I have to get up at 3.30, and have a little trouble doing that. I haven't had much sleep much anyway, this is the mosquito season here. Then an hour in the car, getting to the boat. It is still dark, and this time of year it is strange to be up when it is dark. Usually it's light long before I get up in the morning, and it is only just dark when I go to bed.
Then on board a fishing vessel, the kind of ship that always takes fisherman to sea for a day out. Not my usual environment. It takes four hours to get to the area where you are most likely to see groups of seabirds. I've been taking my pills against seasickness, so I am suitably sleepy again, and when I go down to the little café I manage to go back to sleep in there and sleep throughout the trip. When I wake up we are almost at our destination so I get to enjoy the distribution of the chum, the fish waste that is distributed in the water to attract the birds. And that does attract the birds. It isn't a great treat for those of us who are not feeling too well at sea. I'm okay, but a younger boy looks pale and far from happy.
The company on these trips is usually interesting. The first thing I usually notice is how few women there are. Today we are a group of over 40 people, but there are only three women. And then there is the huge number of big lenses, just binoculars won't do anymore. Almost all the birders on board are photographers as well. Today we also have a radio reporter on board, who interviews people on board. He gets most of his work done in the morning, but has to do it all again in the afternoon because of some technical difficulties.
We get to see a lot of birds, mainly Black-backed Gulls. We also see Fulmars, Gannets, Skuas and Guillemots. People point out the various birds to each other, one man is counting. Soon we can probably see on the website what we have seen, or what we are supposed to have seen. I am not so sure I have actually seen everything.
We are lucky today, it is sunny, it is dry and there isn't a lot of wind, very much unlike the weather over the past few weeks. There is some swell, but not much really, and we can all enjoy the sunshine on deck. Faces turn red in the course of the afternoon. For once I actually remember my sunscreen so I think I'm alright for a change. On the way back I manage to fall asleep again, this time on the communal sleeping deck. I'm not the only one with eyes closed this time.
Some people go out to see to watch birds for weeks at a time. Strange people.
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