Saltees - Saturday, 23rd May

Carrigman

Another enjoyable day on the Great Saltee island off Kilmore Quay, County Wexford yesterday.It was dull and overcast for an hour or so which suited me fine as photographing birds in bright sunlight is not ideal. Then the sun came out and I just kicked back and soaked up the sunshine - I look like a Red Indian (should that be Native American?) today as a result.

Puffins are few in number again this year and I understand that the reason for their decline there is rats eating their eggs. I was told that there has been an effort over the last couple of years to kill the rats so hopefully the situation will improve. There are plenty of Gannets, Cormorants, Razorbills and gulls of various types.

Anyone thinking of going out there should phone the boatman Declan Bates at 087 2529736. The cost of the return trip is €25 and you are on the island for about 4 hours. Highly recommended.

Here's a few snaps - more on my flickr site:

Buzz Lightyear

Wonderful shots there carrigman. I'm looking forward to visiting there with the next dcc/boards outting to there. I really like shot 2.

TheNorthBank

Lovely shots. Well worth the bit of sunburn.

TheNorthBank

TheNorthBank wrote: »

Lovely shots. Well worth the bit of sunburn.

Wow! Some excellent shots.
I've been planning to go there for ages, but have never gotten around to it.

bovril

Fantastic shots John.

djd80

I think they are fantastic, they are so sharp and clear its unreal

Borderfox

First one nails it, well done

paulusdu

Fantastic shots Carrigman,

How close were you to the Gannets?

Would love to head there, is there a regular boat that goes over ?

Valentia

Excellent John. You've put the longing on me now!

Carrigman

paulusdu wrote: »

Fantastic shots Carrigman,

How close were you to the Gannets?

Would love to head there, is there a regular boat that goes over ?

Thanks for the comments folks.

Paulusdu: I was pretty close - about 20 feet or so. The birds on the island don't seem to scare that easily or else their natural instinct to protect their nests and young overrides their instinct to flee. I'm no ornithologist though so don't take my word for it.

Declan Bates (087 2529736) goes over there regularly from around 10am depending on weather conditions. It's best to phone him around 7pm the night before you are thinking of going - he will have a good idea of the likely weather conditions at that stage and will advise if he is going or not.

The crossing can be choppy so beware if you are not a good sailor. And in such conditions you will get wet if you are in the open area of the boat so be prepared.

Also, when the boat gets to the island you are transported from it to the beach by dinghy. There is no concrete landing area and if the tide is out the task of getting from the dinghy to safe ground can be tricky as you have to negotiate slippery rocks. This proved a huge problem for a couple of people on the boat on Saturday. Wear good stout footwear and be prepared to get it wet.

Regards,

John

AnimalRights

Love #2.