Steady Rollin'

The morning after the fall before....An unlucky Whitethroat who met its match with our Red-backed Shrike

The season feels like its picking up pace, as the monster fall was preceeded by a monster clear-out the day after, followed by some monster weather....at last! Eggs and chicks were popping out everywhere with most of the breeders now settled. Heads and any other exposed body parts are becoming bloodied while my neck is rapdily adopting the 'tern defence' posture. Here's some pics what I did with me lens and that:

Roosts are getting tasty.

Especially when they hold stonking treasures like the Black Guillemot

Outside my house is getting rowdy!

Its all about these, peck peck peck!

Hashtag Crippled

Classic Farnes combo...sure to make you weak at the knees!

Ok, so maybe not a 'PC' title, but those in the birding fraternity will be familiar with the term. Basically it describes a bird or situation involving a bird that is so awesome it produces adrenalised weakening of all body parts! And today was one of those days.

We all quietly knew today could be good. Mid-May NE winds and heavy rain was never going to bring huge numbers (as the majority of birds have completed their northerly spring migration), however quality was always on the menu. As with all Farnes falls, birds didn't materialise until late morning with a fine younge male Pied Flycatcher in the Veg Patch briskly followed by Garden Warbler and Blackcap. Further searching produced another Garden along with a few Whitethroat and Willow Warblers (including some nice pale northern birds). Then it hit. Male Red-backed Shrike in the Veg Patch! That alone made my head recoil in a semi-spasmodic cripfest. The bird was fresher than a morning flower and showed nicely producing some awesome Farnes photo ops:



Looking pretty out of place....and MEGA!

Whilst soaking this little gripper into our collective psychees a flick across the boardwalk caught turned into a stunning male Bluethroat! Number two this spring, we are back on form! The bird worked its way up the boardwalk, eventually 'giving itself up' at the Lighthouse...

Amazing.

The scent of rare was in the air and like rabid dogs we stomped and bounded across Inner Farne in search of fresh meat and at 15:22 the final cherry forn the cake dropped into the Dock Bank gulley in the form of a smart 1st summer Red-breasted Flycatcher! Which duly joined the Pied and Spotted Flycatchers feeding on the rock. Unique. What a day.

It may be brown but its a good un!

Lastly life as a ranger is becoming busier and busier with more visitors to engage, more birds to monitor and more tasks to complete. But the weather as always dominates our life and the fresh NE winds tha brought our birds today also closed us. Hopefully we'll get some sun soon as birds on eggs can cope with rain but chicks might find it tougher.... 

Time flies

So. Where do I start? Do you even care for my reasons, or should I say excuses for the lack of posts?! Well to cut and very long, multi-geographical story short we had a fall, then I stood on a nail, got lifeboated off the Farnes (thanks to the RNLI!), attended the World Championship Gig Racing weekend on Scilly then returned to planet Farnes to be greeted by hords of Arctic Terns and the likes as well as another fall!

The Farnes at its best! Birds everywhere!

Anyway. There really is too much to tell, and I have a habit of going on and on so I'll let the pics do the talking. But first an update on island life. After being cut off for the majority of April due to strong winds and big seas, May has alas started along similar lines seeing us closed twice in the last week. BUT! Every cloud and all that, as strong winds (especially from the east ie from the continent) and poor visibility bring huuge numbers of common migrants including some rarer bits including 2 Wryneck and a cracking male Red-spotted Bluethroat. One bird I really wanted to experience out here. Magic! Since then the weather has calmed somewhat but strong winds today brought a heathly passage of Manx Shearwater, which is just as well as the land was very quiet! Anyway. Enough talk, more pics!

Confused! A Black Guillemot that spent a day on Ladies Path

Hashtag crippled. Male Bluethroat.

Canny Wryneck

Mega rare. Long-tailed Tit! First spring record since 1965!

Little Terns have been regular at blowing my mind!

And the best of the rest...

Female Restart roosting on our urinal!

Tree Pipit looking nice!

Pied Flycatcher in its natural habitat...a rocky shoreline

More Bluethroat stonkness just because he is dandy!

2nd summer Little Gull that spent an hour in with the roost.

Roseate Terns looking very sexy..!

And people say they have trouble spotting Roseates!