Basking sharks, Bonxies and Boats! - All creatures.... - Wildlife - The RSPB Community Basking sharks, Bonxies and Boats! Wildlife on 20 Jun 2013 7:41 PM Went across to Oban to take a trip out to see in search of Basking Sharks with Basking Shark Scotland - a new company that specialises in boat trip to find basking sharks. We headed out to Coll in search of the sharks spotting porpoise, manx shearwaters, gannets and puffins and a pair of red throated divers (thank you for the ID Aiki!) along the way. The sharks at first were being very elusive but a Bonxie came over and kept me entertained for a bit! I do like the Bonxies! He seemed to be using the boat as a bit of cover for his piratical activities flying off in pursuit of one gull which looked as if it surrendered some of its catch before returning to the boat and then taking off after another gull. But no sharks so we continued round Coll to a bay and there was a shark!

And another, and another...there were at least 5 swimming around the bay and I saw something breaching in the distance also. Some were pretty big too! The other people on the boat were there to snorkle with the sharks (or rather, float on the surface of the water ahead of the shark and hope it swims passed them) so they got in the water but I kept my feet firmly on the boat, though I may opt to try the snorkling next year if I improve my swimming ability! On the return trip I spotted a storm petrel at a rather apt time as the weather was changing and dark clouds were coming across, along with more manx shearwaters. Red throated diver And the target species, the sharks! And a tern Oban bay You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. on 20 Jun 2013 7:49 PM And some boats: You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available.

on 20 Jun 2013 8:35 PM thanks for posting KatKai, fantastic opportunity to see those peaceful sharks that grow so huge, wonderful photos and the scenery too is amazing, very atmospheric. You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. There's a great little poem about Caledonian MacBrayne and their boats: The Earth belongs unto the Lord And all that it contains Except the Kyles and the Western Isles And they are all MacBrayne's You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. on 21 Jun 2013 10:58 AM I'm just back from up that way. I used to watch the Dolphins and Basking Sharks from the lawn of Glengorm Castle on calm evenings. You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. on 21 Jun 2013 11:17 AM Great shots, Kat. Quite thrill to see the basking sharks I should think. Cracking shots of the Skua. It's a wonderful area.

The last time I was in Oban was setting sail for Outer Hebrides more years ago than I care to remember. You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. on 21 Jun 2013 2:12 PM Thanks all :D Alan - the low numbers of sharks thing is a bit of a lie, there are just late this year there aren't less off them, won't know the numbers until the end of the year when all the data on sightings is collated. The original report was about fewer than normal for the time of year in Cornwall and apparently some reports decided Cornwall is equivelent to the entire UK rather than just a small part of it! It may also have been a bit of a publicity stunt to get people to report sightings of them. You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. © The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Charity registered in England and Wales no 207076, in Scotland no SC037654.

Contact us Terms & conditions Brydon’s Shetland Nature Blog – Shetland Nature Posted by Brydon Thomason on Wednesday 10th June 2015 | Brydon's Shetland Nature Blog , News Following on from the success and popularity with photographers in working from my one-man Bonxie bathing hide last year I set up a new larger hide at a much better location. Thanks to Josh Jaggard and the use of a quad and trailer from Duncan, it was not as back breaking a project as it would have been on my own. The behavioural action at these loch-shore club sites offers some superb opportunities to photograph these superb skuas. Often there can be as many as 50, 60 or even more birds at any one time and often down to 5 to 10m from the hide. It is of course especially good for bathing birds but also there is frequent squabbles break out so plenty of action. We were really pleased to have BBC Springwatch use both this and the Arctic Skua bathing hides whilst they were filming on Shetland.

Wildlife cameraman Raymond Besant was particularly pleased with the footage he shot from it; We were able to get fantastic footage with the help of Brydon Thomason and Josh Jaggard from Shetland Nature who showed us their best locations. The purpose built hide where Bonxies gather at bathing club site was especially great. I was barely in the hide when they started landing in front of me, just 5 meters away! I’m used to working in small cramped cold hides, so to sit in a chair in a warm dry comfortable hide was a real pleasure. Even more so as a group of 50 Bonxies displayed, washed and fought with each other allowing me all the shots I needed.Raymond Besant Wildlife cameraman BBC Springwatch presenter There is arguably nowhere better to photograph a portfolio of these awesome skuas than Unst. The island is home to the third largest colony in the world, set in some of the wildest and most breathtaking backdrops. Hermaness especially offers outstanding opportunities for photographers.

Just on the outskirts of the colony on the National Nature Reserve is situated one of Britains most important and impressive seabird cliffs and colonies which provide the Bonxies with the larder they so desperately need for their own circle of life, to feed themselves and their chicks. Here is an image gallery/profile of this brutal but very beautiful bird, the Bonxie: Posted by Brydon Thomason on Tuesday 29th July 2014 | Brydon's Shetland Nature Blog , Photography There are perhaps few ‘family groups’ of birds better or more widely recognised than birds of prey. Whether it be an eagle, a buzzard or a falcon these species carry a charisma and iconic status through all cultures of the world. The Merlin is one of Europe’s best known and Britain’s rarest breeding birds of prey. Yet with this iconic status it is a bird few see for more than a few seconds let alone get the chance to photograph. How often do you ever get the chance for example to watch a Merlin through binoculars or telescope?

More likely the view you get is of its sleek and petit profile hunting as it darts across the moorland, or maybe a fleeting glimpse as it lifts from a roadside fencepost as you drive by. From a personal perspective this species is a firm favourite and has been so since childhood. It is not just their pure beauty, especially the male, but also their stealth and elusive nature which accredits them with something of an enigmatic appeal. In the UK they are protected by law and a special schedule 1 license authorised and issued by Scottish Natural Heritage (or English Nature) is imperative to work on them at breeding sites, a privilege I have been authorised for several seasons now. This season for the first time however (for this species), I applied for an extension on this license so that I could offer this very special assignment to photographers on my one-to-one assignments. To my knowledge I am the only photographer licensed to work with clients on breeding Merlin in Scotland (and most probably the whole of Britain) and so it is a totally unique and exclusive opportunity and one that I am very proud to offer.

My sense of pride with this comes not only from the fact that I am trusted with such a responsibility (something that is quite an accolade for a nature photographer in this day and age) but also that I can share such a very special and fascinating insight into bird behaviour in a responsible and controlled way that without this license, would simply not be possible. Merlin is one of Shetland’s rarest breeding species, with somewhere in the region of 30 pairs recorded each season. Their preference for remote and often difficult locations is renowned. The pair I worked on in this assignment was no exception. Logistically this site was probably about as challenging as it could possibly be, miles from any main road and over a half an hours walk across open moor and rolling hills. Then was the difficulty of using and erecting a hide on the face of a steep sided valley! From an authenticity angle however it was perfect, an unspoilt wilderness many miles from civilisation and about as secluded as it could be, nothing for miles around but the moorland they would hunt to raise their young. Stringent caution and care is essential when working on such a species/assignment.

With experience and success with them previously I do however feel a quite a level of confidence with them. It is imperative that work must be done from a hide and the hide must be moved in stages so as they become accepting of it. Not only that but every visit I needed to be walked in and the person with me seen to leave. This season I have to give a huge thanks to Molly Michelin, a photography student on internship with us for her second season, who facilitated these over the project. It’s amazing how simple and yet how effective this technique, (which is used on species all over the world) works. This year I was also able to work with a nice and authentic looking ‘plucking/perch post’ which worked very well, especially for capturing the very handsome male. This was an image I have dreamt of capturing for many years now – I hope that next year I can capture the food pass from him to her – an aspect of their behaviour I have never seen an image of but watched happen several times this season. Unfortunately however this takes place on the hillside, even once only two or three metres from the hide but moving the lens is not an option as they are so sharp any movement is sure to give the game away.

My lens needed always to remain static on either the post or the nest. It’s always good to have something to aim for and now I can think of no better an image of these awesome little falcons, role on next summer… It is heart-warming and extremely gratifying to say that this pair had a very impressive 100% success rate this season, laying five eggs and fledging five young. For information on booking this assignment in 2015 visit our Merlin Bird Hide Photography page. Please note availability for this specialist one-to-one assignment is limited and solely for serious and experienced nature photographers. Posted by Brydon Thomason on Friday 25th July 2014 | Brydon's Shetland Nature Blog , Photography Shetland is renowned for harbouring many nationally rare and essentially northern breeding species of birds and for many, such as the elegant and evocative Red-throated Diver, it is the UK stronghold. Shetlands hundred’s of scattered lochens and moorland pools harbours somewhere up and around 400 breeding pairs of this stunningly beautiful and birds which is the highest density of the species in the British Isles.

It is both their rare breeding status and their sensitivity to disturbance that ensures they are protected by law and listed as a Schedule 1 species by Scottish Natural Heritage. I have been very fortunate to have spent several summers now working under such a license and lest year for the first time I applied for my license to be extended so that I could offer this fascinating, exhilarating and exclusive experience to photographers on my one-to-one assignments. Although there was rising interest from clients it wasn’t until I had several summers experience of working on these wonderful birds that I felt I was ready to share this truly enchanting and exciting experience and assignment. Thankfully my well established relationship with licensing authorities ensured I was trusted with this quite serious responsibility. To my knowledge I was the first photographer to be issued with a license to work in this way with Red-throats and so this year’s guests under my strict guidance have enjoyed a privileged and unique experience indeed. This kind of assignment simply must be done from a hide and it is of course imperative that this is so.

This season I set up my hide well ahead of breeding commencing so I could hope to capture and study their courtship and display, which although I was only lucky enough to see on a couple of occasions I did at last nail at least some images of this fantastic behaviour. I also built my diver hide to have a low angle shooting hatch, which took me down to just above water level to get a nice low lying perspective on the birds, particularly on take off. This is a bird that has fascinated me all my ‘birding’ life. It is a bird that where ever you are in Shetland throughout the summer months you will not be far away from, whether it be a bird flying overhead on route to the sea, a pair on a beautiful calm freshwater loch or maybe the distant haunting yet enchanting calls from a far. So highly regarded are they locally that they are even said to forecast the weather for us in that their calls and or flight direction could indicate rain coming (hence the name I guess!). But let’s be honest, in the Shetland we know and love the prediction of rainfall is not exactly a risky one to make!

It is an endearing thought though however that they have been around long enough and have been so highly regarded as to have this association throughout the isles. Views of Rain geese to most are often little more than a dark silhouette in the distance but close observation reveals the most exquisite detail, from the dapper pin stripe of the nape to the ruby red eye and of course the deep and almost burgundy red of their throat patch. All a fore mentioned are highly desirable attributes for any bird or wildlife photographer. To work on a pair on a breeding loch and enjoy behavioural aspect of their breeding few ever see let alone photograph and on a remote Shetland moorland is simply a dream assignment to most. Posted by Brydon Thomason on Friday 25th July 2014 | Brydon's Shetland Nature Blog , Photography The bird family group corvidae or more commonly known in English as corvid’s are truly fascinating and much admired. Generally speaking, crow’s in particular carry something of a symbolic status through the histories of many and in fact probably most cultures. There is something very powerful, even mythical about their demeanour and this is especially so for the Raven.

When researching and writing an article on them last year I came upon a fantastic piece of writing by Jessie M. E. Saxby in 1893, which includes notes by W. A. Clouston, which I felt summed them up beautifully: “Those who have studied the Raven can well understand how the Sea-kings of the North took him for their emblem in preference to all other creatures”. “The lordly bird, dwelling aloof in some inaccessible precipice, floating silently on black wings over the heads of more common creatures, dropping with stern, implacable ferocity on his prey, calmly croaking of doom when the sun shines, rejoicing in a storm, haunting the footsteps of death, feasting on the dead: well might he be taken as the symbol and companion of Sea-rovers, whose sable flag was the terror of nations, whose Raven ensign seldom drooped before the banner of a foe. The Raven was held sacred by the Vikings.

When setting out on marauding expeditions, the Raven was, with many ceremonies, let loose, and where he led the Norsemen followed, believing that their Bird of Omen would lead to some scene of triumph” It is a combination of this iconic status, their sharp witted nature and their undeniable beauty that make them such an appealing subject for a photo assignment. Here in Shetland we are fortunate to have a fairly good population breeding, estimated at over 200 pairs just over a decade ago. Each year I see many pairs nesting at various sites around Shetland and have had my eye on several nest sites which are suitable for hide work and this spring worked on a cliff-nesting pair here on Unst. Nest sites/territories range from the high sea cliffs, inland quarries, steep-sided and heathery inland gullies and even pine tree plantations so a good deal of thought and planning needs to go into choosing a suitable site and this site is ideal. Quite remote (but within a reasonable walking distance) on cliff face about 20m high with an opposite facing cliff where my little self-built one man wigwam hide sitting facing it around 30 to 40m across from it.

As is the case for nearly all my hide work, I use my own purpose/self-built constructions to work from and at a site like this especially sat on the edge of a Shetland cliff top is no place for a pop-up built for a woodland! This kind of work takes weeks of work before you ever even look through your lens. Thankfully I already had a hide built (my one-man wigwam) which was ideal for the task but even then I had to get it to the site, which without ‘blood, sweat and tears’, (well, almost all three of those!) and of course quad and trailer-would not have been possible. Even the logistics of getting the hide to the nearest ‘end of the road’ and then the quad there too, takes time and then there is the graft of rumbling the hide on and off. As is the case for any hide work, especially nest site work, I start off at least two to three times further away from the nest as I plan to end up positioning the hide. Then I move it closer in stages, maybe a week between. This allows time for the birds to accept the wooden box and to date; this has always worked with several different species now.

I personally find Ravens, or ‘corbie’s’ as we call them here, extremely fascinating and exciting and also enjoy working on them at close quarters, from a hide during winter. That was indeed an exciting assignment to watch their behaviour when flocking in to feed on the carcass of dead sheep. But in many ways this was just the beginning of the story I wanted to tell. What I love to do is tell a story, a ‘circle of life’ of each of Shetlands most iconic species through a portfolio of images of their behaviour. Without a hide no right minded Raven would come back and land at their nest. ‘Walk-ins’ are essential to try to trick nesting birds into thinking that a human has just walked to the hide and then walked away again. I have someone walk to the hide with me, in I go and then they leave. I have often heard it said that corvid’s can actually count so therefore can’t be tricked in this way. Thankfully, this pair seems to have no better grasp on maths than I do and so the walk-in and walk-out method worked a treat.

It really is fascinating to watch how such a sharp witted, notoriously unforgiving predator and a scavenger as the Raven can show such an attentive and sensitive side. I find it such a thrill to watch and photograph such intimate behaviour as the parents tend to their chicks. This behaviour something that is simply not possible without working from a hide and so yes, all that hours, days and even weeks of work and planning are worth every pain staking moment! Posted by Brydon Thomason on Thursday 24th July 2014 | Brydon's Shetland Nature Blog , Photography Bird hide photography is now very well established as an almost prerequisite to an itinerary for travelling nature photographers throughout Europe and beyond. Across a growing number of photo-tour companies there is a plethora of opportunities, subjects and species which can be worked on from hides. The imagery from such innovations of course speak for the selves as they tend to show species, (often shy and secretive) illustrating exciting, intimate and awe-inspiring behaviour- all of which is of course extremely popular to both photographers and admirers of natural history photography. The whole concept of this approach to nature photography is a huge motivation for me and I find it exciting, emotive and very rewarding.

It is this kind of photography I really like to work on as I love the whole process of the assignment, from getting to know how a particular species use a certain site and planning where and if a hide will work. Just to even simply watch wildlife without them knowing you are is simply magical in itself. Then the building of a hide to suit the site and subject. Building the actual hide is just as much part of the overall gratification as the actual taking of images for me. As a time served joiner/carpenter it is a really good fit to combine these skills and knowledge of species and sites. Some of the sites I have innovated and established have taken a few years planning and labour, you could even go as far to say ‘blood, sweat and even tears!’ (well nearly at least!) What I tend to do is build semi permanent and purpose built wooden kit hides which can be transported to site using quad and trailer, or even tractor with one of the larger more permanent hides. It has to be said of course that these have improved over the years and I have learned that shop bought ‘pop up’s’ are just not for Shetland – I call them ‘blow aways’ instead!

Two of my hides are constructed and just slide on or off trailer, like my two man diver hide and my one-man-wigwam, which is just small enough to drag/slide across moorland, but over a short back aching distance! Often there is days of work goes into each assignment in the repeated visits to move a hide over a period of weeks which is essential, especially at breeding sites. Eventually over the past few seasons I have built a selection of hides which I can move around to suit subject and seasons and they can therefore play a very productive role in itineraries and workshops I run or collaborate on. In 2014 for example I really enjoyed working with Markus Varesvuo on Merlin, Red-throated Diver, Arctic Skua and Great Sua. I also had a film crew use my Long-tailed duck hide when we worked on ITV’s Alison Steadman’s Shetland. Often now visiting photographers who perhaps want to do their own thing are also booking hides for exclusive use, such as the Arctic Skua and Great Skua club sites in the summer which only need a ‘walk in’.

Seeing the potential in this approach to photography and photo-tours and creating a niche here in Shetland is something I have found very exciting and I am very much committed to developing these assignments further and working on other species and seasons. US tourist furious over puffin/penguin mixup - Da Bonxie Da Bonxie Google+ An irate American tourist has dramatically cut short his holiday in Shetland after visiting Sumburgh Head and being informed: “Those are puffins; there are no penguins here, sir.” After watching the film ‘March of the Penguins’ Johnny Cashdollar, who has a below average IQ, winged his way over from Dullsville, Pennsylvania in a fruitless quest to get up close and personal with the cute Antarctic creatures. He reacted with incredulity after being told by a Sumburgh Head tour guide that the puffins he was looking at were birds which bore only superficial similarities to penguins. “I thought I’d seen the world’s first ever flying penguin,” he told Da Bonxie. “It seemed like a black-and-white situation – only for some jobsworth woman to totally friggin’ ruin my vacation.

“Maybe if I was more stable emotionally, I could see that puffins are pretty neat too. But right now just looking at one makes me physically wretch.” Unfortunately the interview had to be cut short when, in a fit of unprofessional pique, Da Bonxie’s correspondent got all defensive and began haranguing Cashdollar – asking if he had “some kind of prejudice against birds that can take flight”. Exhibit of the Week: Kleptoparasite known as the pirate of the seas - The Scarborough News Exhibit of the Week: Kleptoparasite known as the pirate of the seas The Great Skua in the Scarborough Collections. 16:00 Saturday 16 January 2016 Have your say Kleptomania, and parasitism: they’re neither of them attractive words, or traits – and put them together, and you have something that sounds as though it would be most unpleasant. Yet a kleptoparasite is the official name for birds like the great skua, which feeds by taking prey or other food from another bird that has put in the effort to catch its meal only to have it taken away at the last minute.

The great skua can’t help it, though – it’s just made that way. The great skua is an ‘interspecific’ kleptoparasite – that is, it’ll steal food from any other bird, not just its own kind (that would make it ‘intraspecific’). It’s also exceptionally aggressive – with a wingspan of around 125-140 cm, its roughly the size of the herring gull which is so familiar to us in Scarborough, and bears more than a passing resemblance to the juvenile of that species. And yet it’ll happily tackle a gannet to steal its dinner – and the gannet is our largest seabird, with a wingspan of up to 2 metres, and not averse to a bit of aggression itself given the right circumstances. No wonder the great skua is often called ‘the pirate of the seas’. Its aggression extends to an even bigger and more dangerous creature – man. Approach the grass-lined nest, and you can expect trouble – the skua will fearlessly dive bomb, aiming at the head of the intruder.

A wonderful painting by the Victorian marine artist James Clarke Hook shows a skua diving at a group of rockpooling children who have obviously had the misfortune to stray too close to its nest – you can see it here: bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/the-bonxie-shetland-51090 If all this kleptomania, parasitism and piratical behaviour paints a rather unsavoury picture of the skua, then consider this: the birds are remarkably good parents. They mate for life, and guard their chicks through a two-month fledgling process, with the fathers taking on a lot of the responsibility for feeding the youngsters. The great skua migrates to the UK from the coasts of Spain and Africa, and can be found right round the coast, including off Scarborough, during its migration period in late summer and early autumn. Its main UK nesting sites, though, tend to be further north – most of our population breeds on the Scottish islands, with over half the world’s great skuas on Shetland, while a few also nest on the mainlands of Scotland and Ireland.

It is part of a small family of birds, with four northern hemisphere species roughly divided into two main types – the chunky, gull-like great skua and the other three, all more tern-like in appearance being more streamlined and having tail streamers. These are the arctic, long-tailed and pomarine skuas. All can be seen off British shores, and each has a southern hemisphere equivalent. The name skua probably originates from the Faroese word ‘skúvur’ – if so, it’s the only bird name from that language to have come into regular use outside the islands. It’s also known, rather charmingly, by its Shetland name of ‘bonxie’, a word with Norse origins. There’s an Old Norse word, ‘bunki’, which means ‘heap’, and the modern Norwegian word ‘bunke’ means ‘stack’, but apparently once referred to a dumpy woman – and the bonxie certainly has a stocky stature. Although the great skua is mainly a northern bird, its very similar relative the south polar, or MacCormick’s, skua can be found at the South Pole, where it will attack penguins.

Our exhibit, part of Scarborough Museums Trust’s taxidermy collection, can be seen in the community gallery at Scarborough Art Gallery until February 14 as part of Endurance and Survival, an exhibition curated by the Trust’s volunteers and paying tribute to the men of Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Exhibition a century ago. The great skua is part of the Scarborough Collections, the name given to all the museum objects and artwork acquired by the borough over the years, and now in the care of Scarborough Museums Trust. For further information, please contact Collections Manager Jennifer Dunne on Jennifer.dunne@smtrust.uk.com or 01723 384510. Sign in Gulls - definition of gulls by The Free Dictionary Gulls - definition of gulls by The Free Dictionary (gŭl) n. Any of various chiefly coastal seabirds of the family Laridae, having long wings, webbed feet, a thick, slightly hooked beak, and usually gray and white plumage. [Middle English gulle, possibly of Brythonic origin.] gull 2 A person who is easily tricked or cheated; a dupe. tr.v.

gulled, gull·ing, gulls To deceive or cheat. [Probably from gull, to swallow (obsolete), from Middle English golen, to pretend to swallow, from gole, throat, perhaps from Old French goule; see gullet.] gull (ɡʌl) n (Animals) any aquatic bird of the genus Larus and related genera, such as L. canus (common gull or mew) having long pointed wings, short legs, and a mostly white plumage: family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. [C15: of Celtic origin; compare Welsh gwylan] ˈgull-ˌlike adj a person who is easily fooled or cheated vb (tr) to fool, cheat, or hoax [C16: perhaps from dialect gull unfledged bird, probably from gul, from Old Norse gulr yellow] gull1 (gʌl) n. any of various long-winged aquatic birds of the family Laridae, of worldwide distribution, typically white with gray or black upper wings and back.

[1400–50; perhaps < Welsh gŵylan, Cornish guilan (compare French goéland < Breton gwelan)] gull′-like`, adj. 1. to deceive, trick, or cheat; hoodwink. n. 2. a person who is easily deceived or cheated; dupe. [1540–50; perhaps akin to obsolete gull to swallow, guzzle] gull In electronic warfare, a floating radar reflector used to simulate a surface target at sea for deceptive purposes. gull I will have been gulling you will have been gulling he/she/it will have been gulling we will have been gulling you will have been gulling they will have been gulling Past Perfect Continuous dupe , victim - a person who is tricked or swindled 2. ivory gull , Pagophila eburnea - white Arctic gull; migrates as far south as England and New Brunswick kittiwake - small pearl-grey gull of northern regions; nests on cliffs and has a rudimentary hind toe Verb cozen , deceive , delude , lead on - be false to; be dishonest with 2.

cod , dupe , put one across , put one over , slang , take in , befool , fool , put on kid , pull the leg of - tell false information to for fun; "Are you pulling my leg?" deceive , lead astray , betray - cause someone to believe an untruth; "The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house" gull 2 (liter) n → Spielball m (→ of +gen) vt → übertölpeln ; to gull somebody out of his money → jdm sein Geld ablisten ; to be gulled into something → durch eine üble List dazu gebracht werden , etw zu tun gull gull (gal) noun (often ˈseagull) a type of web-footed sea bird, usually black and white or grey and white.

seemeeu نَوْرَس البَحْر чайка gaivota racek die Möwe måge γλάρος gaviota kajakas مرغ نوروزی lokki mouette שחף एक प्रकार की समुद्री पक्षी galeb sirály camar mávur gabbiano かもめ 갈매기 kiras kaija burung camar meeuw måke mewa يوډول سمندري مارغه gaivota pescăruş чайка čajka galeb galeb mås, trut นกนางนวล martı 海鷗 чайка جھلّی دار پنجوں والے سمندری پرندوں میں سے کوئی mòng biển 海鸥 Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .

Link to this page: View in context What would these divinities think of India, anglicised as it is to-day, with steamers whistling and scudding along the Ganges, frightening the gulls which float upon its surface, the turtles swarming along its banks, and the faithful dwelling upon its borders? View in context But I did so because I was happy, because I had not courted death, because to be cast upon a bed of rocks and seaweed seemed terrible, because I was unwilling that I, a creature made for the service of God, should serve for food to the gulls and ravens. View in context She cast her eyes down in irritation, and read again her mother's musical sentences about the silver gulls, and the roots of little pink flowers washed by pellucid streams, and the blue mists of hyacinths, until she was struck by her mother's silence.

View in context The children had discovered the glittering hoard, and when in a mischievous mood used to fling showers of moidores, diamonds, pearls and pieces of eight to the gulls, who pounced upon them for food, and then flew away, raging at the scurvy trick that had been played upon them. Trip to the edge of the world - UK Indymedia UK Indymedia Paul O'Hanlon | 29.12.2014 20:53 | Ecology | Free Spaces | Health | London | World Life seems so much of a rat race at times with stress from pressures of work, stress from unemployment, stress from relationship problems, stress from homelessness, extreme stress from constant wars which are essentially driven by Western greed for control of resources for endless consumption at home. It’s enjoyable to look at what a smaller, gentler world looks like. The island of Foula The New Year is almost upon us and I wonder what 2015 will mean for myself and for the whole world. One place I will remember with great affection and significance from 2014 is the beautiful and mysterious island of Foula, the so-called `Edge of the World`.

I was privileged to visit this far flung part of the world in the summer. I can remember my journey on the little 12-seater ferry through the choppy seas. There was I with my city habit of looking at my watch every few minutes as if to check for the next bus or train or tram or whatever but as Bryan the boatman and also island hotel owner said to me “What do you keep looking at your watch for? Time means nothing on Foula.” I stayed for two nights on the island, the first was rather uneventful as I was too tired from my travels to do much but the second day saw me experience a huge upsurge of creative energy and when it was time to leave the island and go back to Mainland Shetland I seem to come away changed and feel that change to this day. It’s a unique place and I wholeheartedly recommend a visit there to folk from both Shetland, a place I love, and from beyond. Here is my story from Foula, the `edge of the world`. Trip to Foula The ancients called it Ultima Thule, the edge of the known world. There is nothing between this small, populated island and North America.

Foula is the most westerly of the Shetland archipelago lying some 20 miles off the mainland of Shetland and some 800 miles north of London and at 60 degrees north is on the same latitude as southern Greenland, Anchorage in Alaska, and St Petersburg, Russia. It was the setting for the famous 1937 film by Michael Powell `The Edge of The World` when it doubled for the island of Hirta in the St Kilda island group when filming permission was not granted there. Unlike St Kilda whose inhabitants were voluntarily evacuated in 1930 there is a permanent resident population of some 34 souls including a school for the 6 schoolchildren of the island. There are no shops or pubs though there is a very small post office, a resident nurse, a community hall and a fire engine located near the air strip. Supplies are ferried or flown in, the boat crossing taking about 2 to 2½ hours while the plane from Tingwall airport just north of Lerwick takes 15 minutes. I decided to come to Foula instead of taking the ferry from Lerwick to Kirkwall in the Orkneys.

Kirkwall is a positive metropolis compared to the village of Ham in Foula with around 8,000 inhabitants – roughly the same size as Lerwick, Shetland or Stornoway on the Hebridean Island of Lewis. The boat on the Wednesday afternoon of July 9th from Lerwick to Kirkwall and Aberdeen was packed out with 350 passengers or pack–ed oot as the Shetlanders would say and with no cabins available. It’s not usually that busy even in summer and it was suggested that fog at Sumburgh Airport may have caused the cancellation of flights to the mainland, leading many folk to go by boat. The sea journey wasn’t too appealing - 5½ hours from Lerwick to Kirkwall might not be too bad but 14½ hours in a reclining seat from Lerwick to Aberdeen would be a tad uncomfortable. I got the bus from Lerwick’s Viking bus station to the small town and port of Waas (Walls) some 24 miles and one hour distant on the west side of Mainland, Shetland’s largest island and stayed a night there to wait for the ferry to Foula on the Thursday.

The boat usually runs 3 times a week though sometimes more depending on demand. The ferry left a little later than the scheduled time and carried a dozen passengers and a crew of four. The seas were fairly calm with just a light swell and Kevin the kindly skipper informed me that the depth of the water was about 70 metres or 230 feet which lessened to about 30 metres or 100 feet as we approached Foula at a speed of around 8 knots. The water temperature was around 8 degrees Celsius roughly 30 degrees less than human body temperature and even a young, fit person would not last long in the frigid seas. The boat did toss and sway a little in the shallower waters nearing our destination but we arrived safely at the little ferry terminal at Ham. Time means nothing on Foula they say and the inhabitants both human and animal are very amenable. A quayside crane lifted a crate packed with luggage and supplies while the passengers disembarked for their adventure to the edge of the world. On landing I met Bob the Great Skua sea bird or `Bonxie` as Shetlanders call them. Bob has been adopted by Bryan the owner of the guest house on Foula.

Bryan is a busy man as he also mans the ferry and maintains the roads. I was astonished at how close I could get to the big Skua and take his picture. Likewise Robbie the rabbit has no fear of humans and will allow you to get really close and pet him. Of course there are many Shetland ponies, the cute and friendly little creatures who march from one grazing place to another in single file. You have to beware of the `Bonxies` though – in fact at Foula’s tiny airstrip you can hire a `Bonxie` stick for £1 to beat off the swooping Skuas who are surprisingly large and sometimes quite aggressive if they think you are going near their nest. A couple of them flew just over my head but didn’t make contact. The sheep on Foula are the hardy native Shetland variety with multi-coloured fleece much in demand by hand spinners. Their fleece varies from moorit (brown) to fawn, grey creamy white and black. Foula is home to a unique kind of field mouse and an island kind of house-mouse though rats are absent.

The world’s largest colony of Great Skua competes fiercely with the Arctic Skuas for breeding territories. Some of these birds migrate from as far as Siberia and America. The waters off the island are home to Atlantic and Grey Seals as well as Killer Whales, Puffins, Minke Whales and Porpoises. There aren’t any snakes or Scottish wildcats on the island though an occasional feral cat has been known. There are no foxes in Foula or indeed anywhere in Shetland. There are a few badgers though not many, there used to be many pigs on Foula but as of 2014 there are none. There are just a few goats and a couple of Shetland cows. Apart from humans the main inhabitants are sheep and ponies with a few sheepdogs. Trees do not grow in the peaty soil though the island is said to have some delicious tasting berries. The island’s population is remarkably stable at around 34 though swollen by occasional tourists.

Whereas in a town or city that number of people would likely live in a row of maybe a dozen terraced or semi-detached houses or a small apartment block, Foula’s population lives along the roughly 3½ mile eastern side connected by a winding road of roughly 4½ miles with numerous passing points for the somewhat unexpected number of cars. The Western side of the island is rather difficult to get to and features terrifyingly high cliffs. Crofting which is small scale farming is the main occupation with most crofts averaging around 2-2.5 hectares or 5-6 acres. The total area of the island is around 12.65 km² or 4.8 square miles and since the turn of the 20th century it has been owned by the wealthy Holbourn family. The Sneug at 418 metres (1,371 ft.) is the highest point of the island and rivals Hirta’s Conachair 430 metres (1,410 ft.) as the highest cliff in the British Isles.

The climate is relatively mild considering how far north it is, while in January St Petersburg and Anchorage freeze in many degrees of frost Foula’s winters generally mean wind and rain rather than snow and ice. Summers are cool with July maximums in the mid-teens Celsius with very long daylight hours – in fact almost 24 hour daylight in June – the so-called `Simmer Dim` when the sun only dips below the horizon for a few hours between about midnight and 3 am. A famous ship once ran aground off Foula in September 1914 during the First World War. It was the sister ship of the RMS Titanic – the equally opulent RMS Oceanic. Built as a luxury liner for White Star it was pressed in to wartime service. She had sailed on her maiden voyage on 6 September 1899 and was the largest ship in the world until 1901. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914 she was commissioned into Royal Navy service on 8 August 1914, as an armed merchant cruiser.

On 25 August 1914, the newly designated HMS Oceanic departed Southampton to patrol the waters from the North Scottish mainland to the Faroes, in particular around Shetland. Due to a navigational error the ship was on the wrong side of the Isle of Foula and the boat ran directly onto the notorious Shaalds reefs on the morning of 8 September 1914. She was wrecked in a flat calm and clear weather. She was the first Allied passenger ship to be lost in the war. The incident involved no loss of life but what was or would have been a major news story was covered up due to wartime censorship. Thus the name of the Oceanic is generally unknown. The wreck of the ship lay in shallow waters for many years and was not fully salvaged until 1979. Charles Lightoller who was the most senior officer to survive the Titanic disaster was the first officer on the Oceanic when history nearly repeated itself. I stayed on Foula for two nights and did a fair amount of walking though passing on the temptation to climb the high hills whatever the view rewarded. On my coming back on the Saturday morning I watched the remote island gradually disappear wondering if I would return.

I have an idea that several of the other passengers will not be revisiting after they were very sick during what was a very turbulent return journey with the wind and tide making the small vessel bob like a cork. Foula is an awkward place to get to and may not suit everyone. If you like shopping malls, multiplex cinemas and casinos it’s probably not for you. It has its own unique charm though and the folk settled there have no intention of abandoning their island home as the St Kildans did some 84 years ago. Paul O'Hanlon

Question: A bonxie is what type of creature?
Answer: Bird