Sodden Season

It feels like summer still hasn't arrived. A brief few days of sunshine where I managed to burn my legs (their first exposure to sun since Argentina in December) and then it was gone and the rains returned. This is just a minor inconvenience for us but for the seabirds around the islands it can mean life or death. We are in the middle of compiling and analysing breeding numbers for the year, and while the majority of species were on the islands in good numbers to breed, productivity has been a different story. It is still just too early to tell how bad it has been, but the signs on the ground aren't good. It's not all doom and gloom however, as we have been seeing chicks of certain species in good numbers, like this adorable Guillemot for example. And despite the flooding, Puffins are bringing Sandeels in in good numbers for those chicks that have survived.

Puffin with a good haul

The chicks that have survived are all nearing their first milestone in their lives, leaving the nest. Whether that be Kittiwakes taking their first flight, Guillemots jumping from the cliffs or Pufflings sneaking off out to sea in the middle of the night. And before all this happens, we attempt to get round and ring as many of them as we can to carry on the research that the Farnes is so important for. Ringing recoveries can provide fascinating and important information into the migration, longevity and nest site fidelity of all our birds.

We started the day with Sandwich Terns. This particular species is well known for its infidelity to nesting sites, and to try and learn more about these movements we are darvic ringing chicks that hatch on the island to make it easier to track them, not only to their eventual nest sites but also on their migration.

UDA, ready to go (in a few weeks)

Next onto the Puffins. They are easy to catch; it's simply a case of plunging your hand into a burrow to see what is in there. If you get a Puffling then all is well, if there is an adult as well then it can be a different story. Quite understandably they aren't pleased when you pull them from their burrows, and boy do they let you know. Not only are their beaks sharp, they also have incredibly sharp claws for digging their burrows which are equally adept at getting through skin. In the hand they are remarkably hardy birds, all muscle and dense feathers and of course adorable, particularly the Pufflings.

A Puffling, beat that for cuteness.

Check out those claws

Involuntary cuddle for an adult Puffin

Also on our hit list were any juvenile Kittiwakes within reach and any Shags we could get close to as well. We Darvic ring our shags as well, and for similar reasons to the Sandwich Terns. Just as with the Puffins, the Shags possess a sharp beak and a nasty bite, and particular care has to be taken as they tend to go for your eyes if they can get close enough. Of course, this young one was far more placid. It really is a privilege to live on these islands and share them with these birds.

Both looking a bit fluffy......

The skies are still grey today but luckily it's mild. A lot of the chicks we have now are hopefully large enough to survive whatever the rest of July has to throw at them, but only time will tell.

Season in Full Swing

A lot happens in a month on the Farnes, especially at this time of year. The only thing that hasn't changed appears to be the weather, as the sun refuses to shine for long and westerly winds persist; enough to drive any rarity-hunter to distraction at this time of year. Luckily this week the Black-winged Pratincole at Bothal brought some very welcome relief from this spell without rares. I managed a few poor "record shots" but to be honest I was more interested in enjoying this majestic bird as it put on a real show for the gathered crowd, flying within 20 metres of us at times. My first Pratincole...

Black-winged Pratincole at Bothal; a fabulous fabulous bird.

A BWP arriving on the Farnes at this time of year would have some competition for attention though, as all our resident species are present in maximum number and we have plenty of chicks around as well. Cute vs Rare. Our Shag chicks are by far and away the most developed, exactly as we would expect. Some are already looking too big for the nest, and it will be a busy period ahead for the parents of all these hungry mouths.

We now also have Kittiwake, Razorbill and Guillemot chicks emerging, and fresh batches of Eider ducklings appear every day. While eggs are still dominant, it won't be long before that trend reverses, and all our birds will be busy feeding up their chicks, readying them for their first trip out to sea. One sign we eagerly await at this time of year is Puffins bringing in Sand Eels, which can only mean one thing... PUFFLINGS a serious contender for the Farnes most adorable chick. Then again, the competition is very stiff.

If that isn't cute, I don't know what is. Puffling.

Staying low for now, it won't be long before these little guys are off to sea! 

Without doubt the species with the most "presence" on the islands are the Arctic Terns. For the the next few months our home becomes theirs and life very much evolves to fit in around these magnificent birds. A majority of them are now down on eggs and in a few weeks we will begin to find the newest generation of this truly remarkable species. It never ceases to amaze me when I walk around the islands that by the end of this year, some of these birds (currently tiny eggs) will be somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, most likely off the coast of Australia or the Antarctic pack ice. This species experiences more daylight hours than any other animal on the planet. It's not all about the Arctic Terns though. We have our colony of Common and Sandwich Terns all now on eggs as well, and we expect to see chicks from them soon too.

A typical Arctic Tern nest

And a typical view of an Arctic Tern on Inner Farne

On Inner Farne recently have also been the usual pair of Roseate Tern that grace the islands at this time of year. They display, even copulate, threaten to breed and then disappear. Every year we keep our fingers crossed that they will stick around to breed again.

Two Roseate with an Arctic Tern getting involved too.

It's not all about the seabirds on the islands either. Hopefully it's third time lucky for a pair of Ringed Plover on Inner Farne, and this time they've chosen the beach near to the Arctic Terns. This time we've got in early and put a cage over the eggs to keep them safe from predators, but still allow access for the Ringed Plover. We have also ringed the first Pied Wagtail chicks of the year, and it won't be long until they'll be out and about and exploring the islands.

Ringed Plover amongst the beautiful lichen that covers the rocks around the islands

Wonderfully camouflaged Ringed Plover eggs (although sometimes not enough)

Looks nice and cosy in there

And finally, believe it or not it's no always about the birds. As we were getting a lift back out to the islands after our day off, a sharp-eyed visitor spotted a fin. It turned out to be around 15 split between two pods of Bottlenose Dolphins. They we simply wonderful to watch, jumping clean out of the water and swimming right along side the boat. As we edge into summer sightings will become more and more frequent.

Lana kindly pointing the Bottlenose Dolphin out!

This week marks the start of what is perhaps the busiest two weeks of the year for us. Cliff counts  were due to begin on 1st June, however yet more strong winds have meant that so far we have been unable to get out. The birds here seemed to have faired okay in the storm-like conditions of the last few days, but we won't truly know until we are out and counting. Somewhere in between the 10 counts we do, nest count day. This is as it sounds; we meticulously walk the islands that contain breeding birds and count every single nest. Once the counts are all in we will have a much better idea of how numbers are doing this year. I hope to be back writing on Sunday about the lovely fall of migrants that we may or may not receive on Friday with easterlies forecast. However every time I check the forecast they seem to decrease in strength and duration. This is surely our last chance to get a nice scattering of Spring scarcities, and if it doesn't happen then all attention will be focused on late June, when hopefully our special guest will return for the third year in a row.....

It's That Time of Year!

The sun is still shining today, and spring has very much arrived on the islands. And with this, signs of breeding are popping up all over the place. Everything is at different stages at the moment, so here is a run-down of what's what on the islands at the moment! Starting at the top, the cliff nesting species.

Shags are often the first species we see laying eggs here, and this year has been no exception. The first eggs were discovered on the 2nd of April, and more and more are appearing every day. Shags are particularly nest-proud, and will pinch anything to make their nests more impressive. Last year we lost gloves, rope and a broom to a shags nests!

Shag chicks imminent! 

Elsewhere on the cliffs, we have had our first Guillemot eggs of the year and it certainly won't be long until we find our first Kittiwake and Razorbill ones too. Guillemot's are the densest nesting species of bird on the planet, and as such they can often be seen having scraps with others as they pass through the colony to get to their own small patch. They are also wonderfully affectionate, not only to their partner but also their close neighbours, and allopreening can regularly be seen mainly serving to keep the number of ticks in the colony at bay. It won't be long now until the cliffs of the Farnes are permanently crammed with some 25,000 of them on eggs.

That is one handsome bird! Razorbill

The closer you get, the better they look!

Equally as lovely; Guillemot.

Elsewhere on the islands, Fulmars are now almost consistently on their nest sites, and Puffins are on the islands daily in their thousands, cleaning out their burrows ready for another season. Fulmars are the bird I most enjoy watching in the air, their effortless soaring along the cliffs never ceases to amaze me. On land they are far less graceful though. It's strange to think that the chicks we saw these birds rear last year won't return to land for at least another 5 years, if not longer! As for the Puffins, they certainly win the prize as the most popular bird for visitors to the islands and I can understand why; they are endearing. However, I can also tell you from first hand experience that they can be vicious when they want to be! Looks can be deceiving....

Master of the air (not here though). Fulmar

Wonderful, just blooming wonderful. Puffins

In amongst the rapidly growing vegetation of the islands Eiders are now coming up and starting to settle. We have at least 12 nests on the Inner Farne at present, with this female sitting on a "jumbo clutch" of no less than 8 eggs! Eiders are a delight to monitor; in order to count their eggs we simply lift them gently up off the nest, have a quick count and pop them down again, and generally they don't seem to mind! As for the males, having fulfilled their duties, they are now starting to gather in groups just off the islands ready for a summer of bobbing around on the sea.

Can you spot her?

Close up of the female Eider sitting on 8 eggs!

Less camouflage, more outrageously attractive   

Elsewhere and making lots of noise, the Sandwich Terns are well and truly back in force, with a roost count last night of some 750 birds. In amongst them and always slightly later to return are a handful of Arctic Terns. The peace of the islands is soon to be shattered.... In the mean time, the Rock Pipits parachuting and Pied Wagtails singing can still be just about heard over the Terns, as they undertake their courtship rituals. And last but not least, our Mallards. We generally get plenty of nests but not many chicks survive unfortunately. This particularly savvy female has utilised our gas cage as the ultimate defence for her nest!

Male Pied Wagtail. This individual has been busy collecting nest material over the last few days

Nothing will get to this female Mallard in there.

And that completes the round up for this entry. The coming week involves more upheaval as myself and 4 others move ourselves to Brownsman for the breading season, and before we know it there will be chicks everywhere. I for one can't wait!

It's Been a While

A busy start to the new season on the Farnes has meant little time for blogging, but now we are settled in and well into the swing of things. It's been a funny old start, with a mixture of very late arrivals and very early ones. The season started with a bang, as our first day on the islands produced a Stonechat. After a severe winter in 2010, this species suffered a population crash; something they are known to be susceptible to. This resulted in a once annual bird becoming a scarcity, our record in March being the first since October 2013. All we can hope is that this is a sign of a population recovery for these lovely little birds.

Stonechat on Inner Farne

The following day we were treated to great views of a Red-necked Grebe, another bird that is often tricky to come by on the Farnes. It spent a good 15 minutes in the Kettle around the jetty before drifting south. After this, things rather slowed down. We had to wait until the 10th April, a full 12 days later than last year, for our first Wheatear of the year. This was swiftly followed by our first Chiffchaff (21 days later than last year), Willow Warbler, Swallow, Blackcap and Brambling as the islands were graced with some wonderful weather. An unexpected arrival during this spell was a single Little Tern seen to go to roost on Knoxes Reef. This represents the earliest ever record for the Farnes, beating the previous one by a full 8 days!

During the quiet spell, our attention was held by this pair of Mediterranean Gulls which were displaying and settling on Central Meadow in the Black-headed Gull colony. This would represent a first breeding record for the islands should they decide to stick around.

Courting Mediterranean Gulls. Possibly a Farnes first.

Inner Farne lighthouse in glorious sun

Wheatear on the beach!

This about covers the migrant side of goings on on the islands, apart from a bit of excitement on the gull front. A 1st winter Glaucous Gull was discovered off the North Rocks of Inner Farne on the 15th. This was a good record after a blank year last year, and things got even better when the following evening a 3cy bird was discovered in the roost on Knoxes Reef. Then to our amazement, the 2cy bird returned on the 17th and showed beautifully on Ladies Path from the living room window. Marvellous stuff!

Guillemot... "What a lovely Gull!" Glaucous Gull.... "What a lovely pair of Guillemot!"

That wraps up the latest migrant news from the islands as I sit in the living room window with glorious sun beaming through. On a final note, we were treated to spectacular aurora display on Thursday night, and I snapped this photo of the Pele tower nicely backlit.

Aurora on the Farnes

Next up (in a few days hopefully), the breeders!!

Cuthbert's Gut is filling up.....

Things are hotting up!

By this title, I don't mean the weather. The sun seems to have got bored of the north-east and left, and the fog has returned, although it is slightly warmer! The prolonged easterlies mean that things have started to happen, not in a major way as yet, but in a very nice way indeed. For the last few days the island has been covered in Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Wheatears and we have had a mini influx of Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat. Amongst the slightly less common were a flock of 290 odd Barnacle Geese, Mealy and Lesser Redpolls, a single Common Sandpiper and Greenshank. Today stole the show however, with a male Pied Flycatcher and a Wryneck arriving on the islands, both giving excellent views.
Many of the islands Guillemots are now on eggs, the first Razorbill egg was found today on Brownsman, there are now a few Eider nests starting to appear and some Swallows have been prospecting St Cuthberts Chapel. We have also had our second clutch of Mallard ducklings, but none of them seem to be fairing very well at the moment.
With more easterlies predicted for the week ahead, and with certain places in the UK getting some mega birds, we are sure that something big will turn up shortly......

Singing Willow Warbler in the Alders

Some of the 290 Barnacle Geese

Very obliging Common Sandpiper

Lesser Whitethroat sunning itself

Mealy/Common Redpoll enjoying North Rocks

Stunning Swallow hopefully here to stay

The star pair, wonderfully showy Wryneck and....

Pied Flycatcher, equally as pretty!

Gulls are in the air!

As is spring. With westerly winds, birding has been slow over the last few days, on both the seabird and migrant fronts. Aside from a few wheatear and a blackbird, the sunshine over the last few days has been a welcome relief, and also presented a great opportunity to photograph some of the resident birds on the island, and I chose to target the gulls. Somewhat unappreciated and often demonised, our resident gulls are clean, sharp and elegant looking birds. Our smallest resident is the Black-headed Gull, which doesn't make a particularly pleasant noise but is on the rise and is good news for the Terns and waders that they nest around, as they are great at seeing off predators. We have around 500 pairs on the island, including these two.

Black-headed Gulls reflecting on island life!!

The next step up are the Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls. And then top of the chain, the Greater Black-backed Gulls; ferocious predators which are picking through the islands population of Feral Pigeons at present.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Greater Black-backed Gull with its meal

In other news around the islands, Sandwich Tern numbers continue to build, and courtship is taking place, which involves some splendid dancing, offers of small fish and lots of chasing around, as these two are perfectly demonstrating. We have also had our first new arrivals of the year, in the form of 9 very cute Mallard ducklings, and we were delighted today to discover the first Ringed Plover nest of the year, which is incredibly well camouflaged on the rocks and allows great views of this wonderful little bird.

Sandwich Terns courting

Mallard and her ducklings

Ringed Plover returns to the nest