Great Black backed Gull

The photograph in my last post is of the Saltee Islands, County wexford. You can only visit the island via boat and mostly with a wildlife group or on days when the boat is booked with a good amount of people. The island is a wildlife paradise and a photographers dream, you can find almost any position on the cliff tops to setup your camera and the birds will just come to you. However moving to find the type or group of bird is advisable.

The Saltee Islands has over 220 species of birds, these included images are of the Great black backed Gull.

“GREAT BLACK BACKED GULL
Great Black backed Gulls are the lords of the seabird colonies. They choose the highest vantage points to build their nests. The adults are unmistakable because of their size, jet black wings and mantle, measuring two and a half feet with a five foot wingspan. The massive bill is yellow with an orange spot on the lower mandible. If an intruder approaches the parents call anxiously and the young birds “freeze” in the dense cover and are hard to locate. The parents also will also make low swoops at the intruders head, however they seldom strike. Great Black backed Gulls breed on the island, and are in abundance all year.”

You can only stay on the island for a day as you have to leave on the last boat, this is to protect the environment of the island as birds nest on almost a hundred percent of the ground area and no camping would be possible.

I got some three hundred usable images from this day so will keep posting images along with some information on the wildlife involved….

April 28, 2013 | Categories: Gallery, Nature and Wildlife | Tags: bird photography, Irish photography, irish wildlife, nature photograhy, Nikon D7000, Saltee islands, wexford, wildlife | 8 Comments