Count down

Safety in numbers: second coat pups gathering together

Hows they change - a three week old pup

The team in action on South Wamses

Welcome to Sunday morning and I’m sure the dust will be settling on Bobby’s 50th birthday celebrations and there’ll be a few soar heads around this morning. However back on the islands, it’s been a settled few days with light winds and relatively flat seas which have given the wardens and the seals on the Farnes some rest bite. So the colonies have been visited and the latest counts are in, with just one week to go. Staple Island has cemented itself as a major colony and will rank as the second biggest on the Farnes this year with 338 already. It’s an amazing transformation and it’s only a mater of time before it becomes number one.

The South Wamses, the current champion, is home to over 350 and it was good to catch up with a few old friends that I’ve come to recognise over the years (yes, some females will pup in the same parts of the same island from year-to-year). The great news is that the island was brimming with second-coat pups including one little fella we hadn’t seen for a few weeks; Archie. It was clearly Archie as his red mark on his tail flipper gave him away but he’s changed. Like Nemo and Lucky, he’s made it. His second coat announces that he’s ready for the brave new world of the Farne Islands. Like all our pups, we wish him good luck and I suspect it won’t be the last time we see this wee chap on the islands.

However it isn’t all good news, it never is. It was very evident that most pups born on the north or east edge of the colonies have experienced great losses. The brunt of the storm had been felt on several islands and lifeless corpses were scattered across the colonies. As part of my job, I have to gather, tag and mark all dead pups found, and as I go though the process, I try not to ponder the difficult circumstances which they battled against, and lost. Mother Nature had done her job but she had done it too well.

However heads up, we’re getting some great success and mortality will be slightly below the 50% we expect on the islands. Since the first pup born in late September, the colonies now boast 1,114. As we head into the final week on the islands, a lot could change and a lot will, but you still with me? Keep reading stay tuned, as the islands are heading into December…

Happy Birthday Bob

Happy Birthday Bobby, 50 today!

Bobby at his finest

The one and only - Bobby's boat Glad Tidings I

Today’s blog news from the islands comes with a slight difference. Forget the seals, the birds and the islands. Today it’s about the people behind the scenes, but more to the point, one particular individual…

Glad Tidings I skipper Bobby Pearson is 50 today – congratulations Bobby,

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY from the islands!!

Bobby is a well known character and a well liked skipper of a visitor boat which sails to the islands on a daily basis throughout the summer. His warm friendly welcome makes him popular amongst everyone he meets and greets. From the passengers on his boat to all the wardens, Bobby makes them feel at home and adds a certain magic to the trip around the islands.

I first met Bobby eight years ago on my first day as a new warden, and eight years later, I've come to regard him as a good friend, although with his strong Northumbria accent, I've had to interpret what he says for many a young warden. When the new lads start on the islands, there is a lot to learn and Bobby is always the first to welcome them and make an extra special effort to help them get to know the ropes (quiet literally!). Bobby is one of the many unsung hero's of this place and we wish him well for the future and no doubt he’ll have a few words about this posting. But have a pint on us Bobby, Happy Birthday old man! One final point, yes he does have a downside as I can never understand what he sees in his beloved NewcastleUnited...

Anyway tomorrow I'll be back to the seals as I'm going to bring you all a full round-up of all the news from the colonies, including the count figures and the news on our wonderful characters Archie, Rocky, Nemo and co.

Armed and Dangerous

A sad end, a dead pup being checked and tagged

Armed and dangerous, a warden with coloured spray dye

As never seen before: Staple Island (with Brownsman in the distance)

At last a really calm day on the islands and a chance to visit some of the seal colonies to see what has happened since we were last on them. Although we couldn't make all the colonies, the weather pattern appears to be settled for the time being...but not for long. Reports are starting to flood in that we are in for it yet again, as a north-easterly gale is due at the weekend. Oh boy, I thought we had seen the last of those and at this rate, I might be eating Christmas turkey out on Brownsman! (actually don't tempt me, that would be brilliant!). However it was the short leap over to nearby Staple Island a stones throw away from Brownsman.

Like Viking raiders, we landed on the shores of Staple, armed and ready. The island is one of two islands open to the public during the summer as the thriving seabird metropolis supports one of the largest Puffin colonies on the Farnes and it’s a spectacular sight for day trippers. However its late November and only one thing thrives; Grey Seals.

When I first started on the islands back in 2001, the island didn’t support any pupping mothers, but now it’s a major player on the Farnes. The count went smoothly and although we found a few dead, it was evident that mortality was well below the average, more nearer 15%. The sheltered aspect of the island certainly helps and probably one of the reasons why the seals have colonised the low sloping island in recent year. After a few hours marking, counting, tagging and mapping the colony, we return to Brownsman. Staple now has 338 seal pups, an impressive number by any colony standard.

The Farnes have seen a shift in the colonies in recent years as mothers have moved from the two islands of the Wamses (North and South) to the sheltered retreats of Brownsman and Staple Island. I must confess, I can't blame them, as the North Wamses registered a mortality rate of 72% not long back, compared to 22% on Staple. Now you may see why they are shifting! However we leave sheltered Staple Island behind as we move further out into the colonies and what will we discover out on those islands, only time will tell…

Seals Ahoy!

A second coater at home on the front step






Even our shed has been taken over

Me at the front door, with our new neighbours

At last. After what feels like an age, I might actually get some sleep without the tiles on the cottage roof 'dancing' in the wind. Yes, the winds are easing and hopefully were heading into a few calm days on the Farnes and we maybe able to see the results of the damage caused by the northerly storms. Although I am expecting the worst, there are still plenty of Seals which have survived and will fight to remind me of that very fact. Little 'Rocky - love the name - is still alive and well and hopefully Archie will be moulting into second coat by the time we reach him.

On Brownsman, Seal pups are appearing everywhere on the island and the ‘second coat pups’ are becoming part of the furniture. The little blighters are getting everywhere and as the photos show, we’ve got one at the front door and another in the shed around the back of the island. Even the solar panel system has one living beneath it, so its home sweet home. However these are fairly gentle compared with what greeted me this morning, as a cow seal has decided to pup outside the front door of the cottage, so Mr Postman, forget beware of the dog, just beware of the seal! There’s nothing quiet like living on a small island in the North Sea and there really isn't a dull moment. I'm sure we'll have fun when we eventually come to leave the island, as we'll have a few seals to leap before getting to the boat.

However its the north beach which deserves some attention, after all, this blog and Autumnwatch would have not happened if it wasn't for that small colony on Brownsman, and I returned to see how our characters were getting on. It was easy to spot both Nemo and Lucky, as the young starlets appear very content and happy and so they should be. Both are now 'barrels' of blubber and they'll be soon off to discover what life is like below the waves. The north beach colony has been reasonably sheltered throughout the storms and its nice to see them doing well.

Whilst at the 'office' yesterday (well inside the Brownsman cottage), I was delighted to read all your messages because as most of you are aware, I’m new to this blogging business but thanks for all the support, from Aberdeen, to Bristol and far flung Hampshire! However I’ve still got plenty more to tell you and then maybe next year I'll be bringing you all the news, views and comments for a complete season from the islands. Watch this space...

The fight continues

Mother and pup in the snow on Brownsman

Whats this? A second coat pup in the snow

The storm rages across the north beach colony on Brownsman

The wind blows and the storms rage as the Farne Islands are battered from the north for yet another day. There is no escape for anything or anyone and to complete the scene we soon have snow fall. The islands have had a good dusting today and the seals look a little bemused by the white stuff but they don't have a problem with such small trivial matters, as its the pounding North Sea which frightens them the most.

As I walk across the south beach, I discover two young Seal pups in the tangled kelp on the shoreline. Both are lifeless, both are dead. Death is something we have to accept out here, as it’s evident throughout the autumn months, as pups are lost to disease, or inexperienced mothers. However it was the harsh realities of the North Sea this time last year which accounted for over 600 of our pups and I'm expecting a repeat this time around. Once we've had the chance to visit the other colonies and crunch some numbers, I suspect we won't be too far away from that 50% loss. Its a cruel world out here and any pups born on the north end of the islands recently probably won't have lived to see the snow which fell this morning.

As the chill factor dropped to -5.9 degrees, I was stopped in my tracks. Life on a rock. Not all was lost in the storm and if I rubbed my eyes in disbelief at the discovery of the Otter tracks, then glancing over to Nameless Rock nearly bowled me over. For there clinging to life on top of the small island, is the pup I had given up for dead. That pup must have seen it all in the last twenty-four hours, but regardless its still alive and what a fighter. Without doubt we will have lost plenty but there will be many which survived and will live to see the world of the Farnes for another day.

However things are never that simple. BBC Radio Four crackles into life, it’s the shipping forecast:

Forth, Tyne, Dogger: Northerly 5-7 occasionally gale force 8, wintry showers.

Silence. Where not out of the woods yet, not by any stretch of the imagination...

Fight for survival

The storm lashing the east side of Brownsman early Saturday morning

Nameless Rock - an island with life - a Seal pup clings on for dear life

The Otter story made the national headlines and top billing on the local Teletext news report, and even the mighty Terry Wogan mentioned it on his breakfast program. But every day is different out here and the Otter story is quickly forgotten as we've got trouble, big trouble.

The storm has been raging from the north or north-west for two days now and as each day passes the sea builds in strength, power and magnitude. The North Sea is a vast place and a northerly backed wind will whip across it, increasing the swell and the waves. There's nothing stopping it until its reaches its first breaking point; the Farne Islands. Welcome to the Farnes in late November. This morning has been incredible, as I'm witnessing waves on areas of the island I've not seen before and even standing in the centre of Brownsman I can feel the sea spray breaking over. The islands weather machine is recording a chill factor of -2.4 degrees and its only ten o'clock. This is the true raw strength of the North Sea and it's not stopping. Its brute force will ravage the islands leaving very little standing and the outcome looks bleak.

The Grey Seals out on the colonies will suffer and the fight for survival is none more apparent than on Nameless Rock, a small low lying island opposite Brownsman (see photo above). A small pup was born on their just over a week ago and its now under siege. The waves are breaking over the top, the tide is rising and it's helpless and there is nothing we can do. Will he make it? The swell is crushing everything in its path and it won't stop for a small seal pup. It's mother must be distraught but I don't fancy its chance, I really don't. I'll know the outcome in the next few hours as high tide approaches but I can only but pray for the little life on the rock.

This is just one small story of the bigger drama which will unfold over the next few days on the Farnes. Without doubt the pups are paying a heavy toll on the islands as the harsh mistress that is the North Sea will be washing them off the rocks and beaches around us. Its a cruel time of year and for young pups, they won't stand a chance if they don't find safety. Moving just a few yards further up the beach can make a huge difference between life and death, but I suspect its to late. I'm fearing the worst and those with a nervous disposition may not want to read tomorrows entry... The storm is raging.

You've Otter to be joking!

Proof in the mud! Otter tracks on Brownsman (photo by Alex Ash)

Its no Grey Seal, as Otter discovered on Farnes for first time (photo by Alex Ash)

The footprints in the mud tell its own story. An Otter has reached the shores of the Farne Islands for the first time ever and this wasn’t just any ordinary site, this is Brownsman, an island three miles out in the North Sea off the north Northumberland coast.

It’s staggering that an Otter could survive the perilous journey out to the Farne Islands, especially Brownsman which is so far from shore. There was initial shock and disbelief amongst us as we looked down and discovered the tracks. Just how the animal made it over is almost beyond belief. It’s tough enough for an engine driven boat to navigate the currents and rip tides, but an Otter?! Wow!

This is the first occasion that Otters have been sighted on the Farnes and this probably reflects the boom in the population around the north-east region. The tracks were discovered in the muddy pathway where our old boardwalk was sited (it's been ripped up for a new walkway) and they run for about ninety foot up the island. Although we don't know the age of animal, it maybe safe to assume that it is a young animal exploring from its home territory and it may remain around the islands for some time to come. The rocky islands will offer it a safe place to live as it should find an abundant food supply even during the winter months.

So forget the 80,000 seabirds, 3,800 Grey Seals, come and see the famous Farnes Otters! How strange does that sound and I never thought I would be saying that within my lifetime. My next mission is to see it! It’ll make the next few weeks even more interesting and I'll keep you all posted. As for the rest of the Farnes, those wintry showers with strong winds have just cranked up a notch and those Seal pups really could be in serious trouble...