Farnes (part two)

Grey Seals adorned the rocky outcrops!

Puffins welcomed you in.

Marauding Gulls waiting for a free meal!

Puffin nearto its burrow amongst vegitation.

Beaks laden with Sandeels.

Puffin at rest

Having departed Seahouses harbour, we made the short journey across to the nearest of the islands, Staple island.Puffins Guillemots and Grey seals were immediately encountered on our approach.The seals adorned the little clusters of rocks which were dotted around the main island.The skipper of the boat gave us all plenty of time to phtograph the seals on our way in.

One of the things that struck me the most as we docked,was the tremendous, nearly overpowering smell coming from the rocks, it was of course the droppings from the thousands of sea birds that festooned the cliff faces.

The sight of all these birds at such close quarters was amazing and I couldn`t wait to get amongst them with the camera,no big lenses needed here I`m afraid,and I was happy to click away with the 75-300mm zoom to my hearts content.

Where the Puffins colonised the bankings, numerous gulls awaited their return in anticipation of a free meal.The Puffins with beakfulls of sandeels, knew the script and would fly in at some speed to avoid the powefull beaks of the Herring gulls.it was comical to watch the little Puffin crash land then sprint to their nest burrows.I enjoyed wandering around the various birds trying to get flight shots and real close ups of Shags with their beautiful green eyes,sat contentidly on their nests.It was as if you were on one of those nature programmes with David Attenborough alongside you.The birds were totally oblivious to your prescence!We left Staple island after a stay of some 2+ hours and headed then for the next island, Inner Farne,of which I`ll tell you about in my next blog.