My Blog - Jeff Clarke

All the images in this blog were taken during the trip. Click on an image to display at full size. After a frantic ecology survey season, combined with the stresses of Covid-19, I was more than ready for a short break and a chance for some wildlife photography. We decided that the West Coast of Scotland would be the destination, and in particular, the dominion of the Eagle, the Isle of Mull, followed by the wild landscapes of the north-west coast around Gairloch, Wester Ross. I had three photographic targets in mind – Eagles (White-Tailed and Golden), Otters and hopefully, Minke Whale. We arrived on Mull on the 26th September and within the hour we had seen White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle and Bottlenose Dolphins. Sadly, no phot...

I just completed a wonderful little gig as a speaker on a five-night cruise to the fjords of southern Norway. It was a last minute thing and I’d had no time to plan any wildlife excursions so went with few expectations. My Wife and I joined the Fred. Olsen cruise liner Balmoral at Newcastle on the 25th May.  Setting off in the early evening. My official duties prevented me from much in the way of observations that evening but I was up and out on deck very early on the 26th.  As anticipated Gannets, were very much to the fore, backed up by smaller numbers of Fulmar and Kittiwake. I carried out my first speaker duty and returned to my watch at the front of the Balmoral. By early afternoon we were approaching the Norwegian coastl...