Watch puffins and other seabirds up close in the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland Coast and find out how you can help protect these precious birds and their habitat for generations to come. Our new wildlife cameras are streaming live from one of the busiest seabird colonies in the UK – so everyone can experience the bustling spectacle of the breeding season as it unfolds.
Our new puffin and clifftop webcams are streaming live every day from dawn until dusk during the 2025 breeding season – until the puffins leave the islands, typically at the end of July or beginning of August.
The Farne Islands are home to 200,000 seabirds, including around 50,000 breeding puffin pairs, who journey back to the islands each spring to breed and raise their chicks, called pufflings.
The puffin webcam offers a burrow-side view of puffins for the first time. You'll feel part of the colony as you watch them go about their daily lives courting, nesting and providing for their young. You can also spot other nesting seabirds on our clifftop webcam.
Wildlife cameras are a great way to see these birds up close in their natural environment, wherever you are.
We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as this content may introduce additional cookies. You may want to read the Google YouTube terms of service and privacy policy before accepting.
Get to know the puffins and their behaviour and experience life by the burrows with our puffin webcam. Look out for parading puffins and ruffled feathers as males defend their territory and puffin pairs 'billing’ – rubbing their bills together to reinforce their bonds. Stay tuned and you may be lucky enough to see young pufflings towards the end of the season.
We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as this content may introduce additional cookies. You may want to read the Google YouTube terms of service and privacy policy before accepting.
Keep up with all the comings and goings from the Farne Islands' clifftops during the 2025 breeding season. The clifftops are a flurry of activity, packed with birds of different species at this time of year. Guillemots are taking centre stage on our clifftop camera, but you may also spot puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills, shags and various species of gull amongst the hustle and bustle of the crowds.
April to August is puffin season, when the islands come alive with the sights and sounds of one of the largest puffin breeding colonies in the UK. Puffins leave once their young have fledged, and the young pufflings will spend their next few years at sea before returning to their birthplace on the islands to breed themselves. A reminder of how crucial the Farne Islands are to the success of the UK's population of these charismatic little birds.
Thanks to our members, donors and supporters, we've been caring for the Farne Islands for 100 years. During this time, bird numbers here have soared, making it one of the best places to see seabirds in the UK.
But this fragile ecosystem is facing growing threats from climate change, pollution, habitat erosion and disease.
As the climate and the ecosystems that shape the islands change, we need your support to help us learn more about the reserve and protect its wildlife for future generations.
By donating you'll be helping us to continue caring for this remote stretch of coast, ensuring our dedicated staff and volunteers can carry out vital work year-round, to help keep them a special place for visitors and wildlife.
Your donation will help to protect puffins and other seabirds, as well as thousands of grey seal pups born every year at this internationally important reserve.
could help us build shelters to protect our tern chicks from harsh sunlight or extreme rain
A wildife haven only 2.5 miles off the Northumberland Coast, the Farne Islands are made up of clusters of islands forming the Inner and Outer Farne Islands.
Together, the islands are home to a breeding colony of 200,000 seabirds of 23 different species, including eider duck, guillemot, razorbill, Arctic tern, kittiwake and puffin.
The islands are designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) as well as a Special Protected Area (SPA) and Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in recognition of the internationally significant populations of breeding seabirds and grey seals they host each year.
The remote location, lack of ground predators, the availability of food and suitable nesting areas, as well as vital conservation work and research has allowed seabird populations here to thrive.
As summer turns to autumn, another of the islands’ famous residents take centre stage as seal pupping season gets underway. The Farne Islands are home to one of the largest Atlantic grey seal colonies on the east coast of England, with around 2.5 per cent of the pups born annually in Britain being born on the islands.
With your help we can continue caring for the Farne Islands, its history and wildlife for future generations. Donate today to protect the puffins and other wildlife and help us fund vital conservation, monitoring and research work.
Every year, thousands of puffins come to the places in our care to breed. Discover more about what they eat, when they breed and the best time to see them.
Find out more about how we care for Farne Islands in Northumberland, from repairing the boardwalks to surveying seals and ringing birds to track their movements.
Climate change presents serious challenges for nature across the UK. Find out how wildlife fared through the seasons in 2024, and what we're doing to address climate and nature crises.
Get closer to nature by reading our guides on how to spot wildlife, facts about ancient trees and tips on identifying birdsong, plus many more activities.