It's been a few
years since my last visit to the Farne Islands, so I was looking
forward to another boat trip from the nearby harbour of Seahouses
across to the bird sanctuary in high
season. Thousands of seabirds breed on the islands each year, which
attracts people in their droves who pay a visit to get much closer to
nature. Firstly, a brief insight to the islands -
The Farne
Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland,
England. There are between 15 and 20 islands depending on the state
of the tide.
They are scattered about 2.5–7.5 km (1½–4¾ miles) from the
mainland, divided into two groups, the Inner Group and the Outer
Group. The main islands in the Inner Group are Inner Farne, Knoxes
Reef and the East and West Wideopens (all joined together on very low
tides) and (somewhat separated) the Megstone; the main islands in the
Outer Group are Staple Island, the Brownsman, North and South Wamses,
Big Harcar and the Longstone. The two groups are separated by Staple
Sound. The highest point, on Inner Farne, is 19 metres (62 feet)
above mean sea level.
Every year, between the
months of May and July, the Farne Islands is an impressive seabird
city. Naturally, with excessive numbers of birds on the islands this
place is very noisy and smelly during the breeding season, but that
doesn't deter the average visitor from making the most of their
experience. Today I travelled with my son Christopher, who'd been
looking forward to this day for some time, given his big interest in
bird life, which made my experience even better. We pre-booked our
places on the boat trip, which was all day affair, so we needed to
leave home at 7.30am in time to catch our boat which sailed out of
Seahouses at 9.30am. Of course, we checked the weather forecast
before booking the trip, so we knew we were in for much sunshine,
which gave us something else to look forward to. Quite often the
weather plays its part and occasionally the tour operator cancels
sailings because of it, but no such drama today as it was sunshine
and warm temperatures all the way. We arrived at Seahouses at 9am,
giving us ample time to park up before making our way down to the
harbour. We paid and collected our boarding cards then waited for our
boat, which arrived bang on time. We were at the front of a large
queue, so we had pick of the seats once we boarded. By the time
everyone else had joined us the boat was crammed with around 45
people, plus the 2 man boat crew. And that was it, we were off and
running.
Our boat, Glad Tidings V, swiftly headed towards the islands. The all day boat trip is particularly suitable for the ornithologist/ photographer who wants to spend more time observing the wealth of nesting species. This trip only runs during the breeding season and lasts approximately six hours (two hours on Staple Island on the morning, and two hours on Inner Farne during the afternoon. The other two hours includes a cruise around the islands to view the nesting birds on cliff faces and the Grey Seal colony at several vantage points. Inner Farne and Staple Island are major sanctuaries in the UK for approximately 22 species of breeding sea birds, including Guillemot, Razorbill, Eider Duck and 4 species of Terns, not forgetting the small detail of 70,000 puffins!
Our first point of call was the cliff faces at Inner Farne. The boat engine was temporarily cut as we took in the sight and sounds of the nesting birds. The skipper commentary was interesting enough, although most people at this point were snapping away with their camera's and seemingly taking little interest in it. From Inner Farne we then headed out to Staple Island, through Staple Sound, then onward to Brownsman, Bluecaps and Longstone, the furthest point of the boat tour. After circling Longstone we were now heading towards Harcars, passing Grey Seal as we went, plus many species of birds which were flying low near the surface of the North Sea. Apparently a Minke Whale was spotted near the Farnes two weeks before, and although the skipper asked us to keep our eyes peeled for it, the animal didn't appear. We had been on the boat for an hour and our first landing was coming up shortly - Staple Island. As this is a National Trust property a landing fee applies, which works out at £6.40 per adult and £3.20 per child. Obviously the same figures apply to the afternoon landing at Inner Farne, so the cost of your day out can work out quite expensive, unless of course you know someone who has a NT membership and he lets you borrow it for the day (wink). The sea was very calm today, so we had no problem getting off the boat and leaving our sea legs behind for a couple of hours. A queue formed as we stepped onto Staple Island, as most of the trippers weren't members of the National Trust. Those who were members were fast tracked past the queue before making their way up the entry path towards the action.
Staple Island is very flat and rocky. The numbers of Shag were well down compared to my last visit in 2008, and this was evident on the rocks where I only managed to see around half a dozen nesting pairs. This area was awash with them five years ago. There are no facilities on Staple Island so most people take a packed lunch, which we did, and it nice after an hour or so on the island to sit our arses down and take advantage of our packed goodies. After our pit stop we hit most corners and outreaches of Staple, pulling in a few decent shots of flying Puffins en route. Razorbills and Guillemots were top heavy as they gathered in their thousands on the ledges and outcrops that were readily available. Many were lined up, facing the same way and sheltering their single pear-shaped eggs, which was quite a sight. Almost everyone carried a camera of some description. I photographed a group of 'Big Hitters' who were positioned nearby and those customers were carrying some expensive kit. There wasn't a telephoto lens with a reach of under 400mm, so these punters were almost guaranteed the cream of the crop, as far as photographs are concerned. Me, well I was packing a modest 300mm Sigma piece of glass, so in essence I was a Conference League player up against the money men of the Champions League! Oh well, what to do eh - but then again, you can only pee with the tail you've got!!! I could only dream of owning one of those white Canon lenses, but ya never know, maybe one day...
In no time it seemed our two hour limit was up, so next thing we knew we were back on Glad Tidings and travelling around the remainder of the Farnes before our last landing on Inner Farne, which was scheduled as another 2 hours on land. By this time I was confident I had pulled in some decent shots, although my lens went hunting on more than ten occasions and had trouble locking on to subjects, even stationary birds. With that in mind I was expecting an uphill task when photographing birds in flight, but against the odds this is where I managed to pull in my best shots. We didn't see a great deal of eggs today, although Chris and his eagle eyes (binoculars) picked out a few here and there. He was loving the whole experience. As the breeding season was at an early stage we expected to see plenty of eggs, but the majority of parents were sitting, so that put paid to that prospect. It would be at least two weeks before chick were visible, but we had anticipated this before our journey, so we weren't gonna be disappointed on that particular score. Again, we passed a few Grey Seal en route to Inner Farne as they basked on the rocks. High tide isn't the best time to see them however, as low tide has many hundreds of basking seals on show around this time of year when they are also breeding.
At 1.20pm we approached our second landing at Inner Farne. We tethered to the jetty before disembarking and were told in no uncertain terms that the 'Head Bangers' were waiting for us just a few metres ahead. Enter the Arctic Terns, who were nesting in their hundreds along the path we were about to tread, and these customers don't take kindly to visitors who trespass their domain. We were well prepared for what lay ahead though, as I told Chris the tale of my last visit here, when an Indian boat tripper decided his turban was sufficient protection against the dive-bombing terns - WRONG !!!!! The poor fella seemed to be singled out by at least five angry as fcuk Terns, who in turn (no pun intended) took it upon themselves to drop shat over his dark head wear. Hey, this was hilarious to say the very least, that was until I got whitewashed myself down the left side of my laughing face. Needless to say I wasn't laughing anymore, especially as I was now providing laughter to all around me, whilst poor Abdul scurried off, seeking refuge in the nearby visitor centre. Welcome to Inner Farne!!!
But that was then. Today there was just the usual pecking of the head and no whitewashing, not that we saw. At the top of that path lies the NT visitor Centre, and opposite is St Cuthbert's Chapel, originally built in 1370. All around this area is nesting Arctic Terns who are just as hostile as the others, with eggs on display. On my website slideshow there is one shot which shows a Tern heading straight towards my camera with a look of anger in its eyes (Link at bottom of blog entry).
We expected to see dozens of Eider Duck nesting on Inner Farne, as is usually the case in May, but numbers were down and we only saw three or four sitting females. Next to Inner Lighthouse there were many nesting birds on the cliff faces, including Shag & Kittiwake, plus the Guillemots across the way on Pinnacle Rock. It was the amount of Puffin burrows that caught the eye too, with literally thousands of them everywhere we walked. I dropped anchor near the path an waited for Puffin's to appear, which they did, any they were anything but shy, as my photo's prove. Puffin's are peoples favourite bird of the Farne Islands, or so it seems. The 'Clowns of the Atlantic' are certainly photogenic, make no mistake about that. In the visitor Centre there is a newly installed 'Puffin Kam', where visitors have the chance to see one incubating it's egg in a burrow. I saw a video clip of it laying its egg, apparently the first time it has ever been filmed. Photographing Puffin's in flight is one of the hardest tasks I've done with a camera, as these birds are quick. I managed to shoot one or two with a quick shutter and I was chuffed with the results - one is shown here, of an incoming bird above a small colony of 'Friends' on the cliff edge.
Before long we were back on the boat and making our way back to Seahouses Harbour. Everyone aboard seemed to have enjoyed their day out - I know we certainly did, and it was worth every penny. Chris reminded me that I promised him Fish & Chips when we were back on the mainland - he doesn't forget stuff like that, he he. And by this time we were ready for a meal. The sun was still shining brightly as we disembarked, so off we went, up the ramp and into the restaurant. A nice way to end the day. I'd recommend this trip to anyone who shares an interest in this type of thing, so if you do, then check out the links below for more details. And that is all for now. I'll be beck again soon with more ramblings and the usual photograph accompaniment, so until then I shall tootle off and return at a later date. Hope you enjoyed your read!
Ash
Farne Islands - Wikipedia
Book A Farne Islands Boat Trip
My Farne Islands Slideshow, 2008-2013
Our annual pilgrimage to the Farne Islands took place in mid-July, 2014. Once again it was an all day affair, courtesy of Billy Shiels boat trips, out of the harbour at Seahouses, Northumberland. Boarding the boat at 9.45am meant an early departure from Gods Country, at 7.20am, to be precise. We hit Seahouses just before 9 o' clock and headed straight to the local bakers shop, where we had breakfast, in the shape of a bacon and egg stottie. Just what the doctor ordered. Then it was a simple case of paying for our pre-booked tickets at the kiosk, although there's nowt simple about parting with £48 in the blink of an eye. That's the entry ticket for one plus one, and seeing that this whole affair comes around once a year, what the hell, let's get over to the Farnes and take it all in. And what a hive of activity it was, as expected, thousands of breeding birds in full flow, it was noisy and it was certainly smelly, and that was just my arse after scranning the bacon butty!!!!
And so we set off, heading towards the Farne Islands on a boat packed with people from all over the world. Again, it was camera equipment overload and there was a nation of it, worth thousands upon thousands of pound notes (or Euro, whatever the case may be). We were packed on board the Glad Tidings vessel like sardines in a tin, which came as no surprise really, it's like that every year we attend. Our tour of the islands was accompanied by the very informative captain, who's knowledge of the area and the breeding seabirds is well established. Then we hit the business end of the trip, our first landing, on Staple Island. From the boat we were led up the steep steps where the National Trust Rangers were waiting, taking payment from those who weren't holding a valid membership card. £6.80 for me and £3.75 for Chris! Ouch, and we had to do it all again on our second landing, at Inner Farne. Good job I was holding a pocket full of shekels!
Numbers of breeding birds were thriving, such as Puffin, Guillemot, Shag, Cormorant, Razorbill, Terns & Gulls. We saw a nesting Fulmar too, quite a rare sight on the Farnes. Our landing on Inner Farne had the customary welcome - the attack of the Arctic Terns, dozens of them! Well prepared for this as usual, with the baseball cap to take the sting out of those sharp pecking bills. If you stood still for more than a few seconds the Terns would have no hesitation in standing on your head, which was respite from their usual behaviour on the stretch of path leading to the Visitor Centre. And it was this area where activity was frantic, between the Centre and the toilets, where me n' Chris were dive bombed on countless occasions. 
From here we headed off and over to the lighthouse, where dozens of Shags were nesting on the cliff face. I pulled in some decent shots here, including Puffins in flight. This was the last part of our visit as it was almost 3pm by this time. The day has flown by (no pun intended). I've added a few of my favourite shots of the day, all shot on a Canon 5D3, with 100-400mm L and a 24-105mm for close up shots. Hope you like them .Until the next time, catch ya later...
