Boat Trip To Isle of May and Bass Rock : 16 Jul 2011

Boat Trip To Isle of May and Bass Rock : 16 Jul 2011

We went up to Scotland in the middle of July to visit relatives but I was also aware that there was only another week or so to go before the Puffins would leave the islands in the Firth of Forth off the east coast of Scotland and then they would be out in the open sea for another year. In order to get really good views of thousands of Puffins we would have to go to the Isle of May.  The boat trips to both islands are run by the Scottish Seabird Centre. The day was inauspicious and we donned out waterproofs in the rain.

The Isle of May is a lot further from North Berwick harbour than the Bass Rock so we made the trip in a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) which is much faster than the boat we had been on the previous day. At the best of times this is a bit of a rough ride as the boat scuds along the top of the waves but the sea was choppier than the previous day so we had quite a ride of it with the rain slashing into our faces and the boat bumping along like a fairground ride and waves regularly crashing over the boat.

Despite the rough ride there was plenty to see on the hour long trip out to the island with lots of Puffins and Guillemots on the water and Gannets above. As the boat scudded along the Puffins swam for cover in a most comical way with their webbed feet paddling like mad and their wings whirring along the top of the waves. The waves started getting heavier and the boat had to stop for a while to stabilise before continuing. Eventually we reached the safety of Kirkhaven where the water suddenly becomes placid. However it was low tide there so we had to clamber off the boat and negotiate the slippery seaweed-covered concrete steps before getting to terra firma.

We headed off to the assembly point by the visitor centre and we were given some background on the island given by our tour guide and some guidance on what we had to do or not do on the island from a researcher based at the bird observatory there. The Isle of May is two and a half kilometres long and a half a kilometre wide and has a rocky eastern side and a western side that is predominantly cliffs. It is home to the largest colony of Puffins in Britain with 80,000 Puffins present and some 50,000 active burrows at the height of the breeding season. At the end of July and start of August the Pufflings fledge and immediately take to the sea. The adults also take to the sea when they undergo a complete moult rendering them unable to fly.

As well as Puffins there are Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins, Fulmars, Shags, Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backs, Great Black-backed Gulls and Eiders. There is also a substantial colony of Arctic and Common Terns.

As we  started our walk mercifully the rain stopped and it turned into a good day for birding being bright but not too bright to dazzle and with very little wind. We started by going along Holyman’s Road which is one of the very narrow paths around the island. This one runs between “East Braes”  on one side and “Kettle” and “Burrain” on the other. Here your desire to see Puffins is fulfilled in a mind boggling way. Wherever you look there are bunches of Puffins on the rocky slopes and the air is thick with them busily too-ing and fro-ing  out to sea to fish. All the time the Great Black-backed Gulls oversee everything ever ready to pick off a lone fledgling or even adult birds.

We headed for the “Low Light”, one of the several lighthouses or foghorns on the island that have tried to help mariners keep safe in the stormy waters around the island. We had an interesting talk on the history of the lighthouses as we walked from the “Low Light” to the “Main Light”, a rather splendid stone mansion incorporating another light. Here we saw a few of the 1,000 pairs of Terns that breed on the island. We only seemed to see Arctic Terns but there is another colony near the ruined chapel. By now most of the Terns have already left the island on their long migration to Antarctica before they return again next year  but there were still a few left to admire.

From here we walked down “Palpitation Brae” and down “Fluke Street”. As we walked along there were more Puffins than you can imagine but there were also other birds. They have Rock Pipits, Pied Wagtails and Starlings as well as water birds.

We returned to the visitor centre and stopped for a water break before heading off to the “South Plateau”. We walked past the ruined Priory and out to the “South Horn” one of the air-pressure powered foghorns on the island. From here we turned left along the cliffs of the western side where we had great views of Razorbills nesting. There were also Kittiwakes  and Cormorants and Shags. There are supposed to be Fulmars but I just couldn’t see any !

We turned back and came along the far side of the old Priory where we were given an interesting talk on the historical background of the religious settlement of the island. The two hours on the island had flashed by and it was now time to get the boat back. Back at the visitor centre we donned our life vests and returned to the harbour where, happily, the tide had risen so much that getting back on the boat was relatively easy. As we left the harbour we saw one of the many Grey Seals that breed on the island and the rocks each side of our boat were covered in Cormorants – just a couple of feet away from us, entirely unconcerned at our presence.

We headed out into the open sea again and headed for Bass Rock. Again there were fantastic views of Gannets, Guillemots and Razorbills and Puffins swooping over the water truly in their element. Although we had been to the Bass Rock the day before, we were very happy to have another view and the boat stopped to let us have great views of the Seals and the nesting Gannets where there were many nestling Gannets looking comical in their first plumage. As we bobbed around on the water we could see the more grizzly side of the lives of birds as a Great Black-backed Gull picked away at the carcass of a dead Gannet chick floating on the surface of the water. For that bird’s parents it was the failure of their breeding season. But they will certainly be back the following year to exactly the same spot on the Rock as this year – hopefully with a better outcome then.

Our trip over, we sped back to North Berwick harbour and a single Guillemot had decided to accompany us and as we sped along the water it effortlessly kept up with us and then accelerated to cut across us just feet from the boat and for about fifteen minutes it continued to do this, backwards and forwards before veering off to the left and vanishing into the distance.

As we waited for clearance to enter the harbour our guide for the trip told us that our impression that we had had a rough ride going out to the island had in fact been shared by the boat’s skipper who had considered turning back when he got out into the open sea but since it might be as dangerous to turn back as it was to go forward had decided to go ahead anyway. Thankfully the sea had been calmer on our return journey so, in the end, we were pleased the trip had gone ahead. Ironically, as we waited at the harbour mouth, a single Puffin sat bobbing on the sea easily observable from the harbour wall. But one Puffin is not the same as tens of thousands and our trip had been truly memorable.

Bird List

Species	Count
Arctic Tern	12
Cormorant	40
Gannet	100
Guillemot	20
Kittiwake	12
Puffin	40,000
Razorbill	8

Video Slide Show of Puffins on the Isle of May

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