Friday 29th May 2026: Farne Isles

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 Today we took the boat trip out to the Farne Isles, the highlight of the week, and Emilie dressed in her special Puffin dress for the occasion. The weather conditions were unfortunately a bit blowy, making it hard to observe birds on the sea, although a few Guillemots, Terns and Puffins were seen as we approached the Farnes. At the back of the islands we observed plenty of Gannets diving into the water, and a few elegant Fulmars drifted past. Moving close to the cliffs we enjoyed our first views of a colony of nesting Guillemots, Kittiwakes and Puffins, plus a few Razorbills.

As we approached the Inner Farnes, a raft of Kittiwakes and some terns were feeding on the water. But of course, once we arrived on the islands, we were able to get up close to all these species and study their plumage features and behaviour more fully. 

The first birds we encountered were the Arctic Terns noisy, but mostly calm and unbothered by passing humans. It was only when people lingered and raised their mobile phones for photos that the birds became agitated and dive bombed aggressively to encourage them on their way.

Arctic Tern

We followed the path around the island, soon overlooking the edge where we found nesting Kittiwakes, Razorbill and Guillemots just below our feet. Some of the Guillemots showed the distinctive ‘bridled’, bespectacled appearance associated with more northerly birds.

Kittiwake

Razorbill

‘ bridled’ Guillemot

Other birds found around the island included a single Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, and Lesser Black-backed Gull, showing its bright yellow legs and dark grey mantle really well.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Oystercatcher 

But of course the birds we really wanted to see were the Puffins and they absolutely did not disappoint! They were everywhere, and we watched them standing beside their burrows, flying awkwardly into land, feet first, perched on the rocks and in the iconic pose with a beak full of sand eels. Emilie was delighted!

Puffin

It was a superb finale to an excellent week in glorious Northumberland. 

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