Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “seagulls”

The Seagulls of Brixham


Sounds like a new rock band. And do not get them mixed up with Eagulls who frankly were the worst band I have ever heard at the recent Teenage Cancer Trust, with the saving grace being their performance was free. Avoid. and to give context these comments come from someone who not only liked Sex Pistols but played their records as DJ.

Anyway the point of this post is to demonstrate the great photographic potential of these perennial and greedy birds, who have real character and look at you in the eye!

IMG_7515 IMG_7517 IMG_7517f IMG_7519 IMG_75192 Juvenile Gull

A National Trust Advert for the Farne Islands. Do you like it?


A little bit of artistic license here. This was a photo I took and played with a little. But do you not think the National Trust should use this photo for promotional purposes? They are welcome to have it for free!

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Farne Islands 2013. Seagulls are the criminal fraternity.


The Farne Islands have been a regular destination over the last 10 years and each year we get some special and very often different photos. This year was no exception. Billy Shiels ( or to be precise William Shiels MBE), runs some special trips most days. The one to go for though is the all day photography trip. The only downside is the depression created by seeing how seemingly everyone has bigger lenses and better camera equipment. The upside is that they all struggle to carry it on the boat and off!

I have not yet sorted all my photographs but here are a few to keep you going. A few warnings attached. Arctic Terns. Beautiful looking birds but beware when they are protecting their young. Folks are warned to wear a hat and this year they were the angriest they have ever been. My head/hat got pecked more than 100 times in a 3 hour visit. The little chicks are like balls of fur and one needs to watch out for them on the walkways around the island. 

There are plenty of special photo opportunities as the arctic terns collect sand eels in the same way the puffins do. The seagulls just steal them, they are the criminal fraternity of the Farne Islands.  Lots more photo updates coming but enjoy these to start with!ImageImageImageImageImageImage

What kills Cormorants?


A question really. Whilst walking on Lindisfarne Island, or Holy Island, we saw a dead cormorant on the beach. There were no clearly visible injuries. So, why did it die? Any ideas? Apparently the lives of Cormorants can often be 20 years or me. Any thoughts? This is the terrain where we found the birdImageImagewhy did

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