Fans of Autumnwatch will know that the Farne Islands are one of the most spectacular sights in Britain for both seabirds and seals at this time of year. In his blog, Head Warden David Steel gives us a glimpse of life on the island when the cameras aren't rolling...
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Read David's diary about life on the islands as they star on Autumnwatch. Presenter Simon King will be linking live to the programme from the Farne Islands. |
Thursday 15 November
Day break and we were ready, this was it, our first opportunity to enter the seal colonies on the outer group of islands. Devastation or survival? Mother Nature vs the seals. Was there any real possibility that any had survived on Northern Hares following the violent storms of last week? Only time would tell.
So it was all systems go, I was leading the Farnes team out onto the Seal colonies for the first time in 13 days. The forced break between the counts was brought about due to the weather, but this was our chance. The Farnes team arrived from Inner Farne and I departed Brownsman, leaving Simon to wash the dishes and John to continue filming. The big seal count was on and it was very evident that there were huge numbers of pups on the islands scattered across the colonies. My team, well drilled in working with the seals, operated smoothly and set about the task of marking each pup, counting the dead and ensuring disturbance was kept to a minimum.
Simon King soon joined us as we moved onward, up onto the Northern Hares, the island which took the brunt of the storm. We landed…life…one...two...three pups… we were in. Alive and well, the island hit hardest by the storm was showing remarkable resilience and the cow seals were there in force.
A total of 32 newly born pups were scattered across the beach, all evidentially born after the storm, but it was still good news. And then, out the corner of my eye, I noticed a ‘red’ sprayed pup, a survivor! How did this small pup survive the ‘storm of storms’ last week? It was remarkable but true, it was alive and well on its way to independence. We soon departed the seal colonies and following another brief telephone interview, it was time to crunch some numbers. Our population now stood at 844 pups and the mortality rate at 59 percent, so not complete devastation and just above the Farnes average. However the next few weeks will be crucial, and fingers crossed for some good news come the end of the season.
As ever, the day was rapidly slipping by and darkness fell. It was time to forget the seals, this was crunch time, the last show of the week. On this occasion, I took a more hands-on approach as I was rigged up and stood behind the main camera beaming live imagines from the islands. Unlike the previous day, the mood was more relaxed and the full rehearsal went according to plan and who knows, I might have found myself a new career at the cutting end of live television… After a superb meal cooked by Marco, it was time for the final live show. The clock struck 8 o’clock and we were live. Simon was cool, calm and reassured as ever and ‘us’ background team carried out the job to perfection! The hour whizzed by and the credits rolled, the show was over. Autumnwatch 2007 was finished and it was time to celebrate.
The champagne flowed and Autumnwatch had been a great success and the Farnes had played its roll. Brilliant.
Wednesday 14 November
Glancing over my diary the previous evening, I had one entry for today…'hectic day'. It was all change on the island, as my two resident wardens departed for Inner Farne, to make room for the larger BBC crew who were due to arrive today. It was also goodbye to sound recorder Chris Watson, who was heading back to the ‘real world’ to complete his work with the team based at Bamburgh Castle. It was also all change on the weather front as the cold biting northerly winds had gone and were replaced with a light westerly airflow -relief at last for all concerned and finally we could get out to the colonies to see what was going on at ground level with the seal pups.
Following the usual early morning start, news continued to filter through that the Little Auk story was still going strong and that the BBC website ran with the news. It wasn’t long before the first of three helicopter landings took place mid-morning and then it was all hands to the pump. The BBC ‘live team’ had arrived, including Simon King and with them, more equipment for the live transmission. Simon had only been present for twenty minutes when he had to go live to the main one o’clock news to discuss the plight of the seals, and I’ve no doubt that the evening's Autumnwatch was going to be a big hit nationwide.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on the chaos, as a local newpaper phoned for a general interview, followed by BBC Radio Four. The interviews were non-stop, and next on the agenda was BBC Look North. If people hadn’t heard about the Farnes they were about to.
In amongst it all, I was taking calls from other press enquiries, BBC research teams, discussing world populations of Grey Seals with the Sea Mammal Research Unit and coordinating shore to island transfers. I certainly wasn’t off the mark when I described the day as hectic!
After a debriefing explaining island life and the dangers of Grey Seals, the BBC crew sprung into action and the island was transformed into a working studio complete with arc lights which surrounded the building. Simon was preparing scripts, John checking footage, Marco ensuring the team knew the running order, Richard running the technical operations and so on and so on. It was turning into a slick operation and as darkness fell, the first real test came in the form of a rehearsal. Not all went according to plan as technical difficulties were causing some problems but all appeared well after the event and surely it wouldn’t go wrong when live, would it?
It is amazing to watch a live program like Autumnwatch come together as the end result screened to the nation between 8 & 9pm does not give justice to the hard work behind the scenes. Without going into detail, there were numerous technical difficulties (this is an island after all) and stress levels amongst the team were reaching fever pitch. All through the one hour show, problem after problem arose but the team, lead by Simon were magnificent and the screened result was seamless.
As the credits rolled, the relief amongst everyone was tangible. A lot of hard work had produced a great end result. As usual all seven of us enjoyed the finer sides to a good single malt whiskey well into the small hours (and yes it was cosy in the small cottage!) It was now time to grab some sleep as an early start was planned and those seal colonies beckoned…
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Tuesday 13 November
At last the winds started to ease and the sea state was calming as day three arrived. As usual, cameraman John had been up since the early hours and for the first time, you could sense a subtle change in the atmosphere on the island amongst the team.
Today was crunch day and almost ‘kick off’ time as Autumnwatch was arriving at the shores of the Farnes. As it grew ever nearer, BBC researchers have been on the telephone non-stop regarding Farnes and seal facts, asking interesting and varied questions from 'can seals see at night' to 'how thick is seal blubber?'
As well as research, media attention is starting to increase as BBC Radio Newcastle telephoned for a radio interview regarding Autumnwatch and in true cliff-hanger style; I left the listeners wondering what fate the pups had in store… News was also filtering through that the Little Auk was making headlines locally and the national press were interested, so the world of the Farnes was reaching the nation.
The day passed without any hitches as everyone got on with the job in hand and I even managed to squeeze in a two hour seawatch into my day which produced 4,800 Little Auks. In a normal year, that would have been something to be proud of, however this year, it’s been deemed as ‘the usual’ from a Farnes prospective.
Those crazy little critters have been a real talking point amongst the birding community and I’ve enjoyed having them around. As I was counting, the lads were finishing off various bits of paperwork and other such jobs which had cropped up during the day.
As daylight faded, the tension began to mount as the front room of the cottage (and my ‘office’) was converted into a mini-study. As usual for Autumnwatch, a complete rehearsal took place complete with live link between Simon King on the mainland and John Aitchison sitting in Brownsman cottage. All went smoothly with no real technical hitches although the ‘mainland team’ wanted an improvement with the lighting in the room (gas lights are too dim!), so we rigged up a very make-shift lighting stand (from a chair). Another tense hour passed by and then we were in. Welcome to planet Farne! The islands were featured heavily with live broadcasts to Simon King based in Bamburgh Castle, directly opposite the islands. John kept his cool under the spot light of live television and all went according to plan and the first broadcast from the islands went without any problems. Result.
The beers flowed and the team were in a jubilant mood. Next stop, Simon King arrives tomorrow morning…
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Monday 12 November
'Forth, Tyne, Dogger, North backing North-westerly, 5 or 6 increasing 6 to 7. Rough occasionally very rough at first. Rain or showers. Moderate or good.'
The shipping forecast late on Sunday evening echoed all of our thoughts, that the storm raging around the Farnes will take some time to relent. Sure enough, dawn on Monday morning confirmed our suspicions. As daylight approached, the team were up and about, making the first cups of tea of the day and gathering their thoughts for the day ahead. However for one individual, cameraman John, it was far from the start, as he had been up since 3 am filming the seals with low-light and infra-red cameras, technology never seen before on the Farnes.
Today the island was a hive of activity as the seals went about their daily lives, Little Auks streamed north and the five human resident carrid out various tasks around the island. Cameraman John spent the day with the Grey Seals on the north end, where he was rewarded with some stunning footage - despite the harsh cold wind which had plummeted temperatures. I had to admire his resilience in the teeth of the biting cold winds but he wasn’t the only one suffering as sound recorder Chris had set up various microphones around the seal colony and was also feeling the cold.
I chuckled to myself, thinking 'welcome to the north-east of England in mid-November lads'! As for my team, they were as active as ever (probably in an attempt to keep warm) as I had given them several tasks to complete including repairing the storm damage to the cottage. There’s never a dull moment out here!
As usual, I spent the majority of the day behind the computer, but I’m not one to complain, as this is no ordinary office and no ordinary office window.
The strong winds were producing mountainous swell in the North Sea and as high tide approached, most low-lying islands were under water and I’ve no doubt the defenceless seals on some islands were really struggling. I’m still unsure what is happening on some seal colonies as I’ve not been able to gain access to the major pupping grounds due to the weather, but I suspect the news won’t be good when I eventually visit them later in the week.
On a happier note, work was temporarily stopped as a Little Auk was discovered on the small fresh water pond on the island – an ideal chance for some great views and more good footage. Despite 28,000 passing the islands the previous day, you can never become blasé about these crazy little critters.
The day was productive for all concerned and eventually daylight slipped away and we retired for the evening to sit back and enjoy Autumnwatch, with a beer or two. The world of the Farnes had already reached the nation twice during the day on the BBC with repeat programmes and once again we took centre billing at the start of the program. If anyone wanted to see just how bad the weather was in this part of the world, then they only had to see that opening footage. The mention of our record Little Auk count from Bill Oddie was followed by a big cheer and no doubt it won’t be the last time that it is mentioned this week.
Our work for the day was almost complete, as we had one final job to complete, to install an infra red camera in the seal colony for the night ahead…
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Sunday 11 November
The combination of large spring tides and strong north-westerly winds has hampered the efforts of the BBC Autumnwatch team to land on the Farne Islands over the past few days. However, the wait was finally over as decisions had been made to fly top BBC cameraman John Aitchison, sound recorder Chris Watson and me out in a helicopter to land on Brownsman, the small island at the centre of Autumnwatch’s attention.
An early start witnessed the helicopter pick up its three eager passengers in the shadow of the mighty Bamburgh Castle and moments later was cutting its teeth through the northerly storm which was raging across the North Sea. The journey was short but stunning as we flew low over the islands and we soon landed safely on Brownsman on the outer group of the Farne Islands.
Once the team were on Brownsman soil, and I was back home, we soon met up with the two resident wardens to catch up on the latest Farnes news. The weather over the previous few days had taken its toll on the Grey Seal colonies but the exact extent of the damage will not be known until early in the week.
Following introductions to the island, and how to survive without running water and operating on gas lights, the BBC team soon went to work, capturing footage of Grey Seal pups and mothers bearing the brunt of the northerly storm.
The weather is such a major factor at this time of year on the islands and it really is a matter of life and death for the pupping Grey Seals. It’s not just the seals affected by the Mother Nature, as the very working lives of the resident wardens are restricted by the weather. Following a mild October, the weather was now showing its true colours in the North East of England, although it was bringing unexpected bonuses.
At this time of year, Little Auks which breed in the Arctic Circle can be driven down into the North Sea in large numbers and blimey, what numbers we had! The warden team spent the day counting Little Auks as they flew north past the islands and as dusk approached, the realisation that the British record had been smashed, was circulating the team. The previous record of 10,900 from Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire in January 1995 was gone, beaten, smashed. The Farnes had registered a staggering 28,803 north. The record was crushed. The birding community will be talking about this day for sometime to come.
So what a first day. Back home, back with the seals, back amongst the birds and back with a BBC team ready for an interesting week ahead…
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