As strong northerly winds prevented
boats from sailing recently, it seemed a good opportunity to reflect upon the Farne
Islands season so far. Rachelle Regan is a first-time Farnes Assistant
Ranger and part of the team looking after the outer group of islands including Brownsman and Staple.
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| © Rachelle Regan |
"I had the privilege last year to work at the
National Trust Long Nanny Tern site and, just as it was there, I am learning
that day to day life for the seabirds and the Rangers of the Farnes is very
much influenced by the weather!
The start of June brought strong
winds and rain, unfortunately coinciding with our seabird cliff counts. Rough
sea conditions made getting out in the zodiac difficult despite our efforts and
it was a tight call to get the minimum of 5 counts done. We made it however,
just as we were seeing the first few Guillemot ‘jumplings’, so in the nick of
time! Despite a couple of wet and cold mornings we were rewarded with some beautifully
clear and calm ones.
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| Brownsman Island rangers during early morning cliff counts © Sarah Lawrence |
Aside from cliff and nest counts,
seabird productivity monitoring is well underway with breeding in full swing.
Most of the Eiders that have successfully hatched eggs have left, leading their
chicks to Seahouses harbour where they can be seen forming crèches of Eider
ducklings, sharing babysitting duties between females. We have had the first Shag
fledglings on Staple Island seen hanging around the jetty and chasing each
other in the water like typical teenagers. The Kittiwakes and Arctic Terns
aren’t far behind and the cliffs are becoming progressively sparse as the
Guillemots and Razorbill chicks make their epic jump and move out to sea.
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| Shag chicks on Staple Island © Rachelle Regan |
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| Black-legged Kittiwake with eggs and chick, Staple Island © Rachelle Regan |
Parents can be seen bringing in
fish thick and fast with Puffins disappearing down burrows with bills full of
sandeels and Arctic Terns bringing in up to 26 fish in one hour to feed a brood
of two hungry chicks.
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| A hungry Arctic Tern chick! © Rachelle Regan |
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| Arctic tern chicks, Brownsman Island ©Rachelle Regan |
The recent weather has been
challenging for all of the birds; unfortunately we have noticed a few flooded
Puffin burrows and a few Shag nests on the lower ledges of the cliffs have been
washed out. However the resilience and persistence nature of the adults is
admirable, whether they are sitting tight on chicks to protect them from the
rain or out at sea battling against winds and low visibility to find fish,
there is still plenty of activity and it is a joy to observe. Fingers crossed for some more favourable
weather these coming weeks!"
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