I find it surprising that a place like the Farne Islands is
kept so low-key. It’s the UK’s own haven for seabirds of most types, as well as
huge colonies of seals that roam the waters surrounding every island.
It was on holiday a couple of years ago that I first heard
about the Farnes, an avidly bird-crazy chap called Carl told us about the
islands and seemed to think of them in very high regard. It wasn’t until this
summer that I decided to try it out.
We couldn’t have been luckier with the weather; the sun was
shining on us as we bobbed along on the waves in the dinky boat owned by Billy
Shiel’s Boats. We were all in high spirits as we started to spot puffins,
guillemots, razorbills and more flying past skimming the waves. The crew
decided to stop the boat to let us observe the colony of grey seals that were
basking on the rocks, and many of them were bobbing in the water with their
heads above the surface, watching us fearlessly, and equally as curious as we
were.
The first stop was Staple Island. We cruised past cliffs
supporting hundreds upon hundreds of mainly guillemots, but also razorbills,
puffins, black-headed gulls and more, which was only a hint as to what was
coming up.
An amazing sight hit us as we got off the boat – birds
filled the air and ground; there were puffins everywhere we looked. Terns and
their nests lined the beach, gulls and kittiwakes glided above our heads,
puffins were everywhere we looked.
With UK seabird numbers decreasing rapidly, the Farne
Islands are a haven for a large portion of the country’s remaining population.
With the sight that the islands hold, it’s hard to believe that seabird numbers
are decreasing – with 36,285 pairs of puffins, 49,076 guillemots, 4,241 pairs
of kittiwakes and 1,180 pairs of arctic terns, the islands are a paradise for
conserving seabirds.
We were faced with a delightful island with rocky beaches,
green meadows with sandy soil and cliffs for every sort of bird to use to their
own. We saw fulmars nestled in the greenery, and hundreds upon hundreds of
puffins bustling about bringing beakfuls of sand eels to their nests hidden
away and buried in the ground. The walkways meandered around the meadows, and
puffins were flying down to their burrows all around us. Sandwich, common, and
arctic terns all glided high above us, along with herring, lesser black-backed,
and black-headed gulls and kittiwakes.
Once we reached the other end of Staple Island, we were
looking onto the cliffs, and they were, naturally, roped off. However, there
were birds sat so close to us on their nests that we could have reached out and
touched them. We stayed for half an hour in that one place; there was a shag
sat on its nest with a chick that was amazingly close. At first, when I’d
stepped into the boat that morning, surrounded by people with their huge,
expensive, telephoto, close-zooming lenses, I’d felt a little silly sat there
with my little - in comparison - DSLR. But now, practically sat next to this
bird on its nest… I definitely didn’t need a huge fancy zooming lens! The birds were so close that if it wouldn't have frightened them, I could have easily reached out to touch them.
That’s what else I loved about the Farne Islands: even if I’d
taken the cheapest, smallest, portable camera, I still would have some amazing photographs. I even took some with my
phone, and they were better photographs than I’d have ever thought I’d be able
to get, of birds, with my phone.
The next stop, after two hours on Staple Island, was Inner
Farne. We got talking to someone on the boat who had been many times previously,
and he told us a story. One of the times he’d been to the Farnes before, he’d
been minding his own business and taking photographs, when a tern swooped down
from nowhere and pecked the man’s little finger so badly that it drew blood. As
apprehensive as this made my uncle, I couldn’t help feeling excited still. From
what I’d seen on Staple Island, I was hoping Inner Farne wasn’t going to disappoint.
This island was teeming with more terns than puffins,
although there were still staggering amounts of all the birds we’d already
seen. Terns perched on posts innocently, waiting for someone to unsuspectingly
go too close. Then they’d chatter in protest, and dive at anyone close enough
to harass!
Inner Farne is smaller than Staple Island, so we went round
the whole island in the two hours we spent there. On the far side of the island
,further out towards Staple Island, were more cliffs, and, peering over the
edge, we spotted kittiwakes on their nests. Observing them from above was a
very different perspective.
I was mobbed by a tern more than once; it’s nearly
impossible to walk down the paths without getting in their way! More than once
I was held up by a stubborn one sitting proudly in the middle of the path. I
tried to carry on walking hoping it would budge, but when it eventually did, I
got an angry-sounding chatter and a vicious – but attack to the hood of my
coat.
The highlight of the time I spent on the islands, however,
was towards the end, when a little puffin waddled onto the path right next to
me! I didn’t want to move for fear I’d scare it, but it turned and looked up at
me inquisitively, before waddling away contentedly. I didn’t even manage to get
any photographs, it was such a spontaneous thing that happened!
The Farne Islands were an amazing place, and I’d love to go
back there again soon. It’s good to see somewhere that’s still such an Eden for
the ever-declining bird life of our oceans.
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