Sun, Sea and Swell

My home on a beautiful still evening

So during the brief interlude of my lack of bloggage alot has happended, as always! We have been open,closed, open and for today (and most likely tomorrow, and possibly Sunday) we have once again been closed. Not due to rain. Or really even wind, but swell! Strong winds north of us are whipping up a fair sized northerly swell which is disrupting us and visitors but hey the birds couldnt give a toss, its sunny! Recent firsts include the first Guillemot, Puffin, Eider and Rock Pipit eggs while Sandwich Terns aren't far off and Shags are laughing at the former species fashionably late start in comparison to theirs.

CRB the Shag looking shifty.

The first Guillemot egg which lasted circa 1 hour before Herring Gulls munched it.

Lone Guillemot looking vulnerable...

Notable species of late include the Med Gull which appeared and then disappeared, other lingering stuff like the odd Robin, Common Scoter, good Gannet passage and today a female Merlin and a stonking 203 Common Gulls in this evenings roost. Meanwhile breeders are now entering phase 2 of horn-mode: The nesting. Anyway its Friday and words are becoming evermore difficult as the beers increase.

The Med Gull put on a great show but the Black-headed Gulls weren't into hybridism.

Farnes Medley.

Boats arriving daily now, when weather permits that is!

Last few desperate male Eiders giving it the whole head cock..

Harsh realities of returning to land for the primarily oceanic Puffin. This one has been taken by a Peregrine, note the egg nears its ass.

Ladies Path shown here will soon by covered in thousands of terns...

Rock Pipit are having an early year with a nest containing 5 eggs already discovered, this pair were bsuy nest building.

6 Common Scoter chilling, illing and spilling behind Knoxes.

Brownsman and Zodiac Rib, getting intimate with Guillemot en masse.

Puffins innit.

Puffins mating on land (they usually do it on the sea).

Semi arty shot of Guillemot and Razorbill.

Inner Farne looking rare. The calm before the swell.

These Eiders can cope with all the recent swell no worries

To Breed or not To Breed

Its cold, but don't think this Dandelion got the memo...

So winter, I mean, spring is upon us. Returning birds stand in a state of shock thinking...I left the central North Sea for this?! So I better show you some horny phenologically confused birds yes? Yes.

Puffins. Rampant. Standard.

Cormorants ludicrously horny.

Fulmars going S & M.

Eider getting wet.

Ringed Plover giving it the cold shoulder (literally).

Non-breeders remain thin on the ground since last weeks storm with a few Meadow Pipit moving along with the odd Redpoll and semi-resident Song Thrush and Robin. More interesting records include a stonking duo of Hooded Crow yesterday (which flew west, our 3rd this year!) while the 2nd summer Med Gull returned today showing pretty well as it displayed to Black-heads...the horn is contagious it seems. But will it follow through?

OVER. exposed

Med's are sick.

And a pic of some Purple Sandpiper as I've not featured these common but deceptively difficult to pin down down passage waders.

Awesome.

Crazy Polaris

Classic Farnes...even the Song Thrush look rare!

Proof, if proof were needed that it snowed up this way...Snow-capped Cheviots.

Well I'm still here! The winds blew, snow stung and waves smashed but the islands and myself remain in surprisingly good shape! However the storm was so severe that not many new birds have arrived, more the hangers on (of Song Thrush, Blackbird and Robin) have hung on, as is their custome. While a Chaffinch muttled racist 'chink' remarks up at the Lighthouse, so we shut it up with grain. And a final highlight was a corking 2nd summer ish Med Gull on Knoxes, complete with Bloodied bill and black head.

Song Thrush bask..

Confused Blackbird...

Robin on a cliff face....

Racist Chaffinch.

A day off in Seahouses (to wash, wash,beer, wash etc) today produced my first singing Willow Warbler of the srping, always a welcome sound! And upon returning to Inner this evening have seen a Chiff (which dropped in mid-afternoon) is still knocking about in the still, serene polar opposite conditions. And with alittle east in the wind you never know...the first Farnes Willow Warbler may be just around the corner!

The calm conditions have also encouraged ALOT of auks back onto the cliffs which made the sail-around trip on route to home mega crippling:

Guillemots taking over!

Beautiful Kits

Amazing Cormorant display!

Fulmar magic!

And some more photos from the past day or two...

Garden Dart larva found while maintaining the boardwalks.

Evening sunlight Rock Pipit..

Spider....species

Male Pied Wagtail loving life.

To the Ridiculous

Well here's post number two today. The antithesis to our doctorate of good weather. We knew it was going to hit. and it did! We woke to a stiff easterly with gusts pushing 70mph, windchill of -9 and driving rain/hail/snow blizzards. Hectic but amazing.

You can kinda see the snow (it got very heavy at times)

With conditions being so harsh I decided to go outside and absorb the offensive weather and do a little birding. Thrushes were noticeable along with Robins hiding in our Chapel/Info Centre. So I wondered upto the Lighthouse compound, the only sheltered spot on Inner Farne in this weather, strolled round a corner and bumped into a Great Grey Shrike at 'zero' feet. Crippled doesnt even begin to describe. No photos as it flushed, circled and disappeared never to be seen again. Damn! Tomorrow...maybe.

No Shrike, so here's a Shag.

Other birds include: Teal 36, Song Thrush 10, Blackbird 10, Robin 4, Chaffinch 1 plus the lingering Black Redstart. But enough words I'll let the photos do the talking: 

Looking Northeast.

Kittiwake, snow, seas combo.

Beautiful stormy marinus...

And more...

Snow and Puffins!

Someone making use of our Zodiac...

Some Teal, Shag and Eider sheltering in the 'sheltered' Kettle.

Which, as you can see, wasn't very sheltered...!

Staple Sound looking lumpy.

So what is in store tomorrow?