Give us a wave!

                                                 Give us a wave! (Bex Outram)

Longstone Lighthouse taking a battering (Will Scott)

Storm time.

Saturday 23rd March comments: Since arriving on Thursday morning our early Farnes experience has been dominated by bitingly cold winds so much so that we’ve not seen the wind drop below gale force. The wind chill has not crept above zero and the raw power of the North Sea has been well and truly felt.

Today very few birds were recorded, although hardy winter ducks including 6 Long-tailed and 13 Goldeneye are braving the elements near Inner Farne. However if you think we have it bad, our thoughts are with the crew of the ‘power’ tug Lomax, who are currently sitting off the islands, riding the storm out and will be doing so for the foreseeable future.

At the moment, this place does not feel like a seabird reserve as very few seabirds are present in complete contrast to this time last year when we had Shags on eggs. What a difference a year makes! To live and work out here is always interesting and this wintry start is certainly proving challenging. It’s time to brace ourselves for another cold night on this rock in the middle of the sea, as we get the islands ready for the arrival of 80,000 seabirds and 40,000 visitors. Think we’re mad? This is planet Farnes.

Highlights: Long-tailed Duck 6, Goldeneye 12, Common Scoter 11, Red-breasted Merganser female, Teal 1, Merlin again, Purple Sandpiper 80, Woodcock 2, Lapwing 1, Skylark 2, Blackbird 8 and Twite.