The Gannets of Bempton Cliffs

Adult Gannet in Flight

We’re both big fans of Gannets and have photographed them on several occasions. On our three past trips to Shetland, we’ve made the hike from the car park up to Hermaness on Unst five times. The colony there is hugely impressive and well worth the effort of getting up there. The smell that hits you as you reach the cliff edge is something else too, not to mention the likelihood that the weather can turn against you in an instant. From the sea, we’ve also done the colony on Noss and witnessed the feeding frenzy offshore too.

Each time we return from Shetland we voice the opinion that we’ve ‘done’ Shetland and won’t be going back and so we have to look elsewhere for our Gannet fix. However, a further return is in the offing for 2021.

The obvious alternative location was Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire and in 2015 we paid our first visit. We spent a full two days there in mid-June and as well as the Gannets, there were Razorbills, a few Puffins and various passerines. We enjoyed the trip immensely and returned a year later in mid-July.

It seems we took our eyes off the ball, so by this year we were overdue another Gannet fix and planned a Bempton return. Mid-July was chosen again, knowing that there would be not much other than Gannets, but that was our preferred subject anyway.

During the Finland trip we had mentioned the idea to one of our fellow guests and he decided he wanted to meet up with us there on the Saturday morning at 10am. When we got there it was very misty and not really good for photography, but within an hour it had changed and the sunshine appeared. Naturally, that made things a bit difficult for shooting white birds against a dark background, so we were pleased when some cloud cover moved in. Apart from the Gannets, there was a Peregrine about, which eventually we found perched on the cliff. I tried a few shots but even at 600mm it was too far and nothing but a record shot, if that.

After some lunch we moved along to the other end of the reserve and got some excellent courting shots of the head shaking routine and the beaks touching. I was concentrating more on the sub-adults and trying to work out their ages from a diagram provided by the RSPB. It takes 5 years for a Gannet to reach full adult plumage. By the time we’d had enough, the visitor centre had closed and we headed back into Bridlington and fish and chips from the well-known 149 fish and chip shop.

Sunday was planned to be a repeat performance, but the weather was altogether better, being bright, but generally overcast. It was a repeat performance, although this time we were alone and actually split up for a while to pursue our separate targets. There were barely any Puffins to be seen and my folder for the day contained nothing other than Gannets, albeit there were nearly 400 of them. As with the day before, the visitor centre was closed by the time we left, but we gave the 149 a miss this time, the queues were just too long.

That was our 2 days over, but there is one thing that troubles me about RSPB Bempton Cliffs and has done since our 2016 visit. I have no axe to grind as we get free entry anyway, but anyone who pays is charged £5 to get in. My point is, like RSPB Minsmere, the reserve can be accessed for nothing from public footpaths well away from the visitor centre. At Bempton, if you arrive before the 9am opening time, again you can access the reserve for nothing, leaving your car in the free car park.

On this visit there was even more of an issue. The broadband link to the site was down, meaning that the card payment machines wouldn’t work. That being the case, only cash could be accepted, which was fair enough. But what we witnessed was customers saying they didn’t have any cash being allowed in without paying, which is hardly fair.

It doesn’t stop there though. The layout of the visitor centre is exceptionally poor and in consequence it is very easy to browse in the shop or use the café and then amble into the reserve without challenge or any need for payment to be made. Our membership of the RSPB ceased a few years ago due to their complete disregard for the needs of photographers and I feel that the management of the charity are still missing a trick or two.

Return to Mull (Part 2)

Dawn Over Craignure, Mull

We naturally had a late finish to the Lunga trip, so next morning we were able to have a later start than normal, prior to going out on the White-tailed Eagles trip. This is the fourth time we have done the trip, having done the public boat on the first occasion and private charters subsequently. While we enjoyed the public boat trip, once we’d done a private charter there was no going back. The freedom afforded by a smaller number on the photographers’ charter is a big help in getting the shot you’re after.

Once back on dry land we adjourned back to the house for lunch and an afternoon of Lightroom tutorials while the light was at its harshest. This isn’t how we like to operate and was a source of some frustration, but given we were promised early starts and late finishes ahead, we took it as a time for rest and relaxation.

After an early dinner we ventured out and headed down to Grasspoint to see what the Red Deer were doing. We spent a fruitful quarter of an hour with a group in the long grass and then decided to move on.

The plan was to head for Croggan, to check on the Common Gulls and see what waders were around. Finally, we were hoping to get lucky and spot an Otter in Loch Spelve before we headed back to base. We did find the Gulls, but there were less about than last year and actually no waders at all. We did get to see an Otter having supper in the kelp, but the light was fading fast, so not the best photo opportunity we could have hoped for. Already we were halfway through the trip.

Next morning we had a 4am alarm call and were on the road at 5am for another look at the Red Deer down towards Grasspoint. We spent almost an hour there this time and got some really beautiful shots of a stag in velvet as the sun was rising. The light on him was to die for and got the day off to a great start.

We then moved on over to Loch Na Keal looking for jellyfish of all things, the result of a conversation the previous day on the Eagle boat. Apparently weather and tide conditions had combined to make a perfect situation for the jellyfish and there were literally thousands lining part of the southern shore of the loch. It was an amazing sight and one that was to be repeated before we left.

Being Loch Na Keal, we kept an eye out for Otters and did have one quick sighting of a female moving her kit to a new location. Always low in the water and never out on the kelp, so no useful pictures. Staying in the area we got some shots of a Snipe and a Common Sandpiper, then finished up with another look at the Jellyfish before heading back for breakfast. That was it until after dinner, the harsh light being to blame again.

To begin with, the evening drive was a repeat of the previous evening taking in Grasspoint and Croggan. Much the same species on show as you would expect, although this time the Otter sighting was replaced with a distant Meadow Pipit. We decided that in the absence of Otter activity we’d relocate to Lochbuie and were rewarded with some fine Fallow Deer shots. On the way back, we took another look at Loch Spelve for Otters, again to no avail, but with some excellent sunset behind the mountains views.

Our final day started with another 4am alarm call and the chance to grab the image I’ve used in this post. The plan was to head down to Pennyghael for the waders and hopefully Otters in Loch Beg. The first part of the plan yielded Snipe, Curlew and Oystercatcher and gave me a landscape shot across Loch Beg, but we weren’t expecting what happened next.

Taking the road that leads around to Loch Na Keal, we spotted an Otter fishing and moving back the way we had just come. We got out of the car and started walking back down the road keeping it in sight, hoping it would come ashore. Quite soon it did and we got ourselves into the rocks and grassy banks between the loch and the road. Rose and I were about 20m apart and suddenly I saw the Otter heading straight towards her, at speed. From her position the Otter couldn’t see her, nor could she see it. They both had a bit of a shock when they finally saw each other and of course the Otter did an about turn and sped off back into the water.

Keeping low on the rocks and only moving when it was underwater, we continued to follow it and were really lucky that it came ashore again and very close. Plenty of frames were exposed over the next few minutes as it happily preened itself in amongst the kelp. A great sighting and one for the memory bank.

That was it for the morning and time to head back for breakfast. Over the meal we discussed with the other gentleman on the workshop how his morning had gone and the subject of the Jellyfish came up again. Apparently there were huge numbers again in Loch Na Keal right up to the shoreline, so we all decided to go there after lunch with the polarising filters and really go for them. You can imagine the disappointment when we got there and found there were very few to be seen. The weather hadn’t changed so we concluded the tide must have been the cause, but no pictures were taken. We did see an Otter fishing offshore, but it was too distant so we adjourned for dinner.

The evening drive was another repeat of the previous evenings, but less productive this time.

That was it, workshop over and somewhat disappointing, save for the day on Lunga and the Sea Eagles trip. We felt there were less people about on the island this year and the lack of wildlife we experienced last year was about the same. As for the workshop itself, the major frustration was the amount of downtime during the day. Discussing it since we returned, two decisions have been taken: we’ll not be returning to Mull for a fourth time and we’ll be cutting out such workshops in future.

Return to Mull

White-tailed Eagle - Loch Na Keal

In my final blog from our Mull trip last year, I mentioned we had booked a repeat visit for this year on an organised workshop. There were a number of reasons for this, the main one being I wasn’t in the best of health last time and it adversely affected my abilities. No surprise then that I was looking forward to this trip immensely.

On our return from Finland, we stayed in a hotel near Heathrow and next morning set off for Scotland to avoid the Friday delays on the M6. We planned to leave ourselves with a leisurely journey to the Oban ferry on Friday morning and time to stock up on some provisions before the 2pm sailing time. It didn’t work out that way though.

Arriving in Dalmally, with 25 miles left to Oban, there was a road closure and our only option was to divert via Inverary and Lochgilphead, a distance of 78 very twisty miles. We caught the ferry, but it was a close run thing and there was no time to get any goodies either.

Reaching the island, we made our way to our B & B for the next two nights and got settled in, before finding somewhere for an evening meal. At last we could relax.

On Saturday we had booked a day with one of the local wildlife tours on the recommendation of one of my cycling friends. It really wasn’t very good, some distant sightings of Golden Eagles and White-tailed Eagles, but nothing worth picking up the camera for. I also found the guide very condescending and it didn’t make for a good day. The only thing that came close to rescuing the day was a late sighting of two Otters that actually allowed us to get very close, but the day is not one to be repeated.

Our workshop was due to start at 5pm on Sunday, so once we checked out of the B & B we had quite a few hours to amuse ourselves. We had a couple of Otter sightings, but they stayed offshore and I amused myself with doing some landscapes. Then we set off to drive up to Tobermory and around the North of the island and back down the West side to Gruline, stopping to soak up the sunshine as we went.

Last year, apart from one day, we had glorious weather, so good in fact I remarked in my blog at the time how challenging the Puffins were to photograph in such bright light. This year it was equally as bright and there was no bad day at all weather-wise.

Our accommodation for the workshop was in a rather beautiful rented house just South of Craignure and we arrived a little early to a warm welcome from our workshop hosts. As we were unloading another guest arrived and that turned out to be the total attendance for the week. There was meant to be another guest and that evening a rather bizarre set of circumstances played out and he never turned up.

This year, the first day was taken up with the trip to Lunga, again via Staffa. However, as we were on an annually established workshop, Turus Mara were happy to take us out on the public boat and then pick us up at around 8:30pm in a fast rib. This turned out to be a stunning day and probably even better than our first trip to Lunga in 2015. In fact probably the highlight of the week.

For a non-sailor like me, conditions were perfect and I didn’t even need to take any Cinnarizine. Landing on Lunga was much easier as the tide was high, meaning less scrambling across wet rocks. The Puffins duly obliged and we had a mix of overcast skies and full sun. Plenty of time to seek out the Shags along with the Guillemot and Razorbill colonies too.

Time raced by and 8:30pm soon came around, but the amazing day wasn’t over quite yet. By now the sea was absolutely flat calm and mirror-like and meant we could make good speed, a thrill in itself. But then we came upon a pod of Dolphins and they proceeded to swim alongside to boat, breeching as they went. It was an unforgettable experience and one that I decided to just stand and take in, rather than see it unfold through a viewfinder. All too soon it was over and we got the rib back up to speed, only for another situation to unfold as we came across a becalmed yacht.

Our crew had a quick discussion and circled around to come alongside the yacht to check all was well. It wasn’t, the engine had failed and there was no wind to fill the sails, so it was just drifting. A line was attached and we then towed the yacht to a safe anchorage for overnight in the hope that next morning, there would be enough wind to continue their journey under sail. It was almost dark when we reached the jetty back on Mull, with high hopes that this was just the start of a great week.