Hello my friend, I didn’t recognise you dressed like that
There’s a Common Guillemot in Brixham, just off the breakwater. It takes a while to get a shot of one. I have to climb down the slippery boulders to sea level, watch one as the wind and waves blow it my way, and wait for it to dive and hope it comes up close. And here it is:
It took a while for me to recognise it. It’s in its non-breeding plumage. This is how I’m used to seeing them. This one was taken at Bempton Cliffs:
Gorgeous, aren’t they?
This was my attempt at a flying shot over a colony of Northern Gannets at Bempton.
And then I got the opportunity to photograph one flying on Westray. This one is a bridled Guillemot, with a beautiful eye-stripe:
This shot took a heart-stopping descent down the cliffs. Great memories! I look forward to being back with them again in all their summer finery.
Common Guillemots
Ledge nesting How do you land on a narrow ledge, high above the sea, in a stiff wind, which is already full… read more
Common Guillemot take-off Seeing the power of a Common Guillemot as it takes off is awe-inspiring. They have surprisingly short, narrow wings for… read more
Guillemot There's a Common Guillemot on the waves. It's having a little spruce up. Nesting in a colony is a great… read more
A minute and counting Common Guillemots are free-diving pursuit divers. Their diet is fish, and the fish which are alive in today's ocean are… read more
Bridled Common Guillemots There are Common Guillemots, Uria aalge, flying in front of the cliffs at Noup Head on Westray. It's a breezy day… read more
A wild cruise I love being on ferries and small boats. It's not something I do very often, so when my son Gabriel… read more
Flying Aaks There's a low flying Guillemot coming past the bottom of the cliffs. It's a great aerodynamic shape, although perhaps I… read more
Arctic Skua hunting sequence Here's a Guillemot flying past me on the west Westray coast. It's a grey day, but the rain has cleared… read more
Gannets and Bridled Guillemots with a side order of Seal sausages Clamour. That's the best word to describe it. That's if you're talking about sound. Pungent would probably the thing that… read more