We stayed at the delightful Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh, so had time for a decent breakfast before checking in at 9.00am with Billy Shiels at Seahouses, just five miles south.
We were so lucky with the weather: the sea was flat calm with little or no wind, a bright sky with translucent cloud and no rain until we were leaving at 3.30pm. The boat trip visited three or four islands and reefs, stopping at two - Staple Island and Inner Farne - for extended shore-time.
Staple Island is covered with Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and Shags: for a photographer, it's what is known in military circles as a 'target-rich environment'. I filled a 32gb SD card, and I record my images as jpegs! The main reason I took so many shots was because I wanted to try and capture a Puffin with a full load of Sand Eels: when the birds are flying straight at you, you have a zero deflection shot, but the distance changes too rapidly for autofocus to keep up! If they fly past you, you have to 'lead' like a clay pigeon shooter! Still: I managed a few half-decent images, which I'll post tomorrow. Guillemots (including quite a few of the bridled form) were everywhere, as were the less numerous Razorbills. Shags outnumbered Cormorants considerably, but presented the challenge of photographing a nearly black bird against a nearly white background! Just a few Fulmars were loafing around on the sea, while Kittiwakes and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were both very numerous.
Inner Farne has a toilet and gift shop, and thousands of Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns. Nesting amongst them are even more Puffins! You really do need a hat: neither Brian nor I were pooped on, but both of us attracted the odd aerial attack!
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