 |
| Say hello to our first Staple Island seal pup! (Laura Shearer) |
 |
| Tiny but mighty! Goldcrest showing well (Bex Outram) |
Sunday 14th
October comments: It’s been another interesting day on the Islands with
plenty going on. This morning saw the team out seal counting for the third
time, this time recording 19 new births across the islands. The total now
stands at 37 pups born. Things are hotting up and it won’t be long until there
are little white bundles of joy everywhere! Our first pup on Staple Island is
doing well and we’ll hopefully be able to share it with you very soon. The
sailing to Staple is completely weather dependent and as you can imagine at
this time of year, the weather doesn’t always read the script!
If you are planning
on coming on the seal tours, please remember to wear suitable and sturdy
footwear, waterproofs and be ready for some difficult terrain. The tours will
be guided by National Trust Rangers and it should be a great opportunity to see
Grey Seals and their pups. Please also keep an eye on the weather and check
with the Glad Tidings booking office before coming out on 01665 720308.
In other news, we’re still seeing lots of migrant birds on
the islands with good numbers of Goldcrests still present with over 45 recorded
today. These incredible birds fly hundreds of miles across the North Sea on
their migration south and weigh exactly the same as a 20 pence piece (5.1grams)!
AMAZING! The Farne Islands are often the first land these birds see after
leaving Scandanavia, so we do our best to provide them with a place to shelter
and rest up before they carry on. Unfortunately not all birds make their final
destination. Incredibly, a Great-Spotted Woodpecker was found dead in the
middle of the seal colony today, representing the first record since 2004;
definitely ranking as one of the most bizarre places to find a woodpecker! It
just shows the harsh realities of life on the wing, what a place to end up
after coming so far!
So, the seals are pupping, the birds are passing through and
it’s all go on the islands. If there’s one
thing to be sure of, it’s that it's never dull on the Farnes!!
2 comments:
This is just so exciting!! For the last few days I have seen seals swimming right beside the quayside in Berwick for the first time this season and that is a sign to us lot not on the Farnes that the breeding season has started.
Lovely to hear news from else where in the UK!! I am in Cornwall where we have alot less seals but this doesn't make them any less important and volunteers spend alot of there time going out to watch th pups from cliff tops, making sure they are all ok!! All the best for the pup season 2012!!
Post a Comment