At James‘s suggestion we drove through to North Berwick this morning to go on a boat trip to Bass rock. James and I both enjoy a boat trip and this is one we have never got round to, until today. The weather was really good and after picking up takeaway coffees from the Sealife Centre we got ourselves excellent seats on the boat, from which we had great views. Our first destination was the island of Craigleith, famous for its guillemots. Guillemots are often called "the penguins of the North" due to their physical resemblance to penguins, particularly their upright posture on cliffs and their black and white plumage. They do share a common ancestor with actual penguins but only distantly. They are much more closely related to the razorbill and puffin, all belonging to the auk family. We also saw lots of puffins, some standing around near their burrows, and some flying over the water.
Then the boat took us to the volcanic plug that is Bass Rock, which was covered with thousands of gannets. We could see them “billing” when they rub and cross their long beaks affectionately. We also saw them “pointing” when one gannet sticks its beak skywards to guide its mate homewards. We also saw razorbills; their chicks are called jumplings because they are encouraged by their parents to jump into water to learn how to fend for themselves. An unexpected highlight of the trip was a sighting of several Orca whales not too far from the boat, we could see their fins and their bodies arcing out of the water. The whole boat trip was a joy.
We had lunch in a great wee café in a craft shop on North Berwick Main Street, and then headed to our old favourite, the Museum of Flight in East Fortune. Since it was a Monday in term time it was very quiet. We went into the Concorde of course, then strolled around the aeroplanes in the other hangars. It was breezy by this time but still warm enough for me to sit outside at the picnic tables and read my book while James spent a bit more time looking at the aircraft. An excellent outing.
Then the boat took us to the volcanic plug that is Bass Rock, which was covered with thousands of gannets. We could see them “billing” when they rub and cross their long beaks affectionately. We also saw them “pointing” when one gannet sticks its beak skywards to guide its mate homewards. We also saw razorbills; their chicks are called jumplings because they are encouraged by their parents to jump into water to learn how to fend for themselves. An unexpected highlight of the trip was a sighting of several Orca whales not too far from the boat, we could see their fins and their bodies arcing out of the water. The whole boat trip was a joy.
We had lunch in a great wee café in a craft shop on North Berwick Main Street, and then headed to our old favourite, the Museum of Flight in East Fortune. Since it was a Monday in term time it was very quiet. We went into the Concorde of course, then strolled around the aeroplanes in the other hangars. It was breezy by this time but still warm enough for me to sit outside at the picnic tables and read my book while James spent a bit more time looking at the aircraft. An excellent outing.
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