get a couple of shots but not very good.

A little further on someone shouted that they has seen a Little Auk. Quick as a flash I turned the boat to see if it was still there, and it was. Now this Little Auk was a beauty and did not want to go away. I got a few good pictures and hopefully so did everyone else.

As we were all smiling at seeing this little cracker when I noticed a Puffin and a juvenile Great Northern Diver just a little further out, so of we went again. Yet more little posers.

On arriving at Holy Island we were not disappointed by the variety of birds. We first made our way across to St Cuthberts Island where there were lots of Oystercatchers and a single Curlew hiding in the rocks. On leaving the St Cuthberts Island we went across to Black Law Rock where we greeted by lots of Shags, Cormarants, 2 Red-throated Divers, 1 Grey Heron, 20+ Curlews, Turnstones and lots and lots of Eider Ducks.

    
After leaving Holy Island we steamed slowly along Ross Sands in the hope that would see some Long-tailed Ducks, and we were not disappointed as a single male duck appeared in the distance. We slowly creeped closer but it was not in the mood to let us get very close. Never mind, we did get close enough to get a poor picture. I was very surprised that we did not see very many Long-tailed Ducks, as it was about the same time last year when we did the same trip and we did see a few more and they showed a lot better.

After that we steamed over to The Farne Islands to see all the Grey Seals and their pups. On the way across we saw another Puffin and a Razorbill. I just love these little birds so I have to add a picture.

When we arrived at South Whames to see the all the Seals and pups we also saw a few Turnstones, Redwings and Purple Sandpipers. The rocks are just covered in seal pups at the moment and the weather has been really kind to them, as the numbers have been increasing daily. The last I heard there was over 800 pups and still growing.

It is a magical time of the year around the Farnes as you are never quite sure what you will see. A lot of people think that when the breeding season has finished there is nothing left to see but the Seals, but they are so wrong. You have to keep your eye's peeled and you will see more than you think.

To finish the trip off we saw a Merlin on Staple Island and a male Peregrine on West Wideopen. I also noticed that the Shags were starting to get their crest of feathers back on their heads again.

The Merlin picture below was taken on Sunday not on Saturday.

After I had tied the boat up and drove home I could not help myself to stop and finish the day of with a lovely sunset picture.

I would like to thank everyone for joining me on our first Winter Wildlife Trip and I do hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Our next tour is on the 19th November so don't miss out on this special place.

Summer Plumage Great Northern Diver

Friday was just a beautiful day and it started with an amazing sunrise. As I left the harbour you could tell it was going to be a good sunrise so I decided to steam up to the Inner Farne to try and get it coming up over the Island. I did and it was a beauty.

I was chuffed to bits the other day with my pictures of the Juvenile Great Northern Diver but on Friday we were just about to get to arrive at Staple Island and out of the corner of my eye I spotted another one.
As I turned the boat to get a closer look I noticed it was still in it's summer plumage. Wow, just beautiful.

Friday proved to be a good all round. The weather was great, the seas were calm and the birds were great.

Friday's Sightings

11 Bewick Swans flying south over the Wideopens
1 Great Northern Diver resting at Staple Island
1 Juvenile Common Scoter resting at Knocks Reef
72 Pink-footed Geese flying south over the Wideopens
2 Merlin resting. 1 on Big Harcar and 1 on West Wideopen
1 Peregrine resting at Staple Island
1 Bar-tailed Godwit feeding at the Kettle
1 Barnacle Goose flying west then east over the Inner Farne
3 Red-throated Divers flying south in the Inner Sound.
1 Little Gull feeding in the Inner Sound

2 day's of great birds

We had a great day on Tuesday and Wednesday, with lots of birds passing. Yesterday we saw a male Peregrine hunting a blackbird near Staple Island. It was fascinating to watch this beautiful bird doing what it does best, but this time  it did something that I have never seen before. It hit the Blackbird with so much power, that it stunned the bird and it fell into the water, but the Blackbird was not going to give up. It tried so hard to get out of the water, but the Peregrine never give it a chance. Next thing we saw, was the Peregrine hitting it again, killing it,and then grabbed it with it's claws and of into the sky. It flew towards Staple Island with the Blackbird tightly gripped in it's claws and then landed on the rock with it's kill. Nature is cruel but it was amazing to watch. The picture is not very good but it shows the Blackbird in it's claws.

We also saw a lovely Merlin watching the Pigeons, but then it spotted us and did not hang around for long. Well just long enough for me to get a picture.

On Wednesday it was windy but we had beautiful blue skies and on Thursday we had no wind but rain in the morning and very overcast. When it gets to this time of the year Keith and myself try to keep a look out for as many things as possible as we don't have the thousands of breeding birds around, and people still ask if the Puffins are still here. When you say NO they are a bit disappointed, but if we can find a Peregrine they seem to be more than happy. Yes it's harder work for us but it can be very rewarding, especially when I get we see people faces and I get some good pictures.

This is just a mixture of pictures I got but we see lots more.

Wednesday

2 Arctic Skua's flying North

1 Great Skua flying North

1 Pomarine Skua flying North

1 Puffling feeding

21 Curlew resting on Longstone Island

22 Common Scoters flying North

1 Peregrine on Staple Island

1 Merlin on Staple Island

6 Guillemots feeding

1 Sandwich Tern feeding

2 Rock Pipits

4 Kittiwakes

1 White Wagtail on The Inner Farne

16 Fieldfare flying West

Lots of Gannets, Turnstones, Oystercatchers and Purple Sandpipers.

Thursday

5 Arctic Skua's flying North

1 Great Skua flying North

2 Adult Puffins

1 Adult Razorbill

17 Guillemots feeding

2 Short Eared Owls flying West from the sea and landed on Longstone Island

6 Red-throated Divers feeding

1 Great Northern Diver feeding

62 Fieldfare flying West

1 Rock Pipits

Lots of Gannets, Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers. 

Female Peregrine

With strong west winds today we only got out for one trip, but it was worth it as we were given a beautiful display from a female Peregrine flying around Staple Island. She was standing on Kittiwake's nest with the sun baking on her. After watching her for a while we decided to keep going and we would come back later and have another look. After seeing the seals we cruised slowly towards Staple Island to see if she was still there. There she was sitting in the same place, then, she took to the sky.  She hovered gracefully in the sky with the wind holding her perfect, then all of a sudden she dived down, grabbed a Pigeon and off to have her lunch.

A Mixed Week.

On Thursday there was an old converted  dutch barge moored at the islands. She was called The Spirit of Loch Ness and was built in 1930. She looked well for her age. I found out that she has been working as a Luxury Hotel for the last 10 years in the Caledonian Canal.

The day itself was very overcast but every now and then the sun tried to get out. I got some nice pictures of the sun trying to break through over Bamburgh Castle.

On Friday it was very quite and it looked as it was going to rain but it held off. I was pleased it did as we had a Charity Doo up to Holy Island for a few hours. Well they were all on the drink for a few hours. While they were at the pub I went for a walk around the Island. The light was not the best but I did manage to get some nice pictures of Juvenile Goldfinch and Swallows.

On Saturday it was overcast again but with showers. You can tell everyone was heading home after the summer holidays as it was dead. On our last trip it just started to rain when we noticed 3 Harbour Porpoise on the way home. The rain was a problem but all of a sudden when we seen the Porpoise the guests seem to forget about it. We watched them for about 15 minutes before heading home. It was the first time for while we had them really close, plus I switched the engines off as they are very shy and I wanted to see if they would hang around a little longer. It worked for a little bit but they were feeding so it was not long before they were off catching fish again.

On Sunday it was just amazing. The seas were flat calm and the sun was out to play. It was about the best day of the year. I heard over the VHF that 4 Minke Whales were spotted of Beadnell and I had my fingers crossed that they would head towards the Islands. I gave David Steel (The Head Warden) a shout and he went up to the top of the Pele Tower to have a look. I laughed at first but then I heard that he had a new scope. When he told me he seen them about 2 miles of Beadnell Point I just thought WOW, that must be some scope. He also said that he would be surprised if they came up to the Islands as there were boats chasing them around. Sure enough they disappeared.

Today it was beautiful to start but by the end of the day we had very heavy showers. Keith spotted a Peregrine on Staple Island. I grabbed the camera as 2 Great Black-backed Gulls were chasing it. Only got one picture but I was pleased with it as I could hardly keep up with it.

We should start to see a few birds of prey throughout the rest of the year now. Longstone Island seems to be the place for the birds at the moment and the Golden Plovers count is up to 900 now. I'm also looking forward to our 4 hour winter trips soon, and it will not be long before we will see our first Grey Seal Pups so hopefully I will see enough to write about over the Autumn and Winter.