St Aidens Dunes and Bamburgh Castle

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Storm Waves - Seahouses

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Getting carried away,,,

So there I was standing on a cliff top wondering how wonderful it was to see Fulmar's had return to their nesting site - they hadn't been there earlier in the week. The are was empty of people and I was trying hard to capture the birds flying. Bliss.

Then I started to notice that the Fulmars were starting to fly very close to me. Great - even more opportunity to get that great photograph. This went on for about 10 minutes - I was marvelling at the flying ability of the Fulmar, its control of the air currents to get it really close to the cliff edge near to where I was standing. Then I suddenly realised why they were flying so close to me - it was me. I had got too close and they didn't like it and they were showing me their displeasure. Fortunately the penny dropped and I made a hasty retreat before they resorted to their fall back defence - which is very unpleasant indeed.

This just proves how easy it is to get carried away with what you are doing and forget that you an interloper into another creature's life. You should always remember this and not disturb the creatures you are observing. It is fine line to tread and this time I overstepped it. As I write this I feel somewhat embarrassed and chastened. Just to give you an idea as to how close the bird got the minimum focus of the lens I was using was 2.5 metres and as the photo below shows they were getting much closer than that.

What travels a third of a mile an hour?

Sand Dunes - Lindisfarne,

Some days it feels like me but the answer, according to the national treasure and iPad fanboy Stephen Fry, is spring*. I believe this having driven back from the frozen north of England to the relatively balmy East Midlands. One sign that spring is here is the dawn chorus of birds. In Seahouses there was none but back home the birds are on fine form - a joy to wake up to - especially after the long journey.

So I am back home, refreshed and raring to go and what a lot the spring has to offer. Exhibitions to visit, competition to enter and disappointments to get over, historical facts to unearth and who knows what else? So lets start with a disappointment. My book. I have no idea why but the production was a total disaster. Not only was the dust sleeve not produced but also the reproduction of the photographs was appalling. Over the next week or so I am going to work out what went wrong and I am sure I did some things wrong but I am also sure I did a lot of things right. I will not pontificate any further until I have undertaken a full post mortem.

Enough bad news. On a more positive note I got round to producing a couple of photographs last night from the visit to Northumbria and the results are most encouraging - perhaps I might be able to produce a photograph of Lindisfarne which is not a cliché after all - lets hope so.

*I always get my vast amount of useless information from QI - a veritable vat of such things.

Calmer Day....

After the crazy horses of yesterday a welcome change of pace. The sea has calmed down and we are able to get our breath a little. We normally come to Seahouses in the summer time when the wildlife is abundant and interested in rearing the next generation. Now they only have survival on their mind. The climate is very strange around here. You only have the travel a few miles in any direction and you are back into the remnants of a snow storm that hit the area on Friday. However at Seahouses there is no trace of the snow and the air is very dry - I am sure that the sea has a lot to do with this.

Today I spent some more time with the eiders. I would have loved to have spent longer but I kept sinking into the sand and ended up saturated - not a good idea in the cold. Still I manged to capture some lovely portraits of these endearing seaducks. However, tomorrow it is Holy Island and the westher is starting to look more menacing - lets see what tomorrow brings.

Eider...

The common Eider is beyond doubt my favourite sea bird. Whilst the Puffin is probably more colourful the Eider is just lovable. I know this is not the sort of language to use about animals as it projects human values onto another creature but I don't care. It is no wonder that St Cuthbert protected these animals. In the summer the Northumbria sea is a lice with the quizzical of the - which can just be heard on the YouTube video below. So why mention then now? Well I hope to capture some interesting photographs of eider next week. I am going to Seahouses which is about as good as it gets when it comes to seeing Eider and so lets hope I am lucky.

Playing Catch Up...

Seahouses

One of the advantages of not feeling up to much is that it does give you time to catch up with work you have been putting off and off. Well I have been wading through my back catalogue to see what I might have missed/not got round to working on. The three photographs are the product of this work.

Seahouses

Whitethroat - Narborough

Going through the back catalogue

Meadow Pipit

I have just been going through my back catalogue for photographs I hadn't processed.   This is something I had been threatening, and should have done a long time ago.  I suppose better late than never.   It is amazing what a new project can spur you on to do.

Kittiwake and Chick

All the photographs were taken last year in and around Seahouses and the Farne Island.  A wonderful place to go for birds and other wild life.  Can't wait to go back again this year.

Ringed Plover

Kittiwake

Meadow Pipit

Guillemots and Shags