Operation Darvic

Shag family on Staple Island

hello! Shag chick in hand

Farnes ranger team in action

Special 'darvic' ring

Saturday 5th July comments: The Farne Islands is a thriving buzz of activity at this time of year from the thousands of seabirds getting on with their daily lives to the hundreds of visitors who arrive on a daily basis. Without doubt, this is also the busiest time of the year for the resident ranger team as there is plenty of work to keep them occupied.

At the moment it’s all about seabird research and currently the team are tagging and ringing various seabirds. Recently we have focused on the Shag population as we are continuing our studies including using special plastic rings (called ‘darvics’) which allow people to read them at distance with binoculars and telescopes.

Interestingly last year, three chicks from the lighthouse cliff colony on Inner Farne wintered in Rotterdam harbour, Holland! The world do seabirds never ceases to amaze.