Finally, a Puffin shot!

[weepete]

Got out on Wednesday to the Isle of May to do some puffin photography, a trip that I'd been meaning to take for several years. Despite it being near the end of the season, one that had been out fishing landed about 10 feet from us and posed for a good half hour. This, I think was the best shot:

 

[denum107]

Wonderful shot.

 

[davholla7]

Well done - is there nowhere on the west coast of Scotland closer to you where you can see them?

 

[weepete]

Wonderful shot.

Thanks denum! I was pretty stoked when that little bit of backlight shone through.

Well done - is there nowhere on the west coast of Scotland closer to you where you can see them?

Thanks! There are a couple of hundred at Ailsa Craig, but the Isle of May has around 46,000, so a much better place to see them. They don't tend to come inland, though there are some on the West Coast islands. I was on Canna a few weeks ago, and there was a few thousand there on top of a sea stack, but the weather was terrible.

Getting to places they may be on the West coast is more of a challenge too, as it's quite rural, and our road network in those places is lots of windy, twisty, narrow, roads with indirect routes. The Isle of May is one of the easier places to see them in good numbers from the central belt.

 

[davholla7]

That makes sense - I really want to go to Orkney one year not just for these but for the other birds you don't often see in mainland Britain like Skuas, divers etc. The problem is Orkney is a longish journey from England - it's might be easier to go from Glasgow to London than Orkney

 

[davholla7]

On the subject of Scottish islands this is interesting

Night Rafting on Arran - 10th May 2026

As is our custom each Spring, we spent two weeks on our favourite Isle of Arran in our favourite house that lies right on a rocky seashore t...

blackaudibirding.blogspot.com

 

[weepete]

That makes sense - I really want to go to Orkney one year not just for these but for the other birds you don't often see in mainland Britain like Skuas, divers etc. The problem is Orkney is a longish journey from England - it's might be easier to go from Glasgow to London than Orkney

Yeah, I like the islands, so we are just back from Eigg, and Canna. I took Mrs weepete to Orkney last year, it's a great place as there's loads of public hides all over you can access. There were loads of Skuas when we were there, plus some great opportunities to photograph terns. It was after that trip I upgraded my old lens! Also saw a short eared owl, and a marsh harrier, along with a red throated diver which was awesome. For puffins, I think the Isle of May has been the best place I've been, as you can get really close. Sumburgh in Shetland is also good I'm told, but it's a fair trek and last time I was up there it was out of season.

 

[davholla7]

Yeah, I like the islands, so we are just back from Eigg, and Canna. I took Mrs weepete to Orkney last year, it's a great place as there's loads of public hides all over you can access. There were loads of Skuas when we were there, plus some great opportunities to photograph terns. It was after that trip I upgraded my old lens! Also saw a short eared owl, and a marsh harrier, along with a red throated diver which was awesome. For puffins, I think the Isle of May has been the best place I've been, as you can get really close. Sumburgh in Shetland is also good I'm told, but it's a fair trek and last time I was up there it was out of season.

I wonder how the Isle of May compares to the Farne Isles - the problem with the Farne Isles is that the boat trip is not nice and seahouses is really cold - not sure how it compares to the Scottish coast but it seemed colder than even nearby areas.

 

[weepete]

I wonder how the Isle of May compares to the Farne Isles - the problem with the Farne Isles is that the boat trip is not nice and seahouses is really cold - not sure how it compares to the Scottish coast but it seemed colder than even nearby areas.

Probably fairly similar. It is the Scottish coast, so it's pretty wild, even in good weather. I do quite a bit of some pretty hardcore sea angling though, so I'm pretty hardy, and often out in conditions other people would be miserable in!

 

[jeffashman4]

That is a brilliant capture!

 

[davholla7]

Probably fairly similar. It is the Scottish coast, so it's pretty wild, even in good weather. I do quite a bit of some pretty hardcore sea angling though, so I'm pretty hardy, and often out in conditions other people would be miserable in!

I have to say that I went to Isle of May once in April and Seahouses late May - and Seahouses was colder. (Of course there is a lot of seasonal variation - I didn't wear gloves once when I was in Dundee, St Andrews in April - in Seahouses in May I did! Normally I only wear gloves in the UK Nov-Mar (unless I'm cycling).

 

[weepete]

That is a brilliant capture!

Thanks! It was the type of shot I was hoping for, puffin close up with some sandeels in it's beak. The pose with the wings out was a real bonus!

 

[weepete]

I have to say that I went to Isle of May once in April and Seahouses late May - and Seahouses was colder. (Of course there is a lot of seasonal variation - I didn't wear gloves once when I was in Dundee, St Andrews in April - in Seahouses in May I did! Normally I only wear gloves in the UK Nov-Mar (unless I'm cycling).

Fair play, on Wednesday it was 27°C and very hot. So it might just depend on the weather. But the Isle of May is still pretty exposed, not many hills to break the wind up, so I'd imagine it could be pretty bleak.

 

[jeffashman4]

Wednesday it was 27°C and very hot

Texan here looking askance... 39C here today, quite lovely...

 

[weepete]

Texan here looking askance... 39C here today, quite lovely...

We have a term in Scotland for hot weather, known as "taps aff" (or in English: tops off). Referring to the act of removing one's shirt in the event of warm weather. The general consensus is anything above 15°C and sunny warrants the removal of clothing.

Bear in mind that the climate in Caledonia is roughly a baw hair away (yes, that's an official measurement in Scotland) from being submerged in the ocean.

I was in Kirkwall last year, and it hit 26°C there, and I was talking to a local at the bar. "I've lived here since 1987" he told me, "that's the first time I've seen it this hot".