Nancy and Carol looking for jaegers from The Sea Cat Jaegers patrol the sea-bird cliffs. Jaegers: hunters like the great skua who predate kittiwake eggs or chicks. The kittiwake colony is clamorous, caught in sunlight and in deep shadows of dramatic cliffs, with caves, sea stacks and rock pinnacles like ruined castles perilous on the cliff edge. Their cries echo within deep clefts in the cliff. Could be a film set for 'Macbeth'. Place names resonate. At Macduff, we board The Sea Cat bound for seabird cliffs and the gannet colony at Troup Head.
The name jaeger resonates too. The great skua hunts the sea bird cliffs but skua tells little, bonxie rather less. I'm for jaegers with Carol and Nancy from the USA. Pink marker buoys help us fix the location of black guillemot. Buoy we pronounce differently and our group bonds in amusement over unexpected shifts in language. Buoy, for Nancy and Carol, sounds rather as it is spelled.
We have Ian our wildlife guide from Heather Lea, and Sophia MacDonald as skipper Harold's crew and environmentalist. We chat about how she might engage kids with wildlife and conservation. Ian has it, I think. Moments after we stepped on board he gave us 'attitudes' to indicate our wildlife sightings: dolphin, seal, gannet, jaeger, kittiwake. Kids would have fun with these dance moves. We did. And these cliff-scapes are all enchantment and story. Deep shadows and fantastic rock formations , secluded fishing villages looking out into the North Sea and a zig-zag cliff-climb the fishermen took to land their catch and the forlorn cries of seals and seabirds.
We have Ian our wildlife guide from Heather Lea, and Sophia MacDonald as skipper Harold's crew and environmentalist. We chat about how she might engage kids with wildlife and conservation. Ian has it, I think. Moments after we stepped on board he gave us 'attitudes' to indicate our wildlife sightings: dolphin, seal, gannet, jaeger, kittiwake. Kids would have fun with these dance moves. We did. And these cliff-scapes are all enchantment and story. Deep shadows and fantastic rock formations , secluded fishing villages looking out into the North Sea and a zig-zag cliff-climb the fishermen took to land their catch and the forlorn cries of seals and seabirds.
The reek of guano tells of sea bird cliffs. Ledges and rock shelves are crammed with kittiwake, with guillemot and the more discrete razorbill, and with gannet. Rock formation determines the pattern of nesting seabirds and cliffs look stippled and swirled. The sun is so strong my gannet images are ablaze. They soar over The Sea Cat translucent against the blue- a brilliance of gannet, that's my collective noun for the bird.
With that spear-like bill and piercing eye the gannet must seem the epitome of ancient malevolence to the fish he hunts. 'He was coming straight at me,' said Ian who captured a fearsome photograph. Another great shot Ian.
Gannet image with thanks to Ian Jenkins.
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