Gannets!

TM's birthday today.  For his day out he chose a voyage into the long-lost years of his youth. When he was 18 he had a summer job in a pub in North Berwick and in the afternoons (opening hours in Scotland were brief in those days) he sometimes helped on the boat trips out to the Bass Rock.

The Bass Rock is a gannet colony. Back in the day, they would land groups and leave them to wander for an hour or two, but not now. 

So we sailed round and viewed the birds from the boat - 150,000 of them. You can imagine the noise, and the aroma, and the turbulence in the air as these large, powerful birds (wing span over 2 meters) went about the business of feeding their chicks. 

I took too many pictures and most of them were rubbish - the boat wouldn't stay still!  And it was too sunny! A proper summer's day at last. I'll add some extras when I manage to sort out which are the ones worth keeping.

Meanwhile, we're back in the flat, reviving ourselves with G&Ts and listening to the rain pelting down. Summer gone already?