Staple Island - Billy Shiel's trip

Following the bird specific posts - here's a general one of our visit to Staple island - Inner Farne will follow! A glorious day as you can see.

The Farne Islands from the shore....

Seals on the way out to Staple island.

Fulmars, razorbills, gulls, kittiwakes, puffins, shag .........

Visitors enjoying the wildlife spectacle. 

Guillemots on the Farnes.

...More pics I'm afraid....

Bridled guillemots too ... 

Farne Island shags

These are such beautiful birds. The colours are iridescent and bright. They are such primeval creatures and the young positively reptilian.

Farne Island puffins

We had an absolutely gorgeous day out yesterday on the 'All day' - 6 hr boat trip with over 2 hours on Staple Island in the morning and Inner Farne in the afternoon. I took far too many photographs so the only way is to blog species by species - so here are the puffin highlights.....Puffins were in abundance - buzzing round everywhere!

Haystacks from Buttermere

A glorious day and a glorious walk. We went up from the farm at Gatesgarth and up Scarth Gap Pass to below the summit of haystacks for a quick sketch - see previous blog. Then up onto Haystacks and down to Innominate tarn...more photography as the bog bean was still in flower and as always the view stunning!...Hence another sketch - then across the top of Green Crag and back down to Buttermere. It has to be said - descents can be horrid, particularly when paths have been repaired, but this was a lovely gentle descent ...and several stunning views of of course!

The ascent....

Innominate tarn 

Bog bean 

The pleasant descent...

Haystacks round walk - field sketches.

What a cracking day and a gorgeous walk with lots of splendid views. These are two field sketches done en route, the first  a double page spread of Great Gable and round to the west and the second looking back down Buttermere from below the summit of Haystacks . Both done with watercolour.

Our tree sparrow family returns.

For those of you who regularly visit my blog you may recall we had a lot of tree sparrows visiting our bird feeders over the winter. Well this week they have returned to our garden with their young....the fledglings are flying - well bumbling would be more accurate, around the garden squeaking and squawking! So lovely to see - just like little pompoms, although Steve calls the hairy golfballs! Photography was challenging because I was behind the raspberries which kept on swaying violently in the wind, regularly obscuring the subject!