Rares on the Hares

Chicks sheltering under mother 

Its wet outside..adult Arctic Tern on nest 

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Day three for our Tern chick - his sibling has now hatched 

Big Harcar Cormorants on nests 

Gull chicks staying warm together

Our third Red-breasted Flycatcher of the spring!

Saturday 16th June comments: It’s been another interesting day as the weather has continued to dominate life on the islands. Overnight rain had cleared bringing brighter conditions in the morning but then we were back to the ‘usual weather’ as the rain had moved back in and by late afternoon, it was raining heavy. Life on the Farnes this season has been tough and that’s no exaggeration.

Interestingly spring migration continued with the discovery of our third Red-breasted Flycatcher of the spring, found on the eastern rocky outcrop known as the Northern Hares. The bird, a female, showed well (the island is just rock – no vegetation so it was always going to show well) and considering the Farnes only boasts five previous spring records of the species, three this year is very unusual!

One story we’ve been meaning to bring was the discovery of a roosting Nightjar on Brownsman on 12th June. The bird was discovered on the north end of the island and later found by the main Kittiwake colony near the cottage, but sadly no photographs were taken. Despite this, it was a great discovery – the islands first since 1995! Its been a brilliant spring for migrant birds but that may be the only positive coming out of the islands this spring...