Well today's weather forecast was almost a carbon copy of yesterday, dry until around 2pm then heavy rain. So, as we'd planned to take a boat out to the Farne Islands we decided to set off early (well 9:15am) and get the 10am sailing from Seahouses. We went out to Inner Farne when we were here last July so this time it would be Staple Island, a little bit further out and another island with very large bird colonies.
The journey across takes around 30 minutes, then you get to spend an hour on the island. As with Inner Farne last year, it was heaving with different types of seabirds. Gulls, Kittiwakes, Cormorants, Shags, and of course everyone's favourite; the Puffin. I'm sure the skipper mentioned other birds but I really can't remember. What aren't here though are the the Terns, a very common sight over on Inner Farne but they don't come to Staple Island to breed and rear their chicks like the other birds. We were also treated to a large colony of Grey Seals, loads of them sitting on the rock, floating on the sea, and some popping their heads above the waves to see what the commotion was.
We managed to take a load of photos, in fact I took over 500 as I had the camera on 8.5fps, and you simply have to fire away if you're trying to grab a shot of one of the birds in flight, the Puffins are so fast it really is hard to track and focus on them. So, fire away and hope you get some in focus. Which of course I did, ok they are not perfect but still not bad. It is easy on the island to get 'lens jealous' as all the twitchers are there with their massive lenses. I do ok though with my 70-200, it's not how big it is, it's what you do with it as is often said!
After getting back on the boat you are treated to a tour of the rest of the islands, listening to the story of Grace Darling and her heroics saving sailors in a famous shipwreck in 1838; she is a heroine of significance around these parts. The journey back takes about 45 minutes or so, so all in 3hrs for £15 each which is really worth it. Don't forget through, if you are not a National Trust member then you also have to pay a disembarking fee to the NT for landing on the island; it all goes towards the upkeep of the islands which is significant considering the number of NT staff that stay on the islands throughout the summer.
By the time we were back at the car it was a little after 1:30pm, so we would head back down the coast for a light lunch back at the cottage and then wait for the rains to come....
The journey across takes around 30 minutes, then you get to spend an hour on the island. As with Inner Farne last year, it was heaving with different types of seabirds. Gulls, Kittiwakes, Cormorants, Shags, and of course everyone's favourite; the Puffin. I'm sure the skipper mentioned other birds but I really can't remember. What aren't here though are the the Terns, a very common sight over on Inner Farne but they don't come to Staple Island to breed and rear their chicks like the other birds. We were also treated to a large colony of Grey Seals, loads of them sitting on the rock, floating on the sea, and some popping their heads above the waves to see what the commotion was.
We managed to take a load of photos, in fact I took over 500 as I had the camera on 8.5fps, and you simply have to fire away if you're trying to grab a shot of one of the birds in flight, the Puffins are so fast it really is hard to track and focus on them. So, fire away and hope you get some in focus. Which of course I did, ok they are not perfect but still not bad. It is easy on the island to get 'lens jealous' as all the twitchers are there with their massive lenses. I do ok though with my 70-200, it's not how big it is, it's what you do with it as is often said!
After getting back on the boat you are treated to a tour of the rest of the islands, listening to the story of Grace Darling and her heroics saving sailors in a famous shipwreck in 1838; she is a heroine of significance around these parts. The journey back takes about 45 minutes or so, so all in 3hrs for £15 each which is really worth it. Don't forget through, if you are not a National Trust member then you also have to pay a disembarking fee to the NT for landing on the island; it all goes towards the upkeep of the islands which is significant considering the number of NT staff that stay on the islands throughout the summer.
By the time we were back at the car it was a little after 1:30pm, so we would head back down the coast for a light lunch back at the cottage and then wait for the rains to come....
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