This was the first full day of the tour. We had journeyed up to Northumberland and had a brief evening’s shoot on the first evening. In the morning we visited the Isle of May and in the afternoon we spent on the seas around Bass Rock.
Day 2: Depart hotel at 7am for North Berwick (packed breakfast). 8.45am to 1pm: Isle of May landing trip. Lunch break (café, own expense). 3pm to 5pm: Photographing diving gannets (chumming) from boat. Return to hotel for evening meal at 7.30pm.
North Berwick: 28th June 2021
The journey to North Berwick followed the coast on the A1. The A1 was longer a dual carriageway this far North and was liberally splattered with speed cameras. I did manage to catch some extra moments of sleep.
The car park was almost empty as we unpacked ourselves from the mini-bus.
We then made our way to the quay to catch our boat to the Isle of May. We did have enough time to eat our packed breakfast.
Isle of May: 28th June 2021
We discovered that the COVID-19 restrictions were different to England. We were asked to ride in the boat in the same places on the way there and on the way back from the island. Wearing a mask as we raced towards the island did at least keep our faces warm as well as protected!
Our boat circled to give us the opportunity to view the cliffs full of birds.
First Puffins
We were challenged to catch puffins in flight as they returned with sand eels.
Not as easy as it might have seemed…
The gulls were just one of the other birds watching and pursuing the returning puffins.
In between the waves of returning puffins I had time to look down below at the cliffs.
Looking across the island the dots are returning puffins. Then when they land waiting for the safest time to return to their burrows they attract lots of the visitors!
This image of three puffins has been one of most successful Nature images to date (April 2026)
Arctic terns
After the cliffs and the puffins we made our way back to the quay. This meant walking through nesting sites of the arctic terns.
We had been warned to have a UV filter for our chosen lens as a layer of protection for the lens from the terns.
I was on the receiving end of a dive bombing attack.
Then after the huts we had to pass even more nests.
The terns spent as much time attacking each other as the visitors.
Leaving the Isle of May
Bass Rock looked mysterious as we passed on our way back to North Berwick.
Once back in North Berwick we had to find somewhere for lunch and wait for our afternoon sail around Bass Rock to see gannets close-up.
After our afternoon off Bass Rock the next day was a planned visit to Inner Farne.