It was rather inevitable that I would include a trip to North Berwick in what was my first ever stay in the beautiful Scottish Borders. I had already booked a boat trip out to the gannet colony at Bass Rock - happily, it still went ahead despite the strong wind. The afternoon trip had actually been cancelled.
North Berwick is a pretty seaside town, with (to say the least!) rather more than its fair share of seabirds! The first bird I snapped, though, wasn't a seabird at all:
'Is there anything to eat in this gutter?'
The local herring gulls were doing their usual flying display in the windy conditions.
Getting around fine despite missing a leg.
'What do you mean, you can't all swim? Call yourselves advanced?'
On the way out to the Bass Rock we stopped at Craigleith. There were a good number of guillemots about!
There were plenty of kittiwakes as well.
This great black-backed gull adopts its 'World's Largest Gull' stance.
A lovely pair of puffins.
As we got closer to the Bass Rock it was impossible to look anywhere without seeing gannets.
We say it with flowers - gannets use seaweed!
To say the least, I was in heaven!
A 2 metre wingspan is not to be sniffed at.
Even the herring gulls - respectably sized birds in their own right - were dwarfed by the gannets.
Love in a crowded place!
A few more
A slightly more exclusive neighbourhood.
The miracle of engineering which is the Bass Rock Lighthouse.
One last gannet as we head back towards land.
The herring gulls happily took over as we came back into the harbour.
Sounds like a local to be proud of.
I don't envy whoever gets the job of counting that lot.
This lesser black-backed gull was clearly very much at home on the beach.
I couldn't resist snapping these windows as they were so beautifully decorated!
I hope you all enjoy these as much as I enjoyed taking them!
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Great thread Clare, I'm glad you put a photo up of the rock-I knew it was heavily populated,but your photo really shows just how many birds there are,what an amazing sight it must be!Lovely photos of the Gannets against the blue sky -thanks for sharing your trip,I really enjoyed
Jayne
See my Flickr photos here.
You certainly had a lovely day out Claire, lots of birds and others things to see, thanks for sharing.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Great selection of shots Clare, looks like you had a wonderful time, thanks for the photo trip.
cheers Terry
my photo's here
That was some crowded rock!! Enjoyed 'sailing' with you.
Looks like you had a great day and an excellent set.
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Nige Flickr