How we protect the jewels in our crown

Nov 17 2009 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

ONE of the North East's most exhilarating natural habitats lies just off the coastal town of Seahouses.

The rugged Farne Islands are jewels in the North East’s natural crown, where thriving wildlife colonies entice thousands of visitors to experience the unique and impressive lure of the Islands each year.

At the height of the breeding season, visitors are treated to controlled walks inches away from nesting arctic terns or eider ducks, while puffins dart in and out of their nesting burrows.

At the cliff edge, shags, razorbills and kittiwakes are only feet way, while thousands of guillemots line the cliff tops and ledges.

The wildlife numbers and diversity of species breeding on the Farnes is staggering – they are internationally important as seabird breeding sites with more than 80,000 pairs, and home to key grey seal colonies.

The care of the Farne Islands lies with the National Trust’s (NT) team of wardens, who reside on the islands from March to early December.

They allow access to the islands and manage people and wildlife, safeguarding the colonies from disturbance and completing essential habitat management tasks. They also record the breeding success of the seabirds and seals, data vital to the effective monitoring and management of the colonies.

The Natural History Society of Northumbria (NHSN) has been involved with the Farne Islands for many years, and works closely with the NT wardens to investigate mammal and bird populations.

The largest current project consists of fitting uniquely-numbered rings to the legs of as many of the chicks and adults as possible. Once recovered, these rings inform the society where the birds go after breeding, how long birds live in the wild, and the factors that cause their death. All too often, the death of exquisite seabirds is caused by man’s activities, such as the release of oil at sea or the industrial scale fishing, which threatens to deplete the seas of marine life at many levels of the food chain.

In recent years, working with NT and Newcastle University Scientists, NHSN ornithologists have weighed and measured seabirds to study how well they feed and how their body condition is affected by weather and other factors.

Dr Chris Redfern, an ornithological expert with NHSN says: “We are involved with some fascinating research. Presently we are monitoring food provision to chicks and recording the locations at sea where the birds obtain their food. From this we hope to discover whether sand eels, the staple diet of many of the Farnes seabirds, are likely to decline in numbers as a result of climatic change.”

In addition, by observing how seabirds on the Farnes manage to breed successfully each year despite the thousands of people that visit the islands each year, it may be possible to find out whether the regulated access of people to seabird colonies elsewhere can be beneficial, both for birds and for people.

:: To support the conservation activities of NHSN, you can become a member of the Society and receive Farne Island project updates. For more information please visit our website at www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk , or call us on (0191) 232 6386.