Are You Ready?

Dawn of a new Farnes season (Graeme Duncan)

Rise and shine Inner Farne

Seabirds coming to an island near you!

Saturday 8th March comments: Are you ready? The team are preparing, the seabirds are returning and soon the Farne Islands will be alive with the sights, sounds and smells (!) of thousands of seabirds. We open our doors to the public on 1st April but we have some way to go before then.

In the next three weeks we have to prepare and train on the mainland before eventually moving out to live and work on the islands. As ever we’ll be bringing you all the news and views from the islands via the blog (or twitter: @NTSTeely) so stay tuned. Fasten your seatbelts, get ready, Planet Farnes is alive and kicking. Bring it on.

Mines a double!

Adult Sandwich terns on Inner Farne

Chick with dravic ring

Saturday 22nd February comments: This summer, for the first time on the Farne Islands, we ringed just over 100 Sandwich Tern chicks with small red darvics; special red plastic rings which have a unique three letter code enabling observers to read them in the ‘field’ with telescopes.

As a result we had a ‘return’ from a beach in Gambia in November as bird ‘UFA’ was spotted roosting amongst other terns on a beach. Now make that a double. News has just arrived that another of our Sandwich Terns has been seen, this time further south of Gambia in the Bijagos Archipelago off Guinee-Bissau. The bird fitted with the red darvic ‘UKS’ was noted on 22nd January.

This sighting shows you the value of such a ringing scheme and we hope this is the first of many sightings in future years so if you’re going abroad this winter, you may be a lot closer to the Farnes than you think!

Sandwich Tern ‘UKS’ movements
17th July 2013 ringed as a chick on Inner Farne
13th August 2013 seen at Findhorn Bay, Moray
18th August 2013 seen again at Findhorn Bay, Moray
22nd January seen on a beach at Bubaque, Guinee-Bissau

Rise and Shine!

Fulmars back...

Grey Seals galore

Migrant Seals in 'stick'?

Cliff tops remain empty

Mid-winter buildings closed.

Wednesday 19th February comments: Its been a while but slowly and surely the Farne Islands is wakening from its winter slumber. The team will soon return, the seabirds will follow and the daily visitors will enjoy. It’s nearly that time of year again; Farnes season!

It’s been a quiet spell over the last few weeks although a couple of visits have ensured that all is well on the islands. The cliffs remain bare, but with displaying Eiders, Shags in breeding plumage and Fulmars wheeling above the islands, it starting to feel like spring.

Over the next week or two, I’ll be bringing you all the winter news from the islands; from welcoming new staff to saying goodbye to old friends. Watch this space, the blog is alive…

Simply the (third) best

People love the Farnes!

Longstone and proud

Fans favourite: the Puffins

Guillemots galore

Friday 31st January comments: Just how good are the Farne Islands? I’m glad to announce we’ve been voted third in the ‘Best Nature Reserve’ category in the latest BBC Countryfile Magazine awards, voted by the public.

The magazine received over 66,000 votes and the Farnes came out third, behind Sherwood Forest and overall winners Brownsea Island in Dorset. The islands are a very special place and thanks for the all the votes!

If you’ve not visited the islands before, I would suggest you pencil it in and if you’ve been before, come back; it’s an amazing place and only getting better! The islands open on 1st April and will be open daily until 31st October. Staple Island opens from 1st May.

The Seal Deal

People enjoying Grey Selas on Staple Island

On the up....

Mother and pup

Tuesday 21st January comments: As the dust starts to settle on another Seal season, final counts are starting to filter though and it appears the English east coast colonies have had a bumper year. On the Farne Islands, a total of 1,575 pups were born, showing a very slight decrease on the previous year (when 1,603 were born).

However it’s a different story further south, as Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) have reported record numbers with 1,670 born during the autumn. A similar story is unfolding in Norfolk where Seals only bred for the first time in 1993, but now Blakeney Point recorded a record number born; 1,565 last autumn.

The UK boasts approximately 45% of the world population of Grey Seals and it’s certainly a bumper time for them in the North Sea although with numbers either stable or dwindling elsewhere (in northern and western Scotland) it remains a complex picture to piece together.

England’s three main Grey Seal colonies (pup production):

Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) 1,670

Farne Islands (Northumberland) 1,5,75

Blackeney Point (Norfolk) 1,565

Seal Success!

You can't see me, right?

Let sleeping babies...sleep

Yes, you can come in!

Success; a pup after three weeks (moulted)

Inner Farne beach taken over in late December

Staple colony strong as ever

Farnes pup population increasing (1952-2013)

Thursday 16th January comments: It was another successful year for the grey Seals of the Farne islands as the population remained strong, with a total of 1,575 pups born across the islands. The first pup was discovered on the South Wamses beach on 28th September and thereafter pupping increased with a peak in the second week of November.

Staple Island has cemented itself as the number one nursery, with 497 pups born on that island; the third consecutive year it has been the number one colony. Nearby South Wamses had 382 whilst Brownsman had 368 pups born.

Individual islands:

Staple island 497
South wamses 382
Brownsman 368
North Wamses 230
Northern hares 31
West Wideopens 43
Knoxes reef 15
Inner Farne 5
Big harcar 2
Longstone Main 2

Despite the storm surge in early December, the colonies were largely unaffected by the weather this autumn and although numbers still need to be crunched, it is expected mortality of young pups will be low.

Overall the final pup count finished on 1,575 and compares favourably with recent years (the third consecutive year the islands have produced over 1,500 pups). The Farnes Seals are doing well and if you don’t believe me, my advice is to visit and see (and smell) for yourself!

All Quiet on the Farne Front

The quiet world of the Farne Islands

Empty cliffs...

...and empty nests

Few young Seals still around



Boats out for winter cleaning and painting



Tuesday 14th January comments: The winter is a quiet time for the islands, as very little happens, with very few seabirds matched by very few puppng Seals (it is the end of their breeding season now). Even the resident rangers have long since departed to wintering quarters far and wide.

However when the weather allows, we still keep a close eye on it and today was one of those days, with calm seas, allowing us to head east back onto the rocks for the first time this year. Despite the storms and surges, the islands were in 'good health' and if it wasn't for a scattering of Shags, Fulmars and Eiders, it would be easy to forget that this place becomes a Seabird City in just under three months time.

The only noticeable birdlife came in the form of a large female Peregrine on Inner Farne which had just devoured an unfortunate Woodcock, whilst a wintering Red-necked Grebe was seen near Staple Island. Soon we'll be back, but until then, we'll let the sleeping giant snooze and leave the Seals to rest, because it won't be long before we're back...you have been warned.