Back to the Farne Islands

Atlantic Puffin

Arctic Tern

Kittiwake

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Guillemot

Atlantic Puffin

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Grey Seal

Guillemot

Eider

Guillemot

Sandwich Terns

The Farne Islands have been calling me for a number of weeks and following a very favourable weekend forecast we booked Friday off work and took the journey up north to our beloved Northumbria. 

We left home at 3.30am to give us time for a relaxing breakfast in Seahouses before getting the boat out at 9.30am. The all day trip give us the opportunity to take in Staple Island & Inner Farne. Before leaving Seahouses I picked up a Rosette Tern coming down the coast off the harbour car park.

On the journey out to Staple Island we were past by a variation of Gannets & Auks whilst a group of american photographers entertained us with their global adventures, all were armed with at least three serious cameras. 

As the boat moored a gathering of Puffins were watching us from the top of the cliff. The great thing about the Farnes is the birds are so comfortable in their surroundings you can sit in close proximity to birds and take in their daily routine. We enjoyed amazing views of Shags, Guillemot, Razorbills and Kittiwakes all with young. The local gulls were waiting for the Puffins to return from fishing before trying to steal their catch, the Puffins were very aware of this threat so were quickly in their burrows.

Over on Inner Farne, the Arctic Terns greeted everyone in a very protective way with many young chicks and a few remaining eggs all over the island. Many had nested close to the boardwalk which is an attraction to the breeding terns as the terns deem the more humans passing there will be less predators.

This years bird census is still on going but the wardens indicated despite the global decline in seabirds the Farnes remains an excellent location for breeding birds. Razorbills are the one species that did decline last year. To give you an idea of the number there are 43,000 pairs of Puffins, 476 pairs of Shag, 3158 pairs of Kittiwake, 1735 Arctic Tern & 49,900 pairs of Guillemot. 

Northumberland Day 2 - Staple Island

The Islands ready for our visit

Guillemots

Guillemots (Bridled Guillemot centre)

Kittiwake with chicks

Seal Colony

Puffins

Shag

Puffin

Puffin

Puffin

Razorbill

Ready for take off

In flight

Family of Shags

A leisurely breakfast prepared us well for our day out on the Islands. We had booked the all day trip with Billy Shields MBE which involved a tour of the islands and a two hour visit to both Staple Island and Inner Farne. 

The Farnes are 2-3 miles off Seahouses and are made up of 15-20 islands pending on the tide and is home to the most exciting sea bird colony in England. The tour cost was £28 per person which I thought was great value however if you are not a member of the National Trust you would be subject to a landing fee on each island of £6.80. 

Staple Island is one of only two islands where visitors are allowed to visit. The Guillemots  were first to catch the eye as they sat crowded on top of a group of rocks called the Pinnacles. Kittiwake nests sat precariously on ledges with young chicks. The Shags and Razorbills seemed to prefer the more rugged surfaces. The noise (and smell at first) took some getting used to, at times there was an increased cacophony when a bird landed or moved in the wrong place.

The Puffins paid no interest at all to the visitors, they just went about their daily business. The birds were flying over your head during the whole time and many had there beaks full of fish and eeals. Be warned if you are going there are no toilets on the island.

The nesting survey in 2010 recorded there was 10,672 pairs of Puffins, 11,279 Guillemots, 42 Razorbills and 1,160 Kittiwakes

Northumberland Day 1 - Amble

 Coquet Island

Eider Ducks in the Harbour

A visit to the Farne Islands has been on my bucket list for very long time so with research done and accommodation booked we set out for a long weekend to Northumberland. The journey took around four hours from the Midlands and bar a few miles of road works the journey was very smooth.

We opted to stop at Amble mid morning to break the journey up and stretch the legs. On a walk around the harbour we located a good number of Eider ducks with young. Eiders were the most common ducks throughout the stay, very different to the our own region. A Common Seal was hanging around the returning fishing boats hoping for an easy snack. 

Further around the headland the scope allowed great views of Coquet Island. There were thousands of birds in flight at sea and on the island. You were able to see the boxes of Britains rarest breeding sea bird the Roseate Tern. It's estimated there are over 100 pairs in company of Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns as well as Puffins, Black-Headed Gulls, Eiders and Guillemots.