The Puffins are back.....and lots more

It's been a busy week in Seahouses this week with all shops, cafe's, bar's and restaurants getting ready for Easter, and they are not the only ones. We have had our boats have been inspected by the MCA (Marine Coastguard Agency) for our out of water inspection a few weeks ago and then the in water inspection was done on Wednesday. We have ticked all the boxes so we are ready to go for the season and I can't wait. We are allowed to sail through the winter but we are limited to how many people we can take during that time, but when the season starts again we revert back to our full carrying capacity. This happens every year and some things we agree with but others we don't but it keeps everything right and the main thing safe.

The National Trust Rangers are also back on the Farnes and they are also getting ready for the new season with lots of work to be done. A few new faces have joined the team this year along with some old ones so it should be a good season.
They are working really hard at the moment fixing the board walk, cleaning the jetty along with a list of jobs as long as their arms. You see it's not all glamour for the rangers.

So there you have it, everyone has been really busy getting ready for the season and fingers crossed the weather will be kind to us and we all have a great season.

Myself and Andy have been back on the water this week, and it's been very cold but it's nice to be back out again and Serenity II needed a good run too. We also have brought our booking office back down the harbour after her annual paint job and that's about it, we are good to go.

While on the water this week we have seen lots of things happen from the weather changing very quickly, to one day thousands of seabirds and then the next day none.
I know the seabirds are nearly ready to settle but it will not be long that's for sure.
The cliff's were covered on Guillemots and the buzz about the place was unreal but today there was hardly a Guillemot to be seen. The Puffins also arrived back at the islands with a handful then within a few hours there were thousands. The Inner Farne was littered in Puffins today and they were all cleaning out their burrows, making sure it was all tidy and clean for the new chick arriving. We have also seen Guillemots, Puffins and Razorbills mating so it won't be long and we still have all the Terns to arrive yet, but when they do we will be in full swing once again. 

It's really nice to see the Islands buzzing once again and I know I see this every year but hand on my heart I honestly still love to see it every year and it never gets boring at all.

So there you have it, a little update about our life around the Farnes and hopefully I will bring you as many updates as I can this year.

You can also follow us on  Facebook www.facebook.com/serenityboats or Twitter www.twitter.com/thefarnes for instant updates.

The Pinnacles 

 Staple Island full of Guillemots

  Staple Island with Brownsman in the back ground

 

 Turnstone and Purple Sandpipers

 Longstone Lighthouse

A very small seal but I wanted to show you her tail as she spread it out. This shows you why they can swim very very fast. 

Guillemots

Guillemots

This Kittiwake was in a real scrap

My crewman Andy, casually birding with one hand. Show off. 

 The board walk being fixed by the rangers

 The rangers doing a great job getting the Inner Farne ready for the new season

and of course the Farne Islands favorite the Puffin  

  

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.

Mixed Trip

A few weeks ago when the weather was nice and the skies were blue we done a trip out to see some Minkie Whales, Harbour Porpoise and Seabirds. Unfortunately we did not see any Minkie Whales on the day but two days later we did.
We did of course see Porpoise, Sooty Shearwater's, Artic Skua's, Gannets and many more so here is some pictures of what we saw on the day and of course the Minkie a few days later.

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. 

Redshank verses Turnstone

When I finished work the other day, I was just about to get into the van when I noticed a Curlew over the pier wall. It was probing around the rock pools for some food and I noticed that it would go to any lengths to get some food.

There was also a Redshank searching for food and it was very successful until a Turnstone turned up and pinched it's prize. Turnstone 1 - Redshank 0.