Last day of June

Sunshine? what sunshine - fog galore!

Arctic Tern at sunset

Its going well: fledged Shag chicks on the rocks

Saying hello, a yearling Grey Seal

Tuesday 30th June comments:
Hot, hot, hot…but not here. The British Isles is basking in a heat wave (or so I’ve been told) but hot sunny weather, with a light southerly wind brings only one thing to the islands: fog! The fog has been with us for four days and we’ve not seen the mainland for sometime. Even visitor boats were struggling yesterday as we couldn’t see the main jetty from the Pele Tower – visibility can only be described as poor!

However work doesn’t stop because of fog, this is a seabird colony and its still all go. The monitoring of seabirds has eased (just a little bit) as birds start leaving the islands whilst bird ringing and general research continues. The number of visitors continues to be high (despite the fog!) and generally spirits are high. The main reason is due to the great success of our seabirds, as we approach July and its looking like a great season…

The world of Farnes will become busy tomorrow as the press release will go ‘live’ and I suspect we’ll have a few enquiries during the course of the day, but we’ll have to wait see. Otherwise all is well and if everyone could share the sunshine with us out here, that would be great.

Highlights: Common Sandpiper on Staple Island (first of the autumn) and Purple Sandpiper 1.

Breeding birds: Good groups of Shag fledglings have started gathering in sheltered areas of the islands forming ‘family super groups’, one of the last nesting female Eiders has gone with very few remaining, Black-headed Gull a few more chicks fledgling from the colonies, Sandwich Tern chicks now fledgling as birds bring chicks down to the beach, Arctic Tern – the first fledged today, Common Tern chicks now medium sized, Guillemots and Razorbills continue to leave with huge gaps starting to appear on the cliffs and Puffins chicks leaving in the droves.

Butterflies: Painted Ladies are moving through the islands in good numbers with 70+ today, Painted Ladies several.

Cetaceans: nothing to report as we can’t see the sea due to the fog!

Toilet puffin

Puffins galore

A good crop of Sandeels

Sunday 28th June comments:

Life’s not easy is it? Just ask a Puffin chick (also know as a Pufflin). It spends forty days down a nesting burrow, never seeing daylight and growing up on a diet of Sandeels. Eventually when it’s ready to go, the chick will leave under the cover of darkness and walk down to the sea, before swimming out into the North Sea, away from all predators and survive on the North Sea, returning three years later to breed (hopefully). Simple? Well not quite…

Not everything goes according to plan. Every year on the islands, we have a small number which leave the burrows and set off on their journey to the sea under the cover of darkness. However, put a 14th century Chapel, a 15th century Pele Tower and a visitor centre in the way and the end result is that we normally have several fledged chicks scampering around the buildings, discovered during the morning cleans-ups. If their really lucky young Pufflins, they’ll be found in the public toilets....

So this is where yesterday’s story begins – we found a scampering Puffin chick in the toilets having lost its way in the dark the previous evening. So operation ‘Release the Puffin’ swung into action and due to the risk of predation, we kept the bird with us for the day and then we descended onto the jetty as light faded. We released the youngster (who was delighted to be out) onto the jetty but he wasn’t in a hurry. After a few wing flaps and stretches, he eventually walked (with some trepidation) to the edge of the jetty. Plop, he was then in – the North Sea for the first time in its life. The bird began to swim strongly east away from the islands and almost immediately started diving (its incredible behaviour from something which had never seen water until a few moments earlier).

It was a great success story and we’ll have many more like it over the next few weeks – the Puffins are doing well and this little chap is just one of the first of many. The season is going well, fingers crossed for a really good one...

Highlights: Green Sandpiper remains on Brownsman, Purple Sandpiper 2 and Whimbrel

Butterflies: Painted Ladies 60+ moved through the islands yesterday – a noticeable invasion whilst there was a general increase in Red Admirals

Moths: Several hundred Silver Y's moving through - another migrant on the charge

Puffintastic!

Nothing like an adult: a fledgling Puffin on its way

Dr Richard Bevan talking to the media on Brownsman

Never work with Puffins - thanks for that

Friday 26th June comments:

This really is it now. The first Puffin chick walked from its burrow, without parents consent and departed. The bird had fledged and now like its other family members, the Guillemots and Razorbills, the Puffins are going. It’s hard to believe this thriving seabird metropolis will soon be empty and everything gone. Over the next four weeks, birds will depart on mass and by early August, the islands will become just that, bare cold islands. The season is heading for a great success story (fingers crossed) and with the first departure of a Puffin chick, its time to say goodbye.

However not everything is going, as Kittiwakes and Shags will linger on until late August and then comes more excitement, it’ll be migration time again! Also the months of August and September can bring other exciting sightings, as its peak cetacean time, so hopefully more Dolphins and a Whale or two on the agenda.

Staying with Puffins, the media descended onto Brownsman today, both local and national, to cover a story which will break next Wednesday (1st July), so brace yourself, more Farnes related press coverage coming your way. However you’ll have to wait for the story to unfold, but its interesting and well worth reading or listening too. As for me, well whilst holding a Puffin in my lap, it decided to leave its mark and let me know what it really thought of me - the joys of working with seabirds!

Highlights: Green Sandpiper on staple island, Purple Sandpiper 2 – returning birds but otherwise quiet

Butterflies: Plenty of Painted Ladies moving with small numbers of common butterfly’s

Dolphin Crazy

Bottle-nosed Dolphin - adult with youngster

Great views - Dolphins near the boat

Saying hello to Glad Tidings I skipper Bobby Pearson and his visitors

© All photos Andy Smith

Thursday 25th June comments:
The Farnes are alive and kicking as the breeding seabirds make this one of the most exciting destinations in the UK at present – or is that me being biased? Anyway its all go, as chicks grow ever stronger as the food supply continues to be brought in, in great quantity. As for the team, plenty happening as we continue to monitor the seabirds whilst adding the finishing touches to the counting process and where nearly there! The Sandwich Tern colony now stands at a final 1,311 pairs on Inner Farne although we’ve still got birds settling on Brownsman. As for me, busy as ever keeping law and order and dealing with the media, but all will be revealed early next week…

Today brought some excitement with the appearance of at least five Bottle-nosed Dolphins in Inner Sound (between Seahouses and Inner Farne), during the course of the morning. The animals, at east five, were seen at 9am and remained in the area until early afternoon (and thanks to the Glad Tidings III team again – more great photos from Andy Smith). The amazing spectacle was seen by plenty of visitors to the islands and we suspect it’s probably the same pod which has been seen on-and-off in the area over the past month or so. The islands are really buzzing and its not be missed at this moment – keep your eyes peeled, anything is possible.

Breeding birds: Shag chicks ready to fledge, the first young Black-headed Gulls are now flying, Sandwich Terns now have large chicks, small chicks and eggs – a mixed bunch indeed and there is even a very late colony establishing on Brownsman – up to sixty pairs at this moment.

Highlights: still very few, but adult Wood Sandpiper on Brownsman on 23rd, Bar-tailed Godwit 9, Curlew 40, Turnstone 49 and Swift 7 over.

Sandeel Fishing

Bernicia - the Farnes research vessel

Sorting out the trawl nets

The catch: its good news, Sandeels galore

Tuesday 23rd June comments:
Days come thick and fast on the Farnes in June and the fantastic weather brings out lots of visitors, its great for the seabirds and the team don’t complain either (its BQ weather after all!!). Today was another exciting day, as the research vessel Bernicia arrived on the islands for its annual trawl around the islands. The boat is part of the Farnes Marine Research group, who, along with the wardens on the islands, map the seabed around the islands and trawl for samples of Sandeels, to see what is actually happening below the waves.

As usual, two wardens (Davy and Joe), accompanied the boat to assist with the trawl for the day and the results were excellent. The number of Sandeels being trawled up was good (better than the previous few years) and Snake Pipe-Fish (a problematic species) was almost non-existence.

Snake Pipe-fish were classified as very rare in Farnes waters up until 2003 (only three records existed until this time). Thereafter we saw a huge boom and to put it into context, just a single trawl from around the islands two years ago produced 500+ Snake Pipe Fish - and that was just in ONE trawl. However they appear to have gone as quick as they arrived, as Snake Pipe-fish are now becoming scarce.

Breeding birds: its ALL go, as the seabird colony has now reached its peak as chicks grow bigger by the day and some even fledge – we’ve now got Razorbills and Guillemots leaving in their droves. The Tern chicks grow ever bigger by the day and it’ll only be a matter of a week or two before they are flying. Even the passerine birds are getting in-on the act as Pied Wagtail young fledged last night (second brood) although our Swallows appear to have given up trying.

Cetaceans: Porpoise three sighted by Longstone Lighthouse with another two in Inner Sound (between Seahouses and the islands), so keep your eyes open if your visiting!

Ringing and research

The lads and the ringing team, ringing adult Shags

Warden Jason Moss showing a family Puffin Cam on Staple Island

Wardens in action - both Zodiac boast coming in to land

Sunday 21st June comments:

Another glorious day, bringing lots of visitors and more importantly, more good weather for the growing chicks. The seabird ringing team lead by Dr Chris Redfern visited the islands today, helping to ring adult Shags, Kittiwakes and Puffins. The Farnes team supported the ringers and help ring a good number of nesting seabirds, which is all part of the valuable research on the islands. Research on the Farnes takes in many forms, from range finding, to mapping of seabeds, to collection of feather samples to ringing amongst plenty of others. The valuable data collected helps ensure we build a bigger picture of what is happening to our seabirds, not only on the Farnes, but the UK in general.

As well as the ringing, the Farnes obtained a new exciting bit of kit today - a small endoscope, complete with infra-red lighting, which enabled us to penetrate Puffin burrows to check the contents. The 'Puffin Cam' was an amazing addition, as we were able to show members of the public what was happening below the surface and we were able to check on the health of Puffin chicks (all doing well I'm glad to report). This bit of kit will be used extensively over the next few weeks so hopefully I'll get some good results to report.

Onwards and upwards

Parent Shag caring for young

Puffin carrying sandeels for a hungry chick

Saturday 20th June comments:
It’s been another hectic period – although thankfully the worst of the weather avoided us again and things continue to look good (fingers crossed). The breeding seabirds are getting on with the serious business of raising young whilst the Farnes team go about their business of monitoring, meeting and greeting and everything in-between. Seabird breeding season’s are quick affairs, and its hard to believe we’ve got young chicks which will be fledging within weeks and soon all will be gone. However its nowhere near finished, so don’t stop reading!

As part of the National Trust, we’re one big happy family and its always great to see staff from other properties and regions visiting the Farnes. As well as the day visitors, we’ve just had a visit from the property manager and head warden from Blakeney Point in north Norfolk, discussing ideas and swapping ideas, so many thanks to John and David for all their input and hope you enjoyed the visit!

Breeding birds: Both Comorant and Shags has large young (although some still on eggs – its going to be a protracted season), sadly the majority of the nesting Eiders have now departed having fledged young, more young Guillemots seen jumping off the cliffs today although still thousands present – the bulk won’t move for a few weeks yet, Puffins now feeding medium sized chicks, Arctic and Sandwich Terns have plenty of chicks so sandeels galore being brought in (and no sign of any pipefish this year!

Highlights: Manx Shearwater 312 north in two hours this evening - a notable count for the islands, Shelduck 2, Roseate Tern - up to six lingering on the outer group - will they breed?, Starling 10.