Portland 12th July

I sat on the end of Portland Bill for a while in the evening attempting to take flight shots. The wind was a W/SW strong enough to deliver a dose of spray on the camera lens and threaten the stability of the scope. There was a steady light stream of Gannets and Manx Shearwater, with various Auks, a Fulmar, and a Shag close in.

Any day when there are Gannets about is a good day, particularly so if it’s a dull windy day. The white of the adults seems to be so bright they glow. There are a number of great pictures of gannets on other blogs (eg here), but they are mainly of Gannets lah-di-dahing around on nice sunny days. To really appreciate their flying abilities I think you need to see them when there’s a gale blowing.

Pics taken on Canon 30D, 100-400mm IS, 1.4x converter, so manual focussing.

Finally, I wasn’t the only one taken with the cream teas at the Portland Bill Café.