Full up on Seabirds on a Staple Diet, May 30th 2019

Taking a trip out to the Farne Islands wasn't originally on my list of things to do during my week in Northumberland. Yes I know that it's an excellent place to view many species of Seabirds up close but it's also swamped by tourists as well as lots of birders and toggers and birding in crowds isn't really my bag. It's also administered by the National Trust for whom I have very little affection. However, having not been able to book on the much quieter Coquet Island round tour until Friday and with the weather, having been very unsettled, which could always put the kibosh on that trip, I was slightly concerned that I may miss out on a few birds whilst here so I had booked Mrs Caley and myself on one of the short trips to Staple Island and back. We would get to spend just an hour on the island.

As we waited at Seahouses harbour, from where the trips leave, I watched the folk assemble for the all day tour which takes in Inner Farne as well as Staple Island and felt glad that I hadn't booked to be on it. That tour allows 2 hours on each island but I had the view that although the Farnes have a multitude of birds to offer, there are only around 20 different species and I imagined that I'd get bored, Mrs Caley certainly would, if I just snapped away with the camera for half a day! I mean. if you've seen one Puffin then you've seen them all, right? Ok, maybe not, but how many photos do you need! There was also the bare economical fact that for the two of us to go on the all day trip would cost over £160! Our trip would only(!) cost £63. To visit one island incurs a landing fee of £11.60 from the NT, visit both and it goes up to £33.60! I'd love to know why?

We watched a pair of Eider Ducks drinking, presumably fresh water, from small pools in the rocks next to the harbour wall. Despite the fact that the harbour is undergoing extensive reconstruction they were entirely unfazed by the noise and after taking their fill retired to slumber.

Eider Ducks

It was our turn to board our boat and we filed on to the Glad Tidings II which held maybe 30 or so like minded souls. Interestingly though I was the only person aboard carrying a long lens camera whereas on the all day boat just about every passenger held one. 

A "Glad Tidings" sailing

We scurried across the bay towards the small cluster of islands that make up the Farnes and just to make us feel more acclimatised it, of course, began to rain. I would have been upset if we hadn't had some rain during our trip after the weeks weather that we'd had so far! As we neared the islands then we also encountered the first of thousands of the Seabirds that make the islands their summer homes. I was keen to take photos of birds either swimming in or flying over the rough surface of the sea. I spotted a couple of Shags reasonably close to the boat and fired off a few shots and quickly realised that photographing birds from a rocking boat was far from easy! 

Shag

Puffins. #225 on the Old Caley year list and everybody else's favourite judging by the ooh's and aah's, were everywhere you looked so I tried to capture a few of those. Puffins move fast on small whirring wings and are not the biggest target so it proved difficult to keep focus but a few of the images were salvageable. 

Puffin

Next up I concentrated on a Guillemot that was flying straight towards us although to be truthful it was a case of just pointing and shooting at any bird that made a likely subject since there were so many coming and going! One of my resulting images gained a Notable Photo on Birdguides so I must have done ok.

Guillemot

The skipper of the Glad Tidings II made a close pass of Brownsman Island (I think) allowing us all to get close up views of some of the "Seabird Cliffs". Kittiwakes, Shags and Auks all proliferated on the cliffs and the noise, and smell, was quite something. I've been to many Seabird colonies over the years and that smell is something that you never forget but never get used to either. It certainly makes your nose wrinkle!

Kittiwake

Shag

It was now our turn to dock and disembark on Staple Island. I say our turn because we'd been kept in holding formation while several other boats also unloaded at the small quay. The Farnes are very popular and there are a lot of boats spilling their passenger cargos onto them. There is a system in place though whereby Staple Island is only landed in the morning and Inner Farne in the afternoon, presumably to give the Seabirds some breathing space. The juggling act between making some valuable money to aid conservation work and actually conserving the islands and its avifauna must be difficult. I did get the feeling that the NT are using the islands as a cash cow and are therefore more than happy to get as many people out to them as possible but then who could blame them? The amount of people on the islands, most of them with little interest in the birds and largely treating the islands as little more than a Puffin zoo, does mar the experience somewhat. If you could spend time alone here then it would magical.

For the first few yards up the steps that lead onto Staple Island it was difficult not to trip over the folk who had stopped in their tracks to marvel at the thousands of Puffins! Puffins are every non-birders most favourite bird (along with Kingfishers and Barn Owls) but of course us hardened birdwatchers play it cool and just walk on past. The problem was that the latter group consisted of just me and Mrs Caley so we had to climb over the swooning masses to get to the rest of the island. Staple Island isn't big, none of the Farnes are, and a lot of it is cordoned off to allow the birds space to breed and also to keep visitors away from the cliff edge. As a result the available space is fairly packed with people but with a bit of perseverance we managed to find a couple of quieter spots. Once settled I tried to ignore the Puffins and look instead at some of the other birds on offer but it wasn't long though before I'd fell under their spell and was taking shot after shot of the Clowns of the sea! The first grass covered bank you arrive at is absolutely swarming with "Fratercula arctica's" and I just couldn't resist.

But I really was more interested in getting some nice images of other species so went in search of Shags, Kittiwakes, Razorbills and Guillemots that would make interesting shots. A problem here though is that it's actually difficult to ignore the frenzy that is taking place all around you and to single out individual birds. Also many of the birds are nesting so close to the paths that, with a 400mm lens, you can't get far enough back from the subject to get a sharp image without somebody else invading your space and getting in the way. Still, I managed a few!

Kittiwake

Razorbill

The Shag is a particular favourite of mine, not only because of its amusing name (snigger), but because of its reptilian appearance. Not that I'm into reptiles at all  but you have to agree that they do have a prehistoric look to them. I think they are beautiful birds despite the fact that they stink. Maybe it's those piercing green eyes. I recall a comment made by an Oxon birder when a group of 11 juvenile Shags turned up at Farmoor Reservoir a couple of autumns ago, "I haven't had a Shag here for ages, then I get 11 in one day"! That appealed to my childish humour and made me chortle then and still does now, fnaaar, fnaaar! 

Shag

Guillemots live in huge colonies and have to put up with argy bargy on a daily basis. Here on the Farnes they are forever flying in and out on feeding sorties. When they arrive back at their own patch they often have to run the gauntlet of other Guillemots who are displeased at the intrusion. There is a form of the Guillemot known as a "Bridled" because of a white stripe that goes around and behind the eye and looks rather like a pair of spectacles. I believe that around 3% of the Guillemot population is of the Bridled form but don't quote me on that figure. I only saw 3 of them amongst the thousands in the hour or so that I spent on the island so there must be an awful lot of them somewhere else.

"Bridled" Guillemot

Razorbills tend to nest in isolated and smaller colonies towards the edge of the more numerous Guillemots. Superficially similar to its cousins, I think that Razorbills look a bit more stately, definitely more statuesque. They also have an amazing bright yellow mouth which is eye-catching when the bill is held open. The Shag also shares this brightly coloured inner mouth so there must be something to it, perhaps fish are attracted to it, very unscientific I know, but then I am just that.

Razorbill

Kittiwakes, our most maritime of Gull species are also the most demure looking. They appear as if butter wouldn't melt. But they are noisy birds and the cliffs echo to their onomatopoeic calls and yet when sat upon their nests of mud and just about everything else that they can build one from, they sit so quietly. Nest building material is a prized commodity in a Seabird colony and any bird that finds some has to be wary of others that may try to pinch it.

Kittiwake

Less conspicuous here but still present in small numbers are the Fulmar, a northern relation of the southern Albatrosses. They glide around the islands using the updrafts of the cliffs and are complete masters of the art of flying. To my eyes they appear as if they are smiling!

Fulmar

There are predators on the islands too in the shape of several Gull species. Some of these actually have nests within the "visitors area" marked by canes and tape flags to prevent eggs getting trampled. I inquired about whether the eggs would survive being unguarded but was assured by the wardens that they can survive for a fair few hours between incubation periods. Another good reason that each island is only allowed visitors for a few hours in any day. 

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

And of course there are the Puffins! Everybody's favourites. Except that they wouldn't even get in my top ten, or twenty even. I've never been a great fan of garish things, preferring stuff that's more sedate, and Puffins with that comical bill and big orange feet are definitely gaudy. But they do have that rather comical look and are not known as the clowns of the sea for nothing. And don't forget that ridiculous Puffin noise that they make, a deep "arrr-uh" as Collins so accurately puts it. I spotted one Puffin that appeared to mimicking Monty Python's "Ministry of silly walks" sketch!

I reminded myself that I'd never yet taken a photo of Puffins with a beak full of fish, so found myself a spot away from the crowds, left Mrs Caley admiring the stationary birds and tried to capture one of those iconic images. In the next 15 minutes I must have rattled off 200 frames of flying Puffins! But I did get a few of those photos that I wanted.

I found one Puffin, well it found me and my camera, with a different mouthful. This one had a feather to line its nesting burrow.

It was almost time to catch the boat so we made our way back towards the jetty. I paused to take more photos of everything! A Puffin with nesting material, a sleepy Guillemot and a pair of amorous Shags all caught my eye and my lens. Now I was thinking what I could do with more time on the islands if on the all day trip! Maybe next year.

Once our boat had been cleared for landing we boarded safely and were treated to a round island tour while the skipper related some of the history of the islands, including the tale of the heroine Grace Darling. I hardly listened to a word since history has never really interested me, philistine that I am and it is yesterday's news after all. I was far too occupied taking more photos since I had convinced myself, rather snobbishly I'm ashamed to admit, that shots taken from a moving boat are worth far more than those taken from terra firma. I was pleased to discover that, when I pointed the camera towards an incoming Guillemot, it was of the Bridled form. A Kittiwake carrying a piece of a weedy plant to add to its nest also made for a pleasing image.

We cruised past a Seal colony on an island, I can't remember which one since I wasn't listening as usual and besides I can't get excited by Seals at all, apart from the fact that when they stick their heads out of the water they remind me of my beautiful dear departed Cocker Spaniel, Bobby Box (aka Burberry).

Dozy Seals

A friend of mine works for Trinity House the lighthouse people, Grace Darling is probably his heroine too, so I always take photos of any lighthouses that I see and then test him on them. He always gets them right and so he should since he is the chief light bulb changer. 

Longstones Lighthouse

Inner Farne Lighthouse

As we turned away from the islands an Arctic Tern flew alongside the boat. The main Tern colonies are on Inner Farne, the island that we wouldn't be landing on but I'd already seen all British breeding species except for the Roseate and we'd be seeing those tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Arctic Tern

The Farne Islands are a bird photographers paradise and my own personal claim that "I'm a birder first and foremost and a togger second" was severely tested for its validity. And I definitely think that I could take photos for over 6 hours by taking in the all day trip and not get bored, although I'm not sure I'd ever find the time to edit them all! I'm not sure whether that £160 plus outlay for the two of us is justified though.

And guess what? It was chucking it down once again when we arrived back in port!

Holy, Hart and Hope Phal! 29th May 2019

I had hoped to book us on the Puffin Cruises boat that travels around Coquet Island today but with it being half term they were all booked up. Luckily we had managed to get on one of their trips for Friday, lucky because going out to see and photograph the Roseate Terns that breed there was supposed to be the main aim of our week in Northumberland! I had also tried to book a trip to one of the Farne Islands but again they were all booked up with the first available tomorrow. At least our last two days were sorted and, almost incredibly, the weather conditions were forecast to improve.

So, it was Holy Island again this morning and for once it wasn't raining! In fact the sun was almost but not quite escaping the clouds and it appeared as if we'd have a good day. We changed tack a bit too by parking up in the main car park on the edge of the village and striding purposefully out to the north shore, now we had finally established where exactly to go. As we crossed the dunes via the grassy track we were captivated by the multitude of Skylarks that seemed to be everywhere. They sang from high up above us, from fence posts and even from the ground. The song of the Skylark is definitely one of the sounds of the coast.

Skylark

There were a multitude of Meadow Pipits too, as well as Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Stonechats. I checked anywhere that looked as if it may hold a migrant such as a hoped for Bluethroat but naturally there was nothing doing. When we made our way through the dunes onto the wide sandy beach we were exactly at the place known as the North Shore. We stopped for a moment and surveyed the scene. There were two distinct groups of wading birds, one lot were feeding and resting on rocks to the east while a much bigger flock were feeding amongst washed up seaweed further along the sands to the west. I concentrated first on the birds on and around the rocks. There were the usual good numbers of Ringed Plovers and Sanderling but only a scattering of Dunlin. Of course I was hoping for that mythical Broad-billed Sandpiper but in reality had pretty much given up hope of ever finding that. I checked the sea just off the rocks and saw Eider Ducks and better still a couple of Common Scoter. Sandwich Terns passed overhead on their commute and a few Gannets fished far out in the sea. We walked towards the birds congregated further down the beach stopping often to scan through them. Again the birds were predominately Ringed Plover and Sanderling, a couple of hundred of each, with smaller numbers of Dunlin and just 3 Turnstone. No sign of anything rare.

Sanderling

Having exhausted our search of the wader flocks we headed back inland chatting to another couple of birders on the way, neither of whom had seen anything out of the ordinary. One of them did tell us that he'd heard and seen a Grasshopper Warbler in the dunes so we thought we'd go and check that out. We did indeed hear it but couldn't place it in the long scrubby grass. Returning back to the carpark we saw a Brown Hare keeping as low a profile as it could in a field next to the track.

Hare

A quick walk around the village where we had a very unsatisfactory coffee and lunch, what is it about tourist traps that the fare on offer is always sub-standard, and we were gone. Unless we visit this area during the autumn migration season when the village and surrounding area act as a magnet for many rare and scarce birds, we'll not be returning to Holy Island village any time soon, that's for sure! We drove out to a place called the Harthope Valley near Wooler and only around 10 miles from our cottage. There we hoped for some different birds to add to our year list since this was high moorland and dale country. Unfortunately no sooner had we arrived than the rain started once more!

Rainwear duly donned we set out from the car parking area and walked up the valley. It was indeed a beautiful area, a big change from the coast, with beautiful birch and willow woodland on both sides of the valleys, the sides of which are steep and the trees soon give way to heather and bracken moorland. There were lots of common birds all around, Blackbirds, Mistle and Song Thrushes, Robins and Wrens scolded us as we walked on. Passing the farm I noticed some small finches displaying at the top of some pine trees, the trilling calls identifying them as Lesser redpolls.

Lesser Redpoll

We crossed over a small stream where a female Grey wagtail was busy feeding her offspring. Other birds, a pair of Bullfinches amongst them, were using the stream for bathing and then flying up into the surrounding trees to preen and straighten the wet feathers. 

Bullfinch (female)

Then, at last, a year tick #223 when I spied a Spotted Flycatcher flitting amongst the trees. Spotted Flycatchers are all too scarce in our home area these days so it's always good to catch up with them in the north where they are much are more numerous.

Spotted Flycatcher

On an open field area, during a short respite in the rain we watched House Martins and Swallow hawking for flies above the penned Sheep. One Swallow rested on an overhead wire and looked truly radiant in the weak sunshine.

Swallow

We would have liked to have continued along the track to the end of the trees and out on to the open moors but it was too far and it was already getting late so we elected to return to the car. Maybe we'll make a full day of it on another visit. A Buzzard flying swiftly and powerfully  above the trees got me in all a flutter when my first thought was Goshawk until I'd studied it properly.

Common Buzzard

As we left the valley a Red-legged Partridge fed on the short grass giving excellent views. Most folk tend to overlook these beautiful birds since they are primarily bred for releasing into shooting estates, of which there is undoubtedly one here, but they really are worth a close look. 

Red-legged Partridge

Back at the holiday cottage we were watching the rain fall heavily again when a message came through of a Red-necked Phalarope on the scrape at Low Newton, naturally where we'd been just yesterday. It would be a year tick so after a bit of gentle persuasion I managed to coax Mrs Caley into the car and were heading off on the 25 minute drive to get there. Except it took an extra 10 fraught minutes since we got held up by a broken down truck, a tractor and a railway barrier that stayed down for 7 whole minutes! But we made it, the place was deserted and the rain was very, very wet! It then took me another 5 minutes to find the bird in the gloom right on the far side of the scrape, of course. We had #224 on the Old Caley year list! 

Red-necked Phalarope

We also noted that there were now 2 Little Stints together and a fine male Yellow Wagtail. A quick chat with a couple of local birders that had joined us, apparently Red-necked Phalaropes are very scarce birds in the county, and we hot-tailed it back to the car and in.

Little Stints

Yellow Wagtail (male)

Pointless!!!, 28th May 2019

On Sunday morning it rained heavily, on Monday morning it rained a bit harder still, and then this morning it really rained! Three successive days of incessant precipitation first thing in the morning was making me more than a bit grumpy to say the least. I'm on holiday for Gawd's Sake! Here we were in the fabulous coastal birding hotspot of Northumberland and we couldn't really get out at all to see anything, visibility in sheet rain doesn't extend far anyway, but at least we had the car to use as a mobile hide so we made the most of it. It was a very windy day by the coast too so I felt that maybe we could use the conditions to our advantage and try a bit of seawatching. I've learned over the years from holidays in Cornwall that bad weather can bring rewards when gazing out to sea even though that pastime is more than a bit alien to inland birders such as ourselves. Normally the closest we get to experiencing a bit of rough weather sea birding is sampling a windy day at Farmoor Reservoir, mind you it can get rough up there!

I opted to drive south to Newbiggin on Sea in the hope that the rain may not be as bad down there and in truth when we arrived at the community centre car park it had almost stopped. So we tentatively made steps out onto the cliffs. Of course as soon as we'd gone far enough away from the car that a hasty retreat would be out of the question, the rain came lashing in again. Our intention was to walk to Beacon Point where Roseate Terns sometimes hang out at high tide but that idea was quickly abandoned in the once again worsening conditions. We did a swift about turn, noting plenty of birds moving northwards out at sea including Sandwich Terns, Gannets and Guillemots (first of the year #220), and sought the sanctuary of our car once more. 

Sandwich Tern

We needed a spot where could park up and using the car as shelter look out to sea. Not knowing the area particularly well I just elected to drive as close to the coast as I could and look for a place that would suit. Hence I stumbled upon Snab Point a bit further northwards where there are a couple of car parks that overlook the sea. Another couple of birders had the same idea and were cocooned inside their cars but scanning the sea. The crew of a fishing boat were emptying lobster creels and I concentrated my efforts on the area around the boat. Lots of Gulls, naturally, were attracted by the tit bits being jettisoned overboard but there were plenty of other more common seabirds. Gannets in decent numbers fished slightly further out and Fulmars used the updrafts of the cliffs to seemingly play in the wind. Many flocks of Auks passed, always going north, mainly Guillemots but a few Razorbills too. Kittiwakes were busy too. The big surprise came when I noticed a dark backed bird flying, actually more gliding than flying, very close to the waves. By its actions it could only be a Shearwater and the dark back with white underparts identified it as a Manx not a bird that I was expecting to see at all. The Manx Shearwater made it #221 on the Old Caley year list. Unfortunately photos would be impossible owing to the inclement weather, although I did try but failed completely to capture the bird. I waited expectedly for more Manx Shearwaters to appear but sadly none did.

Manx Shearwater, Outer Hebrides, June 2017

Another smart bird flew north in the shape of a Great Northern Diver. Divers always look slightly ridiculous when flying with their heads and rear ends hanging below the horizontal and the wings whirring away ten to the dozen. A Lesser Black-backed Gull landed on the cliff edge, #222 for the year, but flew off again before I could grab the camera.

It had been an entertaining morning despite the incessant rain and we'd added 3 new birds to our year list. The wind appeared to be waning a little so we decided to move on, and besides the seabird passage had slowed in the now improving weather. There is good birding further up the coast at Cresswell and Druridge, an area we had visited just last February when we year ticked Green-winged Teal and last May when we scored with Glossy Ibis. Arriving into Cresswell we had the irritation of having to narrowly miss a gaggle of cyclists that were meandering all over the road, they were mostly children so I would have felt bad if I'd mown them down but the accompanying adults should have known better. We needed a coffee so stopped by the busy Drift Cafe to rest a while, all that sitting in the car takes it out of you. We were joined by the cycle gang who included in their midst a well known local but in my eyes "Pointless" celebrity (see what I did there?). I then watched with amusement as a cafe full of people who had stared at us as if we were some type of strange beings because of our bins and camera then all surrounded the chap, who remember was just out for a bike ride with his children, and stood around taking videos and asking for selfies. Now that's weird!

Back to the birding, there was no sign of the local Barn Owl, unsurprising given the rain. Cresswell Pond held the usual Avocets but not much else and there was little to see at Druridge Pools apart from a multitude of Swifts feeding low over the area. Our next stop was to a new destination for us, once we found it which took a few wrong turns. East Chevington Nature Reserve has been constructed from old open cast coal mine workings and consists of a couple of large pools next to dunes and the sea. Around the North Pool where we were headed, many hides made from old shipping containers were placed enabling an overview of the pool and islands. I could see many Terns, mainly Sandwich but also Arctic, flying into the pool to bathe and then rest on a group of rocks while they preened and dried off, so we headed to the nearest hide so that we could view the birds more closely. Unfortunately we discovered that a grassy island actually obscured the view of the rocks so we couldn't see the birds! A bit of landscaping wouldn't go amiss there I thought. We could, however, still watch the Terns fly in and out and I spotted a couple of Little Terns too. I should add that the rain had stopped and had been replaced by some sunshine, great for us since we could dry out a bit but absolutely hopeless for viewing and photographing at distance because of the dreaded heat haze. I just can't win! I then noticed a bird that I've become much more familiar with this year after seeing and studying a few at Farmoor in the spring, an adult Little Gull. Not a year tick but the second big surprise of the day after the Manx Shearwater.

Little Gull, Farmoor, 27/04/2019

The Little Gull had disappeared behind the island and we left too, stopping to admire a Sedge Warbler singing away in one of the many bushes and a Meadow Pipit performing its song flight. I actually took a few photos, almost the first ones I'd taken all day!

Sedge Warbler

Meadow Pipit

We drove back to Holy Island and had another look around the causeway but there was nothing new to note and, of course, it began raining heavily again! I was actually beginning to wonder if we'd see any decent weather on this holiday.