Puffins might just be the most vibrant birds native to the UK – and if you’ve ever wanted to see one in the wild, you’re in luck. Around 50,000 pairs of them fly to the Farne Islands, a designated National Nature Reserve just off the Northumberland coast, each spring, and the National Trust have just reopened the site to visitors.
The archipelago of 28 islands has been in the Trust’s care for 100 years, and is an internationally significant sanctuary for 200,000 seabirds including puffins, Arctic terns and kittiwakes as well as a colony of adorable grey seals.
Inner Farne, the only island which welcomes visitors on land, is particularly good for spotting the colourful puffins, who stick around until the end of the summer months when their chicks tend to fly the nest.
Bird flu hugely affected the returning seabirds in 2022 and 2023, killing just less than 10,000 in the two year period. But there was no disease recorded on any of the islands in 2024, so it’s hoped that the puffins and their avian neighbours are building up immunity to the disease.
Laura Knowles, Visitor Operations and Experience Manager for the National Trust, said: ‘We’re excited to announce that Inner Farne has reopened for visitor landings, and just in time, the first puffins have arrived back onto the islands.
‘This is an exciting year for us as we celebrate the centenary of the Farne Islands coming into the care of the National Trust and we can’t wait to welcome visitors and to share the wonderful wildlife of the island up close once more.’
Visitors can sail around the archipelago on specialised boat tours, and there will be a range of events celebrating the islands’ centenary of being a National Trust site throughout the year.
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