Farne Islands~July 2018~Part 3~ The Others

Posted in Adventures, birds, Fuji, FujiX-T2, landscape, nature, people, people, photography, wildlifeTagged , , , , , , , , ,

Part 1 HERE. Part 2 HERE

As well as Puffins, various other sea birds breed and nest on the Farne Islands. Here are a few of them.

Kittiwakes are one of the most abundant birds around the Farne Islands. They make a nest of mud and straw which often has to be rebuilt as they are easily washed from the rocks by either torrential rain or heavy seas.

Living on the edge

 

finding a moment of solitude

The Arctic tern is famous for its migration; it flies from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back again each year, the shortest distance between these areas being 19,000 km (12,000 mi). The long journey ensures that this bird sees two summers per year and more daylight than any other creature on the planet. One example of this bird’s remarkable long-distance flying abilities involves an Arctic tern ringed as an unfledged chick on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK, in the northern summer of 1982, which reached Melbourne, Australia in October 1982, just three months from fledging — a journey of over 22,000 km (14,000 mi).

They also have very sharp beaks, and dive bomb people arriving on the Islands to keep them from their chicks and eggs, which they stupidly lay right next to the path we all have to walk up!

bogie at 1 o’clock!

The shag bears a close resemblance to the cormorant~ so much so that it often causes it to be mis-identified as the latter. When seen alongside each other, the differences can be more readily seen. The shag is a dark bottle green colour and is approximately three quarters the size of the cormorant. During the early part of the breeding season, the shag has a crest on the top of its head which drops back down when it has mated.

yep, my crest is definitely down!

 

Guillemots, like the puffins and the very similar looking relation the razorbill are members of the auk family of seabirds. They don’t build a nest, instead they lay a pear-shaped egg on the bare surface of the rock, which, if kicked or bumped will spin in a circle and not be knocked off. A few weeks after the guillemot chick hatches it will jump from the rock, still unable to fly, into the water where it will feed for the first time, being taught by its parents. Many of the guillemot chicks do not survive this transition and in late June of 2004, thousands of chicks died due to poor weather conditions. Approximately 3% of the guillemot population at the Islands are “bridled”, these birds have a white ring around each eye with a white streak leading to the back of their heads, which almost makes them look as if they are wearing spectacles.

Perfect eyesight here thanks.

The razorbill is very similar in shape and size to the Guillemot, the main visible differences being that the razorbill is a much more blackish colour compared to the dark brown of the guillemot. It also has a much squarer shaped bill with a white diagonal streak on the end and a white line leading back to the eyes.

No I’m not a ruddy Guillemot see? White lines!

Lots of different types of gulls too, Lesser Black Backed (try saying that after a sherbert or two!) Great Black-Backed, Herring, Black Headed, but I didn’t catch all of them

yes I’m a Black Backed, not sure if Greater or Lesser though, but I think I’m great!

 

Black Headed Gull. (I know, I know, it’s got a brown head, whoever named them was a knob with poor eyesight).

And of course, the Island is also populated with photographers at this time of year

Camouflage guy, so the birds can’t see him I guess 🙂

 

Mrs Orange taking a picture of….

 

Mr.Orange

 

Mr. Serious Ornithologist.

So that’s the end of our day out on the Farne Islands.  Stay tooned for next time when we are going back in time, to several wars!

All pictures embiggenable and full album HERE

25 thoughts on “Farne Islands~July 2018~Part 3~ The Others”

  7. Holy schmagolies! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a camera lens that big…
    Fraggle this is a wonderful post. I enjoyed learning about all the birds, especially the unexpectedly lovely Shag, of which I had never heard. Looking forward to next time. Hugs on the wing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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