Gannet to go...

We had a call from the NTS Rangers yesterday morning: a young gannet had decided that life was easier being fed fresh mackerel by them rather than making its own way out at sea, so after being brought back to them three times it was decided to put the reluctant seabird further out in its own element. Could we help take the gannet out to sea? Of course we could!

 

So at 1230 we set off south east with the Rangers, out into the Firth of Clyde where after donning suitable gloves and goggles (gannets are very sharp at one end) Jo and Kate removed the bird from its cosy box...

 ...and then re-introduced it to deep water instead of puddles at the roadside.

 We last saw the youngster working out how to get to the fish bar at Brodick Castle!

We wish it bon voyage - and hope it realises that Senegal is probably a better option in winter than the North Atlantic.

Been a long time...

But hey, stuff happens - and this weekend what happened was sharks. Basking sharks to be specific. Yesterday morning we spotted 1 juvenile (about 2.5m) off Hamilton Rock; in the afternoon we found the same one in Brodick Bay, and 3 adults (2x4m and 1x5m) off Holy Isle. Today we counted a definite 12 between the south east of Holy Isle and Hamilton Rock. This is more than we've ever seen in one place before...

We'll have to send the details to the Marine Conservation Society in a little while. (And we did!)