A fluke encounter

Whilst on holiday on the west coast of Scotland recently we pawned wedding rings and our first born to fund a whale watching trip out of Gairloch with the excellent Hebridean Wildlife Cruises. Within an hour we had made contact with a Minke Whale just beyond the mouth of the mighty sea loch.

The snout breaks the surface first in the Minke Whale's dive sequence

I didn't expect to be photographing Whale nostrils last week!

Then a long body roll...

...revealing the bulk of the animal and a sharply curved dorsal fin

A more distant view

A big beast, we could see the white sides as it came close to the boat

Minke Whale seen here with the mountains of Wester Ross in the background

The first sighting was distant, but the inquisitive Minke took everyone's breath away by surfacing just yards from the rib. A second individual was seen before we headed out across The Minch for a close look at the Shiant Islands.

A throng of Auks at the base of the cliffs on the Shiant Islands 

Over 60,000 pairs of Puffin breed on the Shiants...

...plus over 10,000 pairs of Razorbill...

...18,000 pairs of Guillemot (this one a Bridled Guillemot)...

...and 1,700 pairs of Shag

Razorbill in flight

Razorbill just getting airborne

I was fortunate enough to land here back in 1999, and although we could not leave the rib on this trip, it was great to return to find the huge colonies of Puffins and other auks apparently still doing well. The 'Enchanted islands', which are closer to Lewis than the mainland, hold approximately 10% of the UK's breeding Puffins and 7% of its Razorbills so they really are a vitally important location for seabirds.

A few pairs of Great Skua breed on the islands

A menacing presence for the other seabirds

Common Dolphin in The Minch

Grey Seals inspected our boat closely

A large Grey Seal on the Shiants

A large Kittiwake colony was also present

Small flocks of Manx Shearwater passed us in The Minch

Unfortunately the island also became home to over 3,000 non-native Black Rats which cause havoc with the ground-nesting birds. In recent years the RSPB, SNH and the Nicolson family, who own the islands, have been working together on an eradication programme. This appears to be bearing fruit as 2016 was a good breeding season for seabirds. While not too many Puffins were at their burrows during our visit, there were certainly thousands on the sea around the base of the cliffs.

The sole habitable dwelling on the Shiant Islands, once owned by Whisky Galore author Compton Mackenzie

Our vessel for the whale-watching trip

Basalt columns on the Shiants



Approaching the Shiant Islands with Lewis in the background

The mountains of Wester Ross from The Minch

Looking back to the mainland from The Minch

The view of Skye and the Old Mann of Storr from The Minch

My crewmates were happy but a bit saddle sore after 4 hours on the water

The long journey back was punctuated by the occasional passing Bonxie, small groups of Manx Shearwater and a small pod of Common Dolphin. A great experience in a memorable week for close encounters with mammals.

George is in there somewhere

Also at Bempton...

It's not just Gannets at Bempton Cliffs - there are also auks aplenty, gulls and the odd tubenose to look down on. In the nicest possible sense, of course.

Puffins are a favourite with the visitors

Small numbers breed near the clifftop among the commoner auks





Probably the best place in mainland England to see Puffin up close

Razorbill

Bridled Guillemot

Kittiwake

These birds nest on the tiniest of ledges

Kittiwake calling in flight

Fulmar

Flamborough Head from Bempton in morning light

The same view in late afternoon

100m chalk cliffs provide a dramatic location for the seabird colony

Staple Newk is the arch just catching the sun

Bempton Cliffs

 

Another Anthus

Well I almost jinxed myself, predicting that my luck would run out this weekend. And so it appeared after I managed to spend all but 20 minutes of a 4 hour stint on Portland at the Bill this morning, only to find that a flock of 10 Pom Skuas chose that slot to cruise past the famous obelisk. I was already heading home to take it out on the guinea pigs, having reached the outskirts of Weymouth, when a phone call from Steve Smith brought news of a Portland Bird Obs tweet reporting a Tawny Pipit back at the Bill. Good job too, as I was able to turn tail and tick it, just 5 minutes before it was lost to view. It took 15 minutes for the same news to be relayed by pager, so had I had to wait for that I would almost certainly have missed out on a new bird for my Dorset list.

So, my 4th rare pipit for 2015, following Blyth's, Richard's and Red-throated. Meadow, Rock and Tree are all in the bag, and with, in approximate order of likelihood, Water, Olive-backed, Buff-bellied and Pechora all possible, a 10 or even an 11 pipit species year could be on, if only in my dreams! During the earlier seawatch, Pom-gate notwithstanding, some decent sightings and terrible photos were assembled to keep the photo yearlist ticking over. Pictures below: be warned, they start off poor and get worse. But all identifiable!

Kittiwake - several small flocks passed the Bill this morning (#170)

Majestic Gannets maintained interest during the seawatch (#171)

A single Puffin drifted past Pulpit Rock then flew back past me (#172)

Great Northern Diver - one of two west past the Bill this morning (#173)

Bonxie - the first of two (#174)

Arctic Skua - one of two dark phase birds seen (#175)

Small flocks of Manx Shearwater were on the move (#176)

The Tawny Pipit was distant in a heat haze but scope views were good (#177)

A large, pale pipit with plain upperparts and unmarked underparts