Full Cycle - Farnes 2013

The mighty Inner Farne...how many of you saw this sight with that Bridled knot in your stomach?!



I said it after the jaw grinding 2011 Scilly season, then last year after the Farnes constantly produced monster fall after fall, and you what, I'm saying it again. 2013 was the best year ever! Despite lacking as many incredible visual migration events of 2012, the shear quantity of mega retinal inverting birds both on and near the islands is just unbelievable. So. Make a cup of tea, make sure you're along, and feast mind, body and spirit on the following 137 photos, my favourites, from 2013. These include anything and everything BIRD. From the array of breeders to the plethora of scarce, rare and of course MEGA species that I managed to enjoy and grab a cheeky pic of. What a great place. I think you'll agree.

Long-tailed Ducks regular and highly mollusc faced.

Cliche Guillemots.

Pale-bellied Brents over Knoxes, the hours spent watching this reef will be well into triple figures!

Garden birds wandering where the hell they went wrong....

Spectacle, no need for specsavers.

'Purp' Internationally important numbers use the Farnes both on passage and over winter.

These guys....

Jackdaws looking majorly rare.

Robin habitat...

The Info Centre...and one of its many rescued detainees.

Pretty darn stonking.

Short-eared Owl before it was smashed out of the sky by Gulls...(it survived)

My second favourite Farnes breeder.

Trinity Housestart

Collared Reed Bunting. #neckbulge

Aint she pretty? Least this Brambling survived the Merlin..

Knackered gonads. Black Guillemot.

Classic Farnes views of Chiffchaff

Goldcrests are dumb of f#ck! But canny looking, also hold the record for most hand captures of any passerine..

Classic Farnes Willow Warbler.

Young male Black Redstart. Very fringey.Oh baby.

Knackered gonads. Black Eidermot.

All 3 Diver species had good showings, though photos are always hard. Here's a typical view of a Red-throat.

White Wagtail rub my mantle.

The first of several, all successful twitches. How we made it before dark I don't know. But ROCK THRUSH. Living the dream.

Fulmar's might take it up the arse, but they will tear you a new one given half the chance...

Whitethroats trying to find scrub and failing....

Not even sure what these are...

Ladies Path Med(Gull)ley

Yeah mate

Evening Wheatear with my house in the background...

RARE. On the Farnes.

Classic Farnes views of Lesser Whitethroat.

My favourite Farnes breeder! Just look at that.

So. Much. Yellow.

Blue-headed Wagtail, a major bird on the Farnes. And rarer than Fea's Petrel.

Farnes combo. Blackcap vs Puffin.

I walked outside moments after finding out about the Collared Fly a mile or so down the coast to find this. Heart in mouth doesn't even come close! 

One of the few birds that initiate a debilitating amount of adrenalin. Collared Flycatcher! Dream bird number 2.

Sedgey

Whinchat artfest.

Mallard nesting in the centre of a gull colony...

One of them funny Robins...

First f three Red-backed Shrikes...

Kind of good views of Wood Warbler....HOLY SHIT! WINGS!

The ultimate storm chaser. Yanks nerds in their big gay fortified jeeps chasing tornado's could learn and thing or two from the Arctic Tern. See you at the south pole yeah?

It's too close!! Black-headed Bunting. Great views, one of many Brownsman birds that are only accessible to those who sacrifice everything by living on the Farnes...

Male Red-backed Shrike doing that thing they do...

Farnes combo...bring it.

Yes son. Noisy but awesome.

Roseate Tern doing an Avocet..

Best views of Roseate Terns I have ever had!

The Info Centre strikes..! Ickterine Warbler getting its pant on, luckily it escaped soon after..

Oystercatcher chick...

This place

Walking through the colonies has to be one of the best part of being on the Farnes...Sandwich Tern egg.

Alreet son! Get some fish in ya!

Alright ladies.

Africans

QUACK

BRIDLED TERN! BIRD OF THE YEAR. NO QUESTION.

An utterly unbelievably good bird that was like the first time, every time.

Prospecting Puffin, can't nest in the Zodiac mate.

Bridled madness

Black-tailed Godwits getting projected

The last appearance of the best bird ever!

Major blocker getting the Vics Vapourub treatment. UNBLOCKED. Pity some mentalists chose to ignore our advice then get pissed when they couldn't get on the island. Birders, no sorry, twitchers, are so funny sometimes...

Farnes Flycatcher..

Willow Warbler about to get the treatment..

Meadow Pipit being autumnal.

Spotted Flycatcher giving 'those views'

The endemic Farnes bent Reed Warbler

Standard Icky habitat on the Farnes

Watching this treat drop out the sky was magical

Speaking of sky, here's some. Oh and some big fat Pink-footed Geese.

HONK

Farnes Wren

Contender fro bird of the year (behind one or two...) Crossbill.

JUP JUP MUTHAF#CKAS

Red-backed Shrike number three. Grilled for Brown, denied.

Whinchatting in the morning sun.

Yellow-browed Warbler invasion begins, the 'rares bench' getting some more action..

In the hand.

Redwing and Song Thrush on the rocks 

Lesser Whiteringedthroat

Puffin killer...'dude he's watching me, act natural...'

Looking northwest..

Yellow-browed backdrop.

Look at the neck on that!

going in for the kill...

Rock Pipit hassling Reed Bunting, the scourge of migrants on the Farnes!

Lapdance anyone?

A flavour of home....Firecrest on the Farnes..

REEEEEEEEEEET Brambling.

Perch that! Stonechat.

Spanking little giblets. Pallas's Warbler.

Big old boy. Northern flavour Great-spotted Woodpecker.

BON. XIE.

Prime coniferous woodland, the favoured habitat of the Goldcrest...oh wait..

Those eyes

More mental Goldcrest action..

Siberian Chiffchaff.

Big fat old Mealy Redpoll.

One of two Glaucous Gull this year. Always a pleasure. Especially when they fly over whilst you're watching an Olive-backed Pipit.

WOOHOO HOOPOE

And here is said Olive-backed Pipit

Little Bunting, one of four seen this year.

Spot the two Little Buntings

Some Mealy's were verging on hyper polar.

Artificial tree housing three Blackcap

Yellowhammer, the 7th species of bunting I saw on the Farnes this year

Phwaarlark

Bonaparte's Gull bringing the long-awaited Yankness

Another classic twitch. Lesser Grey Shrike.

Best turn our back on 2013 with a smile. A pure pearly white, unadulterated, teeth shining smile

Ebony and Ivory

So the sun has set on my third and probably final Farnes season. One which, not only brought the hugely successful seabirds doing their thing but also an amazing, ball rotting array of scarce, rare and MEGA.  

So, its been a while. Lack of internet and general shizniz to report has enveloped any inspiration and folded it away while the storm surge overwhelmed my face. But enough about my face. This is a birding blog. So I'll get into it. Last day. Early start, prospects of getting off the paradise turned prison that is the Farnes were eminent. Not that I'm saying the place is Alcatraz, but as the night draw in, birds become increasingly infrequent, and your personal hygiene reaches new lows the tantalising lights of the mainland glow all the softer. So back to it. We're in Seahouses unpacking the world of kack that had accumulated over the past 9 months. Myself and couple of other were sorted to 5.6 million cans of beer that needed recycling when Steely rang thru screaming 'Ivory Gull Seahouses get running!'. Holy mother of Jahova. Needless to say we started running! After initial confusion we realised the bird was on a Golfcourse to the south. So some barely legal driving and running later and we were watching this absolute icicle of an Arctic seal munching crippler as it lost all dignity and ate earthworms...

I ran to the lockup and grabbed my camera but unfortunately arrived just before the bird pissed off over the other side...leaving me with the above and below shots to rekindle the memories for years to come.

As if that wasn't enough, while we were finishing off unpacking in the afternoon it became clear there was two Ivory Gulls! Titmother! So back we were again going for it down towards Beadnell where after initially distant views with the lazy crew we made the massively efforting (not!!!!) 5 min walk to enjoy some fairly close views of this, surely once in a lifetime (or more!) experience.

Well, the year that has seen me see (in one way or another) 2 Fea's Petrel, Bridled Tern, Collared Flycatcher and Yellow-breasted Bunting all within a few miles of each other. it is only fitting it ends on this. Simply mind blowing.



So here ends the northern odyssey. What will 2014 bring? Possibly some southern adventures...who knows. I am currently preparing a best of the Farnes blog so stay turned. Until then, keep it magnified.

Bonafied Stunner!

The west! Yankie doodle gulls dip feeding til my eyes fall out. The yank concerned was and presumably still is (lest all those Elvis burgers have caught up with it) a stonking adult winter Bonaparte's Gull that appeared on the opposing part of the mainland after a monster Atlantic depression swept through a few days ago. In this time it has titillated us with sightings everywhere in our vicintiy without any Bona-connection.

Today it all changed though! Hight tide saw feeding gulls gauging themselves on the frothing shores like desperate rabies infested hookers on crack dressed in mental Halloween outfits. A cursory scan of said gulls revealed nowt of interest, while a second scan revealed the unmistakeable shimmer of a cold-coloured small gull take dutifully opened its wings just long enough for those persil unders to be revealed allowing me to  loose all control from the shoulder down resulted in much fist pumping, caterwauling and groaning all before I'd even got that yank induced boner...

And what a stunner! The clean plumage tones offset by those pastel Salmon pink legs is just divine! But anyway I'll cut the Bake off crap. Wrinkly dicks.

The bird performed spectacularly allowing some greats views as it fed in the Bridled Tern's footsteps...r should that be wing beats?! Anyway plenty more to throw at your faces but this laptop is circuitrally retarded so the the the that's all folks! Til next time. Stick a Bona in it....