Landing on the Farne Islands to be restricted in efforts to protect precious seabird colonies

The National Trust has today announced that visitors won’t be able to land on the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, at the start of the 2023 season due to fears that Avian Influenza (bird flu) will rip through the seabird colonies once more.

Last year, while the islands were off limits to wildlife enthusiasts, rangers contributed to national monitoring and research into the impacts of bird flu on the breeding populations and removed over 6,000 carcasses of birds killed by the virus. Seabirds including the guillemot and kittiwake were impacted the most, with 3,542 and 818 dying respectively, due to the disease. These numbers are thought to be just the tip of the iceberg as many dead birds in the densely packed cliff colonies will have fallen into the sea.

With the virus persisting in the wider environment, and impacting wild birds throughout the winter across the UK, the conservation charity believes it is prudent to restrict access to visitors seeking to land on Inner Farne and Staple islands. However, sail around tours of the islands offered by local boat operators will continue to run.

The decision has been taken ahead of the main breeding season which will see species such as puffins, guillemots, and arctic terns returning to nest.

Harriet Reid, lead ranger for the Farne Islands said: “Avian Influenza was rife on the islands last year and it was very distressing to see these precious, threatened seabirds impacted by the disease.

“Sadly, there is a strong likelihood that we will see thousands of cases of bird flu again this year, and we are gearing up to monitor the situation very closely.

“Many of the species we care for are rare and struggling already due to climate change. Therefore, we want to try to mitigate the impact of this disease by limiting human access, and limit disturbance - which can cause stress to sick birds and potentially increase the transmission of bird flu - to see if this will help make a difference to the spread of the disease. This will help us to decide whether we can open later in the season or not.”

The Farne Islands is a National Nature Reserve and home to approximately 200,000 seabirds including guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and shags in addition to arctic terns and puffins. The National Trust has cared for the Farne Islands for just under 100 years, and there are no records of anything so potentially damaging to the already endangered seabird colonies.

Ben McCarthy, Head of Nature Conservation and Restoration Ecology at the National Trust said: “The recent impact of Avian Influenza on our wild birds is unprecedented.

“As threatened seabirds return to their breeding sites they become more susceptible to infection due to the high densities in these spectacular colonies. We are actively participating in international research efforts to understand the long-term impacts of this pernicious disease and are doing everything we can to mitigate the impact on the Farne Islands and our other seabird sites we manage.”

National Trust rangers will continue to manage vegetation and improve nesting habitat on the islands to ensure the birds have the best opportunity to breed successfully. They will also monitor the various bird species to understand how many have retuned, the numbers of breeding pairs and how many chicks fledge.

While visitors are unable to land the Islands, local boat companies continue to offer a range of sail around tours for visitors to experience the magical nature and marine life around the Farne Islands.