The Farnes

So on Sunday (29/06) it was time for the Farnes!! Was just a little bit excited with the opportunity to get some insane views of thousands of seabirds and the added possibility of a stonking adult Bridled Tern there too! It was to be my third or fourth time there but this was the first time I was going with a decent camera in my hand.

Before leaving Seahouses harbour we enjoyed several female Eider in the harbour with the addition of several chicks in tow!

We left in rather murky conditions with sea being a tad choppy! It wasn't too long though before the sun came out. It wasn't long before we were enjoying several Grey Seals either bobbing up & down in the water or beached on one of the nearby islands.

We were getting great views of all the residents from the boat however the views were only going to get better as we landed on Inner Farne.

Sadly you only get one hour on the island and so I almost felt under pressure to make my way around. As a result my search for the Bridled Tern from the boat jetty had to be short and my luck wasn't in in the 5 or so minutes I waited.

So...off we went running the gauntlet of the Arctic Tern colony to begin with which as ever was pretty amazing, fun and crazy all rolled into one!

Next was the Puffins and they were everywhere!! It was so exciting seeing so many of the little guys within just a few away!

Many of the birds were nesting literally at your feet. The Shags in particular were in touching distance at the nest.

The Terns were at their brutal best, one even managing to draw blood, pecking my finger as I passed. Fair play to the little geezer!

As the hour drew to an end we sadly had to take the boat back to Seahouses...bad times! Also, the Bridled Tern was not to be, despite me spending the final 10 minutes on the island searching the rocks from the jetty. The day was finished off with great views of a fishing Sandwich Tern off Seahouses, followed by a big old helping of fish n' chips...boom!!