The centrepoint to my holiday in Northumberland was a trip to the Farnes. These islands are home to hundreds of thousands of sea birds that nest on the cliffs and remain undisturbed by anything like human civilisation. Due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown still in operation, we were not allowed to land on the islands. Instead the bird spotters like me had to take a boat trip around the islands in and out among the cliffs and the many, many birds. We certainly got our money's worth, with no less than three and a half hours spent on the sea, so if you're in the area its well worth a look.
I departed for the Farnes from Seahouses harbour, on an open boat which allowed us to sit through the boring parts, yet gave enough space to stand up to take a photo. In the harbour, EIDERS were present, with several broods of little brown ducklings bouncing around on the water.
Out on the water, to begin with, there were no birds present as we sped towards the islands. But the closer we came to the Farnes, the numbers of birds began to build. First there were the odd birds, singles that would fly off when approached by the boat, before growing in number as we got closer to the islands.
The bird present in the highest number was the GUILLEMOT. These brown and white birds nest on the cliffs in huge numbers, where up to fifty thousand of them can be present round the islands. Nesting in tiny little territories, on the cliff face, they weren't too fussed by the boat, flying away when we got too close, but fairly chilled, allowing for nice close-up photos.
It didn't take long to get to the islands. The first set of islands are dominated by Inner Farne. This is one of the two islands that used to be accessible for visitors, where people could disembark to take pictures of the birds nesting on the islands. However due to the pandemic no entry was allowed. This restriction also applies to wardens and as a result there has been no management on the islands. This has had an unhappy consequence, for without this management the vegetation has grown too long, which has had a knock-on effect for the ARCTIC TERN colony. The terns prefer the shorter vegetation on which to nest, but now it has grown too long for them and the bird which nested there in huge numbers has seen its large colony collapse this year.
Outnumbered by the guillemots, by a large ratio was the similar looking RAZORBILL, another bi-coloured auk. As with all birds there are ways to tell them apart if you take the time. The main difference is that the razorbill has an impressive large, thick bill, like a barber's razor, to which in comparison the guillemot's is quite dainty. The less noticeable difference is that the razorbill has black upper parts whilst the guillemot's is brown.
After Inner Farne the rest of the islands were dominated by sheer vertical cliffs rising from the sea. The cliffs of the Farne Islands although not overly tall, are dramatic and the bird populations on them are huge. The best way to describe these bird population as are sea bird cities, the populations here numbering that of a small size British city. With no humans and no disturbance the birds had total control of the islands and were free to nest everywhere and did so in profusion.
The first two auks described, the razorbills and guillemots, would allow the boat to come close, some moving away, some flying, but were not overly fussed. The PUFFINS, however, would fly away on their stubby little wings if the boat came too close. Beautiful and popular birds, their over sized multi-coloured beak is always a pleasure to the eye. The puffin is the original and northern hemisphere penguin, with the exception they can fly. Unlike the other auks, puffins didn't nest on the cliffs, instead they nest in burrows on the island tops out of view of us down in the boats. Occasionally I would get a photo of them on a cliff top, but usually they were down on the sea. The majority of my photos were of out of focus puffins flying on the sea.
SHAGS as usual were common, out numbering their larger, blacker cousin the CORMARANT. Shags are smaller and are a green colour, but are less familiar to people down south, unlike the wide ranging cormorant. KITTIWAKES and FULMARS were also present in large numbers. Kittiwakes are our true "sea" gulls, only ever coming to land to nest on these sea cliffs. Fulmars resemble gulls but are from a different family and have stiff wings, limbs that don't bend. Like all these sea birds they are just here for the summer before returning to the vast seas over the rest of the year.
GREY SEALS live in the area in their thousands and many were seen today, whether a head bobbing up in the water or a full body resting on the rocks. The UK has a large chunk of this species' global population, where they are doing perfectly fine. Seals are my favourite wild mammals, such intelligent, inquisitive animals, that watch you as you watch them, truly the most charismatic of wildlife.
The boat made its way through the islands stopping off at interesting points to allow us on board to take photographs. The main criticism I aim is at myself, how I spent all my time taking photos, without taking the time to really take it all in. I failed to pause and just appreciate what was going on around me. It was just there were so many photography opportunities, that I maybe saw the whole wildlife experience through a lens. In the end I took around a thousand photos. What fun it was wading through them to create this blog.
A wildlife spectacle like no other, the seabird cities of the Farnes are truly something to be seen. Only a few places like this exist in the world, so each place must be guarded. Although the birds are doing well, overfishing and other negative activities on our seas are having a negative impact on these birds. As with all conservation problems, the solutions are fairly simple, its just that people can't accept change. Anyway, the birds are still here, so go out there and see them.
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