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Rolling; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 29/06/16
Wednesday was the first of this years NEWT North Sea Pelagic trips and the weather forecast looked good… Allan had been out with a party of anglers all day, and the sea was still pretty calm when he sailed back to Royal Quays before the start of our trip. I’d been seawatching during the morning,…
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“I’m really scared of birds”; Farne Islands Safari 30/06/16
In late June, a big part of the Farne Islands experience is the aerial bombardment you’re subjected to as Arctic Terns defend their eggs and chicks… I collected John from Bedlington, Colin and Martin from Morpeth and then Sue from Old Swarland (for her 4th trip with NEWT). A breezy but warm morning brought Curlew,…
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Dolphins; Farne Islands Bespoke Photography 07/06/16
Tuesday was a trip I’d been looking forward to for a long time, a bespoke photography trip to the Farne Islands, for the parents of one of our Seal Safari clients from back in 2009. I arrived in Seahouse to collect Jill, Pete, Liz and Bernie and we had a couple of hours on the…
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When the north wind blows; Lindisfarne Safari 02/06/16
Thursday was a Lindisfarne Safari where we had the option of either staying on the island over the high tide period, or concentrating on the mainland sites in the Lindisfarne NNR… I collected Stephen and Kate from The Swan, and we headed up the A1 to collect Gordon and Mandy for their 4th day out…
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The hunter, hunted; Lindisfarne Safari 19/02/2016
Our second successive day on and around Lindisfarne was accompanied by an incredibly stiff breeze, which contributed to a fascinating encounter… I collected Andy, Jill and Catherine from The Swan and we collected Alison en route to the north of the county. Waiting for the tide to clear from the causeway, we spent the first…
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Out of the gloom; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 13/07/2015
Our fourth North Sea Pelagic for 2015 had a reasonable weather forecast – overcast, but should have been otherwise ok… Quite good visibility meant we were soon watching Manx Shearwater, Kittiwake, Gannet, Fulmar, Guillemot, Puffin and Razorbill…then the rain started. Sailing through what appeared to be low, and very wet, cloud we came out of…
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Tailwind/Headwind; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 10/07/2015
Heading north on the third of our 4hr evening North Sea Pelagics, the rate at which Gannets, Fulmars and Manx Shearwaters were passing by suggested that the wind was going to make the journey back south a slightly different proposition 😉 Puffin, Guillemot and Razorbill were sitting on the sea, but not in the numbers…
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Bait ball; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 03/07/2015
Our second North Sea Pelagic of 2015 was accompanied by the usual cast of Fulmar, Kittiwake,Gannet, Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin, and we sailed north a few miles from the shore. Passing Newbiggin, Bruce spotted a whale heading north, and I managed a brief sighting of it although it was travelling north rapidly and lost in…
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Calm; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 29/06/2013
Our 2015 North Sea Pelagic season got underway at the end of June, with Kittiwakes, Fulmars and Gannets galore, Guillemots, Razorbills and plenty of Puffins on the sea and a dense flock of Common Scoter towards the end of the evening. Despite sightings of Bottlenose Dolphin, White-beaked Dolphin and Minke Whale in the days leading…
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Birds in Flight; Bespoke Photography 19/06/15
Our Bespoke Photography ‘Birds in Flight’ workshop was a day out for Max and Nigel – Max’s prize for winning the ‘Young Person’s’ category at last years North East Wildlife Photography Awards. We met up at Newbiggin and drove up the coast to Seahouses. Before sailing across to the islands, we had a session covering…