Goldrush

There has been lots of Yellow-browed Warblers on the county over the last few days which is fantastic to see, but for me it has been the Goldcrest which is sometimes over looked.

On Sunday I was out with a gang of diver's and all they wanted was to dive with the seals. After the first dive the south side of the islands was starting to get a bit dodgy, so I decided to look elsewhere to dive.

We steamed across to the Longstone, tied up at the jetty and then all of a sudden loads of seals appeared. How lucky were we and it was ideal for the diver's. They all started to get ready and after they were all in the water I went for a look around the island. I had hardly stepped of the boat when I was surrounded by Goldcrests.

They are tiny birds but delightful to see and they never gave a monkeys about me. They were so close to me at times it was just amazing to see, but once again I had left my camera at home. I was kicking myself and to make things worse as good few other birds on the island too. I went around to the other side of the lighthouse to find 2 female Blackcaps and a single male, a Wheater and lots of Robins and the whole time I was saying to myself "I wished I wished my camera". Kicking myself I headed back to the boat with my lip hitting the ground and then I spotted a Yellow-browed Warbler sitting inside an old lobster pot. It was very mixed emotions as these birds were brilliant but having no camera was very upsetting.

Back on the boat I kept on thinking about it more and more, so I was determined to come back and get some pictures.

I never made it out on Monday but Tuesday I did but only for a few minutes and those few minutes were enough for me to get a picture or two. There was only a few left compared to Sunday but enough to put a smile back on my face.

I even went back today (Wednesday) and Andy and Tony tagged along for the ride. There were only 2 Goldcrests left but enough as one of them could not stay away from us and the area we were at was full of flies too.
It was also a beautiful day and a good excuse to stay out there a bit longer. It was nice to sit back and enjoy the view. We all commented on how lucky we are to live and work in such a beautiful place as the Goldcrest's flew around the island. Happy with what we had seen, we headed back to Seahouses, chatting about these tiny birds.

What a way to finish a great day off at the Farnes.

   

Supermoon Lunar Eclipse

Over the weekend I have been going down the harbour at 5 in the morning to move the boat due to the big tides.
I have had divers out in the morning so by the time we get loaded and get out to sea I have to be away before the tide is to low.

Yes I could have gone home for a few hours but I had to load the boat with their air tanks and then make sure I had enough hot water for the day. My cousin did the same thing but he had to go home to cook breakfast for his divers and then come back again. This was another reason I did not go home as he brought me a cracking bacon and egg sarnie.

While he was away and I got myself sorted the sun was coming up and I managed to get a good few pictures. I was trying to be a little bit arty but I'm not sure if it really worked. I kinda liked them but my cousin was not sure. Judge for yourself..

There was not a ripple in the water when we got out of the harbour until the tide changed a few hours later and even then it was still good.

This was the view from my office and window on Sunday morning

After a great day on the water I decided to give the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse a go and stay up to see it, but by 12pm I was shattered and decided that I would sleep on the couch, set my alarm and get up in a few hours. Of course I slept in but at least I managed to catch the end of it. By the time I was done it was 3.30am and I had to be up in 3 hours but it was well worth it even though I was a tad bit tired today.

Anyway the pictures are not very good as it was my first attempt and I did muck up a bit because I could not keep my camera steady due to the size of the lense but after a bit of googling I found out where I went wrong and it was a school boy error. Never mind you life and learn and with a bit more practice, hopefully I will crack it.

I know they are rubbish but I did enjoy witnessing it.

Seal Pup

On late Sunday afternoon we were on our last trip when Andy (my crewman) noticed a seal pup on the Brownman Island. I quickly turned the boat around to see if it was ok and good news folks it was.
It looked in good shape and then it was looking for its mother for a feed. At this stage we decided to leave them to it.
On our way back we stopped again for a cheeky little look and the mother had moved from the rock she was laying on, to be close to the seal pup.

Everything looked great and fingers crossed this little fella will grow up to be big and strong.

I will keep you posted as there was a few mothers starting to get high up on the rocks so it will not be long before there will be loads of pups around again.

Sad News

I bring you sad news about the two seals that were born on Friday 18th 2015.

We looked everywhere today to see if we could find the new born seal pups but after half an hour we gave up. I made quick phone call the National Trust Rangers and found out that they had no luck either.

Nature is such a cruel thing at time and we have come to the conclusion that the tide has come in and washed the pups out to sea.

It breaks my heart as they looked okay and they seemed to be playing with each other at one stage. I know they were early and I know this happens lot with the first ones born for the season but it does not make it any easier to take.

Boy does this place give you some highs and lows at times but you have to except it and hopefully the rest of the season brings better news for all the seals.

A few pictures of the cute little things on this very sad day.

Been a cracking few days.

On Monday we were sitting outside the harbour when the fog came in and as we were waiting for our guests I  got a call from my cousin saying that he nearly hit a Basking Shark as he did not see it until the last second due to the fog.
After asking where he was I decided to go and have a look. After a few minutes I realised I was wasting my time as it got thicker and thicker and you could hardly see your hand in front of your face never mind find a basking shark.

We gave up and headed back to the harbour. At least he gave me all the readings, times etc. Oh well next time hopefully.

We never made it out either and who could blame anyone not wanting to go out in that kind of weather.

A change of weather and a change of sightings. A good few Arctic and Great Skuas passing through. A dozen or so of lingering Guillemots. Gannets galore and a single Puffin.

We had a single Sooty Shearwater near the Longstone Island which is always a pleasure to see.

On Thursday we saw 6 Bottlenose Dolphins and a good few boats got good views too. It was really nice to see a firm favourite of ours "Barracuda" swimming past the boat and they were really showing off to. Some were tail slapping the water and others were jumping clean out of the water. When you here people saying "Oh Wow" a lot you know it was a good jump.

I never get tired of seeing this and its really nice to see the smiles on people's faces which makes it extra special.

Fingers crossed the weather keeps up and we start to see loads so I can keep on blogging.

Oh and did I mention we had our first two seal pups born today. That will be my next post.

 

 

OVER AND OUT

Change of Plans

It feels like ages since I blogged so I thought I would pull my finger out and get one posted.

Its all gone quite at the Farnes now and even all the Kittiwakes are leaving, but at this time of the year you get to see the Fulmars in all their glory as they use the boat like a spitfire airplane would
have done in the war.
They appear from know where and the next minute they are right beside the boat. In the past they have given a few of our guests a shock as they are so close to them.
They are very impressive the way they turn right at the last minute and then do a full circle around the boat and back again.
They must be enjoying themselves as you can see a little sparkle in their eyes as they guide past the boat, as if to say, "you will never catch me".

I do like these seabirds and when there is hardly any other birds around, it gives you a good chance to see how graceful they are, and it not until then do you really appreciate the elegance of this wonderful seabird.

On Wednesday 9th, we decided to have a little change. We only had a few people on the landing trip and when they were on the boat we asked them if they fancied seeing some Minke Whales. They all looked at each other and said "Why not", so of we went out into the big blue.
A friend gave me a tip off so it was a good chance we might hit lucky. After about half an hours steam we can accross Gannets diving and sure enough a minke popped up right in front of us.
Two minutes later another surfaced and boy this was a big one. It must have been about 30ft which is the biggest a minke gets.
They both surfaced three times and then dived. It was a good few minutes before they surfaced again and they were really close to the boat by this time.  I still get a buzz seeing these wonderful mammals and to get two beside each other is great.
I was also talking to another friend and he said that his pots are full of herring eggs, which is another great sign. Minke whales love herring and so do alot of seabirds as we spotted 2 Sooty Shearwaters feeding, a few Arctic Skua's and lots of Gannets.

After a good show we headed back towards to Farnes were we saw at least 3000 Gannets diving. They were not bothered about the boat at all, as they were more intrested in filling their bellies. Once again another great sight.

I was buzzing, my crewman Andy was buzzing and I could tell our guests were too by the smiles on their faces. Over all a great trip and I was so pleased they said yes to going.

North East Blog Awards

I have been nominated into the North East Blog Awards and I would love it if you could nominate me once again.
I have looked at the other blogs and their is some amazing blogs out there and the north east have a lot to offer which is why I would love it if you could take time out for 5 minutes and vote for my blog.

There is not a section for me but if you go to the Best N.E. Leisure or Travel section and vote for me there I would be very grateful. Also if you could add why you think my blog should be nominated that would be very kind of you too.

Just click on the NOMINATE ME link below

I will keep you all updated and thank you once again for reading my blog as I hope you get as much pleasure in reading it as I do writing it.

Thank you

OVER AND OUT

Minkie Whale

We saw our first Minkie Whale on Monday 17th August and we were a little lucky to be honest. It was spotted by another boat and myself and Andy had just drooped our guests off onto the Inner Farne when we saw it around his boat. We decided to go for it and when we arrived it was feeding in the same area. We had it for over half and hour and we even had time to shout my brother so he could come and see it too.

Unfortunately my guests did not see it but at least Toby's guests did. Fingers crossed we see more now and there has been reports of herring around so that's always a good sign.

So on that note we are going to do a couple of "Finding Fins" trips on the 1st and 2nd September from 9.30am for 3 hours. To book please call the booking office from 9am to 5pm on 01665 721667 and evenings on 01665 720760.