Photographing wildlife requires both time and patience but it can also turn into an unforgettable adventure. Imagine staying in one of the oldest lighthouses without electricity or shower (yuppie!!) but instead equipped with old-fashioned gas lamps, fire place and with air of history in each and every corner. Standing right on the cliff on a tiny tiny island with some of the largest bird colonies around, you can constantly hear sea waves hitting the cliffs mixed with the chatter of puffins, guillemots, sea gulls and occasionally eiders. When you sit on the porch having a cup of tea you are surrounded by puffins curiously watching your each move. And if you look carefully you can spot well camouflaged young gulls playing in the grass...
Observatory / Low Light at Isle of May
Map of the Isle of May
Some of the neighbours
Tourist boat comes just once a day (the best time for the nap!) and there is just a few others on the island. Most of time it's you and thousands of birds busily feeding their chicks.
When it comes to shooting - probably could not be any better. Starting from the sunrise the birds start their daily rituals. The light is great (if it's not raining that is!) and photo opportunities seem looming at each corner: puffins coming back from the sea or resting on the nearby rocks with bills filled with silver sand eels, razorbills curiously staring into the camera from the cliff below, eiders sitting in the middle of the path. It takes some time to both understand the pattern of behaviour of the wildlife (more about the techniques in the next entry) and for the birds to get used to the guy with a camera. But patience and practice can be hugely rewarding.
Puffins on Isle of May
Feeding time!
By the time the tourist boat comes to the island it's time for a snack and a nap. After a couple of days you feel this is your island!
The two days flew. By the next morning I got up early to get the last few shots but since the weather turned sour I ended up having a cup of tea and a breakfast on the front porch before getting down to cleaning the place. Once I set off I could hear some clapping. I first thought it was the Reserve manager making sure I know about the boat coming but when I went to the door there was nobody... strange...
I returned to the tango with a broom but then could hear more clapping - this time faster and lauder but also seemed coming from inside the lighthouse. Oh no - so the place is haunted I thought! I went to check it out and when I entered the other room I could hear fast clap-clap-clap somewhere around the bulk bed. I get down on the floor to have a look and there it was. Hiding underneath the bed, pretending not to see me (the usual strategy of "if I can't see you you can't see me"). A small, scared but curious puffling.
Safety underneath the bed...
Since I needed to lock the door I took the little fellow out but before I turned around it was back inside... After another chase around the room I got him out and put him underneath the bench and a wheelbarrow outside (sea gulls often try to catch young pufflings that just left the burrow). By the time I made it back inside it was knocking on the other (unused) door proving my point: it's an amazing and unforgettable place to stay. And probably one of the best photo trips ever!
