Saltees

bernard0368

Has anyone been down this year. Have the puffins arrived yet. I was planning to go down next week

Judgement Day

Must you? The seabird colonies on the Saltees really could do without human visitors during the breeding season.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/p/puffin/nesting.aspx

V_Moth

I haven't been out recently, but I am sure that the Puffins would be back by now. Great Saltee is fine to visit for seabirds as they breed in quite inaccessible areas, but can still be relatively easily viewed. I wish it was wardened like the Farne Islands or some of the Welsh seabird colonies though

Half-cocked

The Puffins usually gather on the cliff tops at dawn and dusk, when the day trippers aren't around, so minimal disturbance from humans. Visitors should avoid getting close to any nesting seabirds - Razorbills, Shags, Cormorants and Gannets in particular all have nest sites that can be easily accessed and if you frighten an adult off the nest chances are the eggs/young will be predated by opportunistic gulls. Please keep your distance. And if you get to close to a nesting Fulmar you can expect to be sprayed with half digested fish oil and it'll serve you right!

OpenYourEyes

The thing is a lot of photography clubs and groups get a boat out first thing in the morning, come back to land for a few hours in the afternoon, and go back out in the evening. In the afternoon when they're gone you have loads of other groups gone out for the day. So at peak times during the summer the birds quite literally get no break. I really wish the island was wardened too! So many lovely pics come from Great Saltee, but quite often a lot of disturbance was caused to get those pics.

Half-cocked

Have to agree, I saw a great set of shots of a Gannet, beak gaping, lunging towards the camera. But of course that meant that the photographer was way too close and causing the bird to react to the threat. Totally irresponsible.