Staffa and Fingal’s Cave
Boarding for the Staffa boat trip takes place at Ulva Ferry and requires driving a fair part of the journey there on single track road.
As we found on Mull, there are loads of single track roads with passing places which are OK. However, locals who are used to faster speeds, or idiotic tourists who want to drive at breakneck speeds can cause some stressful moments when you can’t see the next passing place ahead.
The boat ride was really enjoyable and we did see a couple of dolphins in the distance. The captain tried to slow down the boat and manoeuvre to get us a better view but they were gone and we moved on.
Our first stop on the boat was at Staffa and Fingal’s cave where we had about an hour and a half to explore.
Since puffins were our main photography target, I had only brought with me the D500 and Bigma lens so 225mm at the short end was still too much zoom for the cave.
The cave is a stunning sight courtesy of its basalt ‘tetrogonal panel’ columns. Yes, I got that from the website linked above…
We had time to walk along the rocks to the cave as well as time for a chill on the clifftop to admire the view and birdlife. Packed lunches in our possession, we enjoyed something to eat and a cup of tea from our flask.
It’s at these moment you suddenly realise how lucky you are to be on visits like this, and remind yourself that too soon you’ll be back at work and trying to remember these experiences. Actually, remembering them is not a problem…
There were lots of shags on the clifftop and I got took a few shots from our vantage point but the birds were quite static enjoying the bright and warm sunlight.
Puffins and Shags
Back on the boat, and our next stop was at Lunga, part of the Treshnish Islands and we had a challenging walk or more of a climb across some large rocks from the boat to the shoreline.
As we walked up the first clifftop point, the puffins were everywhere, and as the boat crew had described, the puffins are quite content as you walk close by.
Ignoring the captain’s advice not to stop here but go further up, and his quip that many of the puffins are identical, I took some shots at this location before finally moving further along the clifftop.
The sunlight was very bright with a blue sky so it was challenging.
As I moved further along, I sat back on the grass to try and get some in-flight shots. This was extremely difficult as the puffins fly very fast. By the time you’ve got your camera up and ready to fire, they’ve landed!
I tried holding up the camera to be ready but luck wasn’t on my side as the puffins usually timed their fly-pass or landing when I had the camera down.
Worth noting that my D500 and Sigma 150-600mm lens weigh in at just under 2.8Kg so holding it up and panning for long periods of time unaided is knackering. I’ve not adopted a monopod as yet.
I did catch a few puffins in-flight though, but I saw no puffins with sand eels in their beaks but given the challenge as described, I was pleased to get some shots, all of which needed significant cropping.
While sitting at a spot waiting for fly past opportunities, I got some good shots of the shags. These are lovely birds, and perhaps go unnoticed by many visitors thanks to the cute puffins.
At first sight, shags can easily be mistaken for cormorants.
Cormorants
In terms of identification, cormorant have brown black feathers and in breeding plumage they are easy to identify with white patches on their thighs and under their chin.
Cormorant are heavy birds and sit low in the water, with a wedge shaped angular looking head and heavy looking bill.
They have striking green coloured eyes, pale feathering around the face with bare skin around the eyes.
In flight they look pterodactyl-like, usually flying alone but sometimes in groups.
Shags
Shags are to be found along the coast, they are smaller, more slender bodied with a long slender bill and emerald eyes surrounded by feathers.
The plumage of a shag is black with a green gloss (less glossy out of the breeding season), wings tinged purplish with no white parts on its body.
Shags have a smaller head, long neck and peaked forehead, which give a snake like impression. In the breeding season their peaked forehead sports a tufted crest.
Walking along the cliffs and back again, there were numerous static shots of the puffins to be found, albeit the challenge was getting a shot uncluttered as there were so many of them grouped together.
My favourite two puffin shots are below.
I would highly recommend Turus Mara who are the company we booked with – very well run trip.
This is the third time we’ve seen puffins (having previously seen at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire and Skomer Island in Wales) and it’s always a pleasure for the eyes.
With the enjoyable boat trip done, we headed back to Craignure knackered but delighted to have visited two of the islands, Fingal’s Cave, and of course seeing the puffins at such close quarters is always a treat.
The shags are impressive birds too but of course do not possess the cuteness of the puffins.
On the return boat trip back to Ulva, we saw some Atlantic grey seals and plenty more shags, plus of course the gulls. Nowadays, we all seem to have gulls in our towns too!
Tomorrow would bring another boat trip, this time to witness sea eagles at close quarters.
Onwards and upwards…