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

Razor Sharp

A few days ago we watch a pair of Razorbills going head to head like I have never seen before. Yes you get to see the odd handbag stuff but never really going for it big time.

We stopped the boat and watch them fight and fight and even the Razorbills above them watched in horror. One Razorbill even flew down as if to try and stop it but as it looked on you could see that he/she wanted nothing to do with it.

To make things even worse there was another Razorbill  stuck below all this commotion going on. The Farnes never seems to amaze me and I tell you now we never get the same day twice and you learn something new every day.

Last but not least

Over the last week we have been watching the last pair of Razorbills on a small ledge at the Pinnacles and everyday we have been wondering if they will still be there the next day.

Well today was the day they left....

We watched them this morning on our first trip and then the second trip but by the time we got to the last trip they were gone or so we thought.

The parents know where to be seen but all of a sudden we heard a call and the baby Razorbill walked to the edge of the cliff face. Two seconds later the chicks parents arrived from the other side of the Pinnacles and they were calling too.

One of the Razorbills disappeared under the water but we never seen that one again, but the other stayed calling.  Now I don't know why they don't call the chick a "Jumpling" like the Guillemot chicks are called, as they do the same thing and I'm sure its the father who takes care of the chick after that but it was just amazing to watch and to hear them both calling.

With all the other seabirds around in the height of the season sometimes all you can hear is the Guillemots but this the is the first time I have ever heard the Razorbills call and because no other seabirds are around its quite something. To me its sounds a bit like a Arr in a crocky voice but I might be totally wrong.

We hung around for a little bit but I did not want to put it off so I decided to stay well away.

Anyway I don't know if this is a late record for the Farnes but I will try and find out tomorrow, but for now here are a few pictures I got today.

 

Razorbill Bully

We were in the middle of the trip the other day when Andy (my crewman) noticed a Razorbill having a go at a Jumpling (Guillemot Chick)

At first we thought the jumpling had just got mixed up between a Razorbill and a Guillemot but as we watched it the Razorbill was really having a go at it. The poor little jumpling was trying to get away but the Razorbill just kept on going so in the end we had to intervene by splitting the two up with the boat.

We waited for a while as the Razorbill headed out to sea and the jumpling went looking for it's dad.

Here is some pictures of the Razorbill attacking the Jumpling

Everything looks ok

 The first blow

 And another

 Then another

Now it time to split them up.

Not Nice

I was really looking forward to seeing my first Puffin of the year but I did not expect to see it like this.

This is a little worrying as I only walked half way along the beach at Beadnell and I saw 21 Puffins, 3 Guillemots, 1 Razorbill, 1 Shag and 1 Gannet all dead.

We complain about the weather and how cold we get and sometimes forget about our wildlife as we have it easy compared to them.

All I had in my head was that these fella's had come all this way to get ready for the breeding season and their life's have been taken away from them because of this bloody weather. Life is not fair sometimes especially as it's the year of the Puffin on the Farnes this year.

There has been reports of lots of dead Auks along the East Coast today and it's not nice to see or hear about.

Fingers crossed we don't find many more and this is just a small incident.

There was a few in one spot so I gathered them together to take the picture. I also checked everyone I found to see if they were ringed but none of them were.

First Little Auk

On Saturday I was near the Longstone Island when I spotted my first Little Auk of the year.

After not seeing them for a long time you tend to forget how small the are and nippy they can be.
Everytime I pick the camera up to take a picture of it, splash it was gone, and as I looked at my pictures tonight I had loads of it rear end as it was taking a dive.

I did eventually got a picture of the little beauty and hopefully this is the first of many to come. Sorry about the pictures as the light was rubbish but then half an hour later the sun came out. Typical.

We have also had a lot of lingering Razorbills, Guillemots and a few Puffins feeding along the shoreline and around the Islands.

Today was just a stunning day and I got some nice pictures of a wintering baby Puffin, Guillemot and a Razorbill.