Puffins Galore!

I used to write a blog called PetersPenguinPost about life in the Falkland Islands, but now I'm back in the northern hemisphere, it seems more appropriate to start afresh.

When my wife and I returned to the UK, in May,  we initially spent some time in the west of Scotland, where I was born.  I was raised on the mainland, in the county of Ayrshire, and although I could see islands every day when I was growing up, I am not from the islands.  Maybe that's why I love to visit them - to see and enjoy a special way of life.

The Ealing comedy, "Whisky Galore!" was set in the Scottish Hebrides and told the (true) tale of a cargo  ship full of whisky being shipwrecked on a remote island. As we sailed around the unique island of Staffa and the uninhabited Treshnish Islands in beautiful summer weather, we came close to many dangerous rocks, but luckily it was seabirds that grabbed our attention and not tales of shipwrecks.

The basalt columns of Staffa, and our first glimpse of Fingal's Cave

We boarded the boat at a sheltered jetty called Ulva Ferry on the island of Mull.  More about Ulva in a later blog post, but it was a historic day as the owner of the island was moving out after the local community, funded by the Scottish government, had raised £4.5 million to buy the island. The 6 inhabitants were looking forward to a new way of life....

The ferry at Ulva Ferry

Our transport awaits. Ulva across the water.

Soon, the boat, operated by the professional https://www.turusmara.com Turus Mara tours, was packed with day-trippers and we motored smoothly through the flat calm sea for about an hour to our first destination - the amazing Staffa.

The entrance is a bit dangerous for boats, and the walkway has collapsed!

Created from the eruption of molten rock, which rapidly cooled, the island rears sheer from the waves.  A small inlet allows boats to nudge close in to the rocks and drop off visitors, who can then wander round for an hour or so.

Basalt islet, with Mull in the distance

The hexagonal basalt rocks are an absorbing sight.  The "top" of the island is grass and wild flowers, and it has sometimes been used to graze sheep.  Nowadays, it is home to puffins, oystercatchers and skuas.  A special place to picnic.

Not the Giant's Causeway. Much, much bigger!

Our boat keeps a safe distance from the rocks.

The "path" to Fingals Cave. It gets narrower, then stops suddenly. You can't enter the cave now.

Waving?

Staffa - geology in the raw.

All too soon, we reboarded "Hoy Lass" for the next leg, over the sea to the Treshnish Islands.  We passed what the skipper called the Mexican island, because it looked for all the world like a sombrero!

Bac Beag and Bac Mor.  The Sombrero....

Most of these islands, and much of Mull, show signs of violent volcanic activity in the distant past.  At one point, I thought I was looking at an Icelandic landscape.

Landing at Lunga

Soon, we disembarked on the uninhabited hilly island of Lunga. So wonderful was the weather that some people decided to go in for a swim.  The rest of us followed the instructions - "Walk up the cliff, and follow it until you can't go any  further"!

Pretty soon, extensive views across the sea opened up. And, as it was May, the clifftop was full of busy puffins and other seabirds either mating or preparing nests or burrows.

Is this my best side?

Material for the burrow

I have many more like this!

Not a Puffin! A grass wren. Not sure how that got in here!

Typical Mull weather...... :-)

For a couple of hours we wandered around the cliff, never more than a few metres from scores of fluttering and flying birds.  Kittiwakes, razorbills, cormorants as well as puffins galore.  So close, that it reminded me of the birds we often watched in the Falklands.

We took a different route back to Mull: squeezing past sharp rocks with a few seals enjoying the sunshine.

The skipper even pointed out a young white-tailed sea eagle - a huge bird that represents a fantastic success story for Mull.  Unfortunately, he didn't pose as closely as the puffins did!

That's all for now, but I hope to post more about puffins, Scotland and our new life in the familiar surroundings  of south-west London.

Peter