Farne Islands - Advice please!

[Matt_IOM]

I'm planning a trip to the Farne Islands during breeding season this year. I'd be grateful for any advice from those who have done this before as to the best time to go, (May, Jun or Jul or doesn't it matter?) and also who to use to get there. I've done a little research and I'd like to do the full trip which allows landings on Staple Island and Inner Farne.

With the cost/time involved in travelling over from the Isle of Man I want to make sure I get as much as possible out of the trip, so any guidance would be much appreciated.

Best regards,
Matt.

[Richard G.]

I've been with Billy Sheils from Seahouses. You can do a full day tour which lands on both Staple Island and Inner Farne and you get around a couple of hours on each, which is plenty of time to explore.

We went mid-July and things were starting to get a bit quieter, but still lots to see and opportunities to get very close. From what I've heard, whilst there would be more birds earlier in the season, it can get a bit too much, not so easy to get photo's because of the overcrowding of the birds and they are also a bit more agressive, particularly the Terns.

If I were going again, I think I'd aim for end of June/beginning of July. Great place though, no super-zoom required here

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Richard G.

If I were going again, I think I'd aim for end of June/beginning of July. Great place though, no super-zoom required here

I agree probably the best month.

Its worth visiting Lindesfarne too if your staying in the area. I'd really recommend Julian Bell's web site for local info and think you'll find all you need on here - I did! There's some July reports on the site too giving full species lists for that month and locations and just scroll down on the home page for stuff on the Farnes, Billy Sheils etc.

Birding North Northumberland

For more general info re: getting to the Islands etc try the Northumberland Birding Club web site or this one

birding facts Birding Resources by the Fat Birder

Lots of very useful webpages and email addresses here including boat trips from Seahouses run by Billy Sheils on the second link below:
http://www.northnorthumberlandbirdclub.co.uk/links.html
http://www.seahouses.org/thingstodo.asp

[smartie]

If you want to avoid the aggressiveness of the terns, a good time to go is when they are showing off at the beginning of the season but haven't yet got down to breeding. This would argue for the second half of May rather than later. But any time up to the end of June gives you excellent views of the birds.

If you want to go on the Billy Shiels full day birding trip it's advisable to book in advance if you can, as they do get busy and the boat is not that big.

[Ruth Daniel]

We went with Billy Shiels on Glad Tidings from Seahouses Matt.
I'd recommend that you go around May/June time to see the Puffins before they go out to sea again!
Also wear a hat as the Arctic Terns do dive bomb you!
A great day out tho!
While you are in the area it's also worth visiting here for superb views of Bass Rock and the Gannets!

http://www.seabird.org/home.asp

[DavyG]

I asked exactly the same question last year, prior to our visit at the end of May.

You can find some excellent advice I was given in this thread:

Farne Island & Northumbria - Advice Please.

We went around the last week in May and had a great time, unfortunately we only managed to land on the islands once, due to bad weather, and that was at the end of our trip.

We may well go again this year but it will be around the second week in July if we do, we would hope that the seas will be calmer and the weather warmer at that time.

I would thoroughly recommend going though, even if you can't get on the islands there's lots to see and some beautiful countryside to walk in and around the area.

Dave

[Matt_IOM]

Thanks for all the replies.

With work commitments it has to be last week of May, I'm sure I will have a great time. If the weather is bad I'm sure I'll make the most of it, I've been to Lindisfarne before and know there are many opportunities there (provided the tide is right!), and that area in general has so much to offer.

Regards,
Matt.

[DOXHOPE]

Hi, I am lucky enough to live 30 mins away from Seahouses..I was only on the Farnes last year twice, 17th June and 23rd June, excellent times for puffins feeding chicks, in fact everything very active.

[Davy Crockett]

This is a fantastic place to see birds at cloes quaters, end june / july would be good, when the birds are rearing young. its not cheep to vist the islands, or take a boat to them but its worth every penny! euro ?