A boat trip to Inchcolm island

On the second day of our staycation we took a boat trip from South Queensferry to Inchcolm Island. 


Inchcolm Island is a small island in the Firth of Forth, home to a mediaeval abbey

 
and lots of sea birds! There is a huge colony of lesser black backed and herring gulls and at the moment the grassy areas of the island are dotted with gulls of all ages.

The young gulls (the brown ones) are getting to the stage where they are starting to be able to look after themselves, but they still like to be looked after by their parents, here they're begging for food.

It's quite an experience to be surrounded by so many gulls, and earlier in the breeding season, people are advised to avoid the gull colonies as the parent birds can get very aggressive in defence of their young!

The island offers lots of beautiful views

The boat trip is very scenic too, with views of the iconic Forth Road bridge (in the foreground) and rail bridge together

there is also plenty of wild life to be seen on the boat trip, including these grey seals which seemed to enjoy bouncing around as the swells moved this navigation buoy.