The 2015 Seal Summary

So the figures are in, it’s been another bumper year for the Grey Seals Halichoerus grypus on the Farne Islands!

The Farne Islands are home to individuals year round and are an ideal breeding ground for the seals, for a number of reasons.  The islands have a plentiful supply of sand eels Ammodytes, which can make up around 70% of the seals diet, although they do take a variety of fish if the opportunity arises.  Secondly, the islands provide shelter in the form of haul out areas and suitable breeding sites.  Disturbance from human activity is also at a minimum and so with all of these factors combined it is easy to see why the population continues to increase.  This is great news for the grey seals as the UK holds 38% of the world’s population.

The place to be if you’re a weaned pup!   ©Ed Tooth

Grey Seals will pup in the autumn months, with varying start dates at different colonies.  Here on the Farnes we will usually see the first pup being born in September, with the main bulk being born from October to late December.  This year was no different with two pups discovered on the South Wamses on the 18^th September.  Unfortunately, as with many pups born early in the season, they didn’t survive the first 24 hours.  We can only assume that they were washed away by the spring tides that we were experiencing at the time. 

The season kicked off proper on the 14^th October with six pups born on the North Wamses and two on Brownsman.  From then on numbers rose steadily with a peak in mid-November when 187 new pups were found.    Traditionally the Outer Group of islands holds the majority of ‘rookeries’ and the seals there will typically pup much earlier than those on the Inner Group.  It really was a case of the rangers moving out and the seals moving in, as just a week after we moved off Inner Farne 21 new pups were found!

Weaned and ready (?) to go. ©Ed Tooth

After our last visit on the 14^th December we had a grand total of 1876 pups born around the Farne Islands.  This is the highest number since the early 70’s and sees a 7.8% increase on last year. 

As we reach unprecedented numbers it will be interesting to see how the population fares.  We have already seen how dynamic the population between islands is, with a transfer of the main colonies from the North and South Wamses at the turn of the century to Brownsman and Staple in the current day. The former two islands had 1032 pups born whilst none were born on Staple island and only 10 on Brownsman.  Contrast that with 2015 and there is a dramatic difference with 655 on Brownsman, 566 on Staple, and only 489 on the North and South Wamses combined!  It is thought that the reason for this is that Staple and Brownsman afford more protection to the pups and so survival rates are higher on these islands.  This can also be seen in the mortality rate which was 27.5%.  Although this may seem high it is relatively low considering the bad weather we have had.  In the past we have seen mortality averaging at 40% when the main rookeries were based on the exposed islands of the Wamses.  

The obligatory but completely justified photo of a day old Grey seal pup.  ©Lana Blakely

Despite the wet and windy weather attempting to thwart our efforts to count the seal pups, the rangers were able to get out on a regular enough basis to carry out all of the necessary counts.  Many thanks to all of the seal team of 2015 for all of their hard work and enthusiasm.

We are now on the mainland and already preparing for the 2016 season. We hope to see you all out there soon!

The Farne Islands Roundup

This year the National Trust celebrated 90 years of looking after the Farne Islands and as the rangers prepare to leave their island home for the winter season, here is a quick look at the highs and lows of 2015.

The major success story has been that of the Guillemots, which had another record year as numbers hit 53,461 individuals. The Farnes is a safe haven for them to breed and the surrounding sea provides a plentiful supply of sand eels for them to feed their chicks. Numbers continue to go up and up with this species, and as recently as 2002 it was half that number (25,498)! Shags also faired well. Following poor weather in 2013 the population crashed, but they have experienced two good breeding seasons since and  we should see the population start to recover nicely. This year productivity was 1.67 chicks fledged per breeding pair, compared to the 5 year mean of 1.71.

A bazaar of Guillemots                                                                © Chris Lockyer

The ringing programme continued this year with over 200 Shags being fitted with a darvik ring; a coloured ring readable in the field featuring 3 letters. If you are out and about on the North East coast this winter and spot a Shag with one of these rings please send us the data! We are trying to learn where our Shags spend their winters.

It’s not all about seabirds. Pied Wagtails and Swallows had record years, with 9 recorded Pied Wagtail nests and 11 Swallow nests. The swallows have now taken up residence in St Cuthbert’s chapel, our visitor centre, two store rooms and the Longstone Lighthouse.

Puffins                                                                                   © Ed Tooth


Sadly it wasn’t good news for all species this year. It was a notably windy season and the islands were battered by two major storms. The main damage was done when 31.5mm of rain fell over two days in early July, when most of the islands breeding species were sitting on chicks. Puffin burrows were flooded, Kittiwake nests were washed clean off the cliffs and many Tern chicks died in the rain. Puffin productivity fell from 0.91 chicks fledged per breeding pair (5 year mean) to just 0.46. Arctic Terns  also suffered. As surface feeders they rely on calm waters to be able to feed, and this coupled with the usual predation pressure they face proved too much, and productivity was just 0.21 chicks fledged per breeding pair (5 year mean 0.65).

The team on the islands battled through the weather to carry out their annual monitoring programme. This year a record number of Arctic Tern nests (1332) were monitored. Arctic Terns were also fitted with Geo-locaters, which we hope to recover from them next year to discover more about their migration routes. The seal monitoring programme is still ongoing and the rangers are hoping to reach 1800 pups by the end of December. 

Arctic Tern and chick                                   © Chris Lockyer

It was a brilliant year for cetaceans with 157 separate sightings. A basking shark and 30 sightings of White-beaked Dolphin were the undoubted highlights. The sighting of a Surf Scoter flying over the islands was another highpoint. This American sea duck is rare in British waters, and it was only the second time one has been seen on the islands.

The rangers are getting ready to shut the islands down for the winter season. The Zodiac boats are sent for their annual service on the mainland, machinery goes in for repair and the ranger team enjoy a well deserved rest before they start preparations for the 2016 season. 

Special thanks to Ed Tooth and Chris Lockyer for image permissions

'Dicing with death' on the Farne Islands

The breeding birds are long gone but there is still plenty to do for the team on the Farne Islands. As they prepare to close the Islands to visitors for the winter season, the rangers are adjusting to exciting yet potentially hazardous seal pup monitoring. Lana, one of the Islands rangers lets us know how the team are getting on. 

'I am happy to report that there have been very few close calls so far and all our limbs are still intact however the phrase ‘dicing with death’ does come to mind when dealing with some of the more possessed pinnipeds. The process involves five or more of the rangers covering the islands counting the already sprayed pups and searching for unmarked pups.  When an unmarked pup is found three rangers distract the females whilst the sprayer dyes the pup’s tail being careful to avoid the pup’s eyes.  Spraying expeditions are carried out every four days to ensure we don’t become overwhelmed by new births and that we don’t compromise the welfare of the pups by causing a detrimental amount of disturbance.  So far we have sprayed approximately 60 pups in a range of dye colours.'

Day old seal pup on Staple Island.                                                                                  ©Tom Hibbert

'As well as seals to entertain us we’ve been kept busy counting the migratory birds that use the Farnes as a much needed rest stop.  In the last couple of weeks we’ve had good passage of Thrush (Blackbird, Song thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare) heading through, with numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare hitting the thousands (1197 and 1321 respectively), as well as an impressive count of 148 Brambling. 2015 has also been a good year for Short-eared owl sightings with a peak count of 8 (possibly more!) on the 16^th Oct.  This matches the record count of 8 on 13^th Oct 2011 for this lovely bird.  During this time we had a large influx of Goldcrests with up to 60 birds counted on one day.    We had great views of these trusting little birds, the highlight being a group of 5 cuddling up together to keep warm whilst roosting in a Greater Burdock.  Last, but by no means the least was a lovely surprise in the form of a Dusky Warbler on the 16^th, representing the 8^th record for the islands and making it two years on the trot for this lovely little “Sibe” warbler.  Good views were had by all.

This time of year also sees us carrying out lots of maintenance work that couldn’t be done during the breeding season.  We have just had 3 tons of wood delivered to Inner Farne to carry out important boardwalk repairs. On the habitat management side of things, lots of strimming and nettle removal has been carried out in preparation of the breeding birds returning next year.  We hope that by opening up areas formerly taken over by nettle we can create additional nesting areas for Sandwich, Common and Arctic who require a short sward height to nest successfully.'

3 tons of wood being transported over to the islands!                                                                  ©Ed Tooth

'After our last opening day on 1^st November, the next few weeks will see us replacing large sections of the boardwalk in preparation for next seasons visitors.  Seal pup monitoring will hit its peak in the first couple of weeks in November so it will be all hands on deck for the ranger team!  Watch this space for further updates on how the seal season progresses.'

First seal pup of the season

The first seal pup of the year has been born on the Farne Islands, marking the start of this year’s annual seal count by the Islands’ resident Rangers. 

© National Trust

Every year, over 1500 pups are born on the islands, which is one of the largest Atlantic grey seal colonies in England with a population estimated at 5000. 

The breeding season for seals on the Farnes sometimes starts as early as mid-September with the majority of pups being born in October and November. Although the pups can swim at an early age they don’t normally leave the breeding colony until they have been weaned and moulted their white coats.

© National Trust