Well, it seems that there are still a lot of guillemots about. I haven’t seen this number since the 18th June 2011, when all the ‘Jumplings’ were in the water paddling away to Norway. Guillemots are not like most other birds. Their chicks don’t wait around at the nest site until they can fly (for fear of being eaten by Gulls). Instead, a few days after hatching, they will jump off the cliff on which they were born, often falling a few hundred meters until they reach the sea far below (sometimes after being pushed a lot by the parent bird). The Guillemots that we see from the King Seaways nest on the Farne Islands just 30 minutes drive North of Newcastle. This morning, I managed to get some good, if not a bit shaky, footage of the remaining guillemots as they swam past or under the ship.
Unfortunately, I cant upload videos on to this blog, so you can veiw it here http://www.facebook.com/pages/ORCA/190122761022671 on the ORCA facebook page
Richard – Wildlife Officer
