It was an amazing sight to see the adult birds feeding their young, to see such great numbers of birds and be able to get so close to them. Quite an experience. As a biologist it was like being in wonderland.
The Farne islands lie off the coast of Northumberland. They are a haven for sea birds. There are hundreds of thousands of guillemots, puffins, shags, razorbills, cormorants and kittiwakes plus a whole bunch of seals.
The rocks rise up out of the sea in ragged cliffs, pillars and multicoloured majesty. The algae around the base look orange, the rocks are grey and the tops are white with guano. The effect is incredible.
On top of this there are all manner of birds nesting.
Unfortunately for us there was a heavy fog which prevented us seeing the islands in good light and the sea was too rough to land so we did not get to walk among the birds.
I found there was something incredibly beautiful about the Farne Islands. They are a protected bird sanctuary but are majestic in their own right. The rugged cliffs, dark rocks coated at the top with white bird guano and at the watermark with algae and lichen. I thought they were magnificent.
