Pup photos

Hello world

Ssssshhhh sleeping pup

You can't see me, right!

2nd coat pup ready for the big world

No real excuse, just a few more cute Grey Seal pup photos. You've got to love 'em!

Cute factor

Sleeping babies...

"Mum..what are those"

Saying hello...

The team on the colonies

Yes still here and we still wouldn't mess...a bull seal

Thursday 8th November comments: The weather has taken a turn for the worst which has restricted access to the colonies this week. However the wind is due to ease by the weekend and by the time we re-enter the colonies, we suspect our pup total will be closer to the 1,000 mark.

With the westerly winds dominating, birding has also been quiet although Little Auks continue to be recorded daily (now wintering off the Farnes) whilst the odd seaduck brightens up the winter days. We'll have plenty more news to bring you, including news on our Seal twins...so watch this space.

Wax on, Wax off

Northern delight - Waxwing on Brownsman (Jason Moss)

Taking advantage of our apples (Jason Moss)

Very approachable Grey Phalarope (Jason Moss)

Feeding away on sea surface (Jason Moss)

'second coat' pups now appearing on the colonies

Sunday 4th November comments: It’s been a strange old year 2012. We had some atrocious weather during the summer but recent months (when we expect poor weather) has produced some cracking days. Today was one of them, as settled conditions combined with a winter sun ensured a stunning day on the Farnes. As usual the ranger team took full advantage as we entered the seal colonies for another full census check of the pup population. Alongside that, we were greeted by some unusual birds along the way.

The Grey Seal colonies are certainly thriving at the moment as the number of new pups pushed beyond 800 – a very healthy number for the time of year. Individual island totals include:

South Wames 271

Staple Island 242

North Wamses 209

Brownsman 141

Northern Hares 13

Others 4

Grand Total 887

However a Farnes day wouldn’t be complete without some birding highlights, and we had a few… Over the last fortnight, an irruption of Waxwings has been occurring in the far north of Scotland and gradually birds have been arriving across northern England. In recent days we’ve had one or two fly over but today one landed and took full advantage of some apples which had been strategically placed on our artificial tree by one enterprising ranger. The bird munched its way through some lovely granny smiths before departing west (along with three more later in the day). As well as these, another northern delight included a very approachable Grey Phalarope, alongside numerous Little Auks on the sea. However one sad note of the day was the discovery of our Great Skua, found dead on the seal colonies. A sad end for such a spectacular bird.

Highlights: Sparrowhawk, Merline 2, Peregrine, Great Skua fond dead on seal colonies, Grey Phalarope 1 on sea off Staple Island, Little Auk numerous (36 in one scan across the sea), Waxwing 4 west, light Thrush passage west, Snow Bunting.

Dutch Courage

350 miles away - one young Farnes seal pup

Its one of ours - a slight red stain remains on rear of back

Responding well to antibiotics and food

Saturday 3rd Novemeber comments: It’s another day and another fascinating Farne Islands seal story. This morning I received an e-mail from the Netherlands to report the discovery of one of our seal pups (with red dye on flippers) on the island of Texel, Holland. Records show that the youngster was born on the South Wamses on the Farnes on 10th October and has made the epic 350 mile sea journey south (having probably being washed off the island she was born). At only 25 days old, it’s a remarkable story as the youngster has survived the turbulent waters of the North Sea and to make it through this ordeal at such a young age is impressive.

The pup, a young female, has now moulted into her ‘second-coat’ and is responding well to treatment, as she was underweight when discovered on the beach. This is not the first time this journey has been undertaken, as during the winter of 2010, three Farne youngsters made it to the same coastline on the Netherlands. Like those three, it is hoped the pup will be released back into the North Sea once she has fully recovered and gained enough weight.

The Farnes just keeps on surprising us and we have to wonder…what next!?

Sealing the deal

Hiya! (David Steel)

Welcome to the world little fella (David Steel)

A new born pup on Staple Island (David Steel)

The twins suckling with mother - and a nice blue colour marking (Graeme Duncan)

One of the twins up close (David Steel)

Thursday 1st November comments: Today we welcomed the start of another month on the Farne Islands and we were up early, once again, counting the new born pups on the islands. Each day now brings increasing numbers, as we enter the peak period for Grey Seal pup births. Plenty of mothers are now suckling young and bulls continue to defend territories vigorously. At the end of play today, we now have an impressive 662 pups on the islands including:

South Wasmes 240

North Wames 200

Staple Island 127

Brownsman 88

Others 7

Total: 662

The twins on Brownsman are still doing well, both being suckled by the mother, so we have high hopes that both will survive to an independent age (about 25 days). On the bird front, the Great Skua remains present for its third day and appears to be feeding well, whilst Little Auks remain resident around the islands.

Fight Night

Fight of the bulls (David Steel)

No mercy (David Steel)

The fight continues (David Steel)

Would you mess? (David Steel)

Great Skua meets Grey Seal (Bex Outram)

Stranger in the camp (Bex Outram)

Wednesday 30th October comments: The seal colonies are becoming action packed and nothing comes bigger or stronger than bull seals. At almost 40 stone, they are muscular monsters not to be messed with. In the last week or two, more and more bulls have arrived on the colonies, to claim their spots and protect a harem of cow seals. However it’s not that easy on England’s largest Grey Seal colony, things never are as the fighting has begun.

Bull seals have to defend their territories on the islands and at times that means fighting off rival males. Bigger is better, as the strongest and biggest bull seals take supremacy but the young bulls don’t give up easily as they take the older bulls on, head-to-head. The fights are graphic, bloody and not for the fainthearted. Thankfully they never end in death but the battles take their toll as adult males don’t live as long as females, due to all the battling they do in their lifetime. It’s not easy being a Grey Seal!

On the bird front, small numbers of Little Auks were seen today whilst a Waxwing flew over calling heading towards the mainland. The most interesting record of the day involved a young Great Skua which lingered on the Seal colonies for the day on the prowl for food. The bird was fairly tame as it walked amongst the breeding Grey Seals bold as brass, tucking in to all sorts including the Seals afterbirth!

Things are really starting to kick off with the Seals and we’ll have our next count completed in a couple of days (if the weather allows!) and I’ll bring you the full details once complete (and watch out for news of our twins tomorrow on the blog!). With over 1000 pups still to be born on the Farnes, it’s crunch time!

Tails of the unexpected

Balls of fluff - Long-tailed Tit (Graeme Duncan)

Rare and delightful (Graeme Duncan)

On the move, Long-tailed Tits (Graeme Duncan)

Monday 29th October comments: It’s been another exciting period on the Farnes as the wind switched bringing with it invaders from the north. On Sunday Brownsman was alive with the calls of Long-tailed Tits – six to be precise, as they descended into the vegetation around the cottage.

These ‘balls of fluff’ are rare on the Farnes, having been recorded in only ten years since they were first recorded on the islands in 1965. These delightful visitors eventually departed west, reaching Inner Farne later in the day. Alongside these, two Waxwings flew west, part of an ever increasing national influx – watch those berry bushes near you!

However today has been dominated by one species; the Little Auk. The north winds have pushed good numbers into the southern North Sea and the team spent the majority of the day counting them as they flew north. The day total reached almost 5,000 – an impressive total and sight by any standards. Over the next few days, we suspect we’ll be seeing a few more on the sea, so if you’re visiting, keep those eyes peeled.

Today’s highlights: Great Northern Diver 6, Black-throated Diver 1N, Red-throated Diver 9N, Manx Shearwater 1N, Shelduck 5N, Common Scoter 591, Goldeneye 3N, Teal 22N, Wigeon 53N, Peregrine, Merlin 2, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Woodcock 3, Little Auks 4,903N, Puffin 6N, Little Gull 5 N, various common migrants including Chiffchaff 4, Blackcap 3 and Twite 2.