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20 Apr 2020

St Abb’s Head through the seasons: autumn

Written by Laurie Campbell and Liza Cole
A grey seal lying on rocks with a flipper over its face.
Laurie Campbell
Autumn is when ripening berries are feasted on by birds, insects and some mammals. Migrant birds pass through or arrive to spend the winter with us, and grey seals gather on our beaches ready to breed.

As part of our celebrations of the 40th anniversary of St Abb’s Head being in the Trust’s care, we asked award-winning nature photographer Laurie Campbell to put together four galleries of his photographs, one for each season. Laurie lives locally and has a lifetime of experience of taking nature photos at St Abb’s Head. It’s a joy to see things through his eyes.

Red admiral butterfly with outspread wings feasts on a bramble. A pod of bottle-nosed dolphins in the sea. Three can be seen at the surface, with the one furthest away blowing out water with its head above the surface. The dorsal fins of the two closer dolphins are clear. Water rail bird with a long beak, standing in reeds Curlew standing on rocks, with oystercatchers in the background. Bright red, oval dog rose hips A brown and white bird perching on a hawthorn hedge covered with red berries. A fledgling gannet in flight over the sea. Grey seals on a rocky shore, with waves crashing onto the beach. A grey seal with a black-spotted coat. A white seal pup dozing by the water, with a grey seal looking on. A grey seal turning its head towards the camera.. Close-up of a grey seal pup with a fluffy white coat looking over a rock. A grey seal mother and pup touching noses in the water. Close-up of a grey seal pup lying on its back with its paw by its face. A grey seal lying on rocks with a flipper over its face. Yellow egg case of a dogfish lying on seaweed. A roe deer with small horns on the top of its head peeping out from a wood. Short-eared owl in flight with its wings outstretched. A stoat eating a rabbit in grassland. An orange waxcap fungus bent over, showing its gills, with a smaller waxcap beside it, in grassland.

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The coastline at St Abb’s Head, where steep rocky cliffs plunge towards the sea. The clifftops are covered in grass.
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St Abb’s Head

Breathtaking coastal headland with dramatic cliffs, famed for its seabird colonies

Scottish Borders

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