RSPB South Stack vs Farne Isles

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davholla

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In May I will be in North West England and both are reachable from where will be. South Stack is a lot closer but how does it compare to the Farne Isles?
Personally I think the extra journey would be worth going to the Farne Isles but any thoughts would be welcomed.
 
really no comparison as entirely different. SS has peregrines,ravens and choughs on very high steep cliffs with whinchats and stone chats in the gorse and heather with 24 hour access. Farnes have terns,shags,puffins ,eider ducks etc etc but limited to a couple of hours access and a lot more expense. That said you will likely get more pics on the Farnes in 2 hours than you would get in 2 days t south stack
 
regen said:
really no comparison as entirely different. SS has peregrines,ravens and choughs on very high steep cliffs with whinchats and stone chats in the gorse and heather with 24 hour access. Farnes have terns,shags,puffins ,eider ducks etc etc but limited to a couple of hours access and a lot more expense. That said you will likely get more pics on the Farnes in 2 hours than you would get in 2 days t south stack
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Thanks for that, I was thinking in terms of ease of seeing puffins.
 
davholla said:
Thanks for that, I was thinking in terms of ease of seeing puffins.
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You can literally trip over the puffins on Inner Farne there are that many. If you do go to any puffin location and see cute puffins posing with a load of sand eels in their beaks, please take one only photo and walk away. The puffin will stand there as long as you do and their chicks are not getting fed.
 
john.margetts said:
If you do go to any puffin location and see cute puffins posing with a load of sand eels in their beaks, please take one only photo and walk away. The puffin will stand there as long as you do and their chicks are not getting fed.
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Thank you so much, I didn't know that
How far away should I be from them to stop them from being disturbed?
I would rather not take photos than disturb birds.
 
davholla said:
Thank you so much, I didn't know that
How far away should I be from them to stop them from being disturbed?
I would rather not take photos than disturb birds.
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The last time I was on Inner Farne, one of the wardens was moving us photographers on - she wanted about 40 feet or so clear. I don't know if that is a critical distance or just what that warden wanted.
 
Skomer island is probably best for puffins although further south but you get about 4-6 hours on the island for about half the cost of the Farnes with many more puffin opportunities plus a few other species. The foot path passes right through the colony and the puffins will cross in front of you. The wardens make sure you stay on the path behind the ropes and ask that you let a puffin with sandals pass through by backing off immediately.
 
Plus if you go to the Farnes make sure you wear a thick material hat.......the Arctic Terns have sharp beaks as I recall to my cost (of sharp pain and a little blood ;) )
 
Box Brownie said:
Plus if you go to the Farnes make sure you wear a thick material hat.......the Arctic Terns have sharp beaks as I recall to my cost (of sharp pain and a little blood ;) )
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As that man said.
I was wearing a heavy canvas parker and it was still bloody sore.
 
pooley said:
Farnes will be far better for photo opportunities.

That said, an overnight stay on Skomer trumps the lot by a country mile if its puffins you're after

Mike
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If I ever work out how to sell it to my wife. I will go.
regen said:
Skomer island is probably best for puffins although further south but you get about 4-6 hours on the island for about half the cost of the Farnes with many more puffin opportunities plus a few other species. The foot path passes right through the colony and the puffins will cross in front of you. The wardens make sure you stay on the path behind the ropes and ask that you let a puffin with sandals pass through by backing off immediately.
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True but I also want to see the terns etc particularly arctic terns (I did find out this year that there are terns in London but the Farne Isles are better).
 
davholla said:
True but I also want to see the terns etc particularly arctic terns (I did find out this year that there are terns in London but the Farne Isles are better).
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Talking of Arctic Terns .....there are a couple of images from our trip to the Farnes on my 500px page to give you a potential insight as to what you could likely see (time of year dependent???)
 
If you do see puffins at South Stack they will be pretty distant. I've never been to the Farnes but from what I've seen the two places are chalk and cheese.

Skomer is good for puffins but unless you stay overnight you may be elbowing other photographers out of the way to get your pics! Skokholm is a real delight - much quieter but only accessible on 3 or 4 night overnight stays.

There are virtually no accessible arctic terns in wales. For sightings Cemlyn Bay on Anglesey is worth a visit (3 species of tern) but they are too far away for photography unless you can photograph them flying over your head from the sea to the colony. It's a great place to visit though.
 
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