The Puffins are back.....and lots more

It's been a busy week in Seahouses this week with all shops, cafe's, bar's and restaurants getting ready for Easter, and they are not the only ones. We have had our boats have been inspected by the MCA (Marine Coastguard Agency) for our out of water inspection a few weeks ago and then the in water inspection was done on Wednesday. We have ticked all the boxes so we are ready to go for the season and I can't wait. We are allowed to sail through the winter but we are limited to how many people we can take during that time, but when the season starts again we revert back to our full carrying capacity. This happens every year and some things we agree with but others we don't but it keeps everything right and the main thing safe.

The National Trust Rangers are also back on the Farnes and they are also getting ready for the new season with lots of work to be done. A few new faces have joined the team this year along with some old ones so it should be a good season.
They are working really hard at the moment fixing the board walk, cleaning the jetty along with a list of jobs as long as their arms. You see it's not all glamour for the rangers.

So there you have it, everyone has been really busy getting ready for the season and fingers crossed the weather will be kind to us and we all have a great season.

Myself and Andy have been back on the water this week, and it's been very cold but it's nice to be back out again and Serenity II needed a good run too. We also have brought our booking office back down the harbour after her annual paint job and that's about it, we are good to go.

While on the water this week we have seen lots of things happen from the weather changing very quickly, to one day thousands of seabirds and then the next day none.
I know the seabirds are nearly ready to settle but it will not be long that's for sure.
The cliff's were covered on Guillemots and the buzz about the place was unreal but today there was hardly a Guillemot to be seen. The Puffins also arrived back at the islands with a handful then within a few hours there were thousands. The Inner Farne was littered in Puffins today and they were all cleaning out their burrows, making sure it was all tidy and clean for the new chick arriving. We have also seen Guillemots, Puffins and Razorbills mating so it won't be long and we still have all the Terns to arrive yet, but when they do we will be in full swing once again. 

It's really nice to see the Islands buzzing once again and I know I see this every year but hand on my heart I honestly still love to see it every year and it never gets boring at all.

So there you have it, a little update about our life around the Farnes and hopefully I will bring you as many updates as I can this year.

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The Pinnacles 

 Staple Island full of Guillemots

  Staple Island with Brownsman in the back ground

 

 Turnstone and Purple Sandpipers

 Longstone Lighthouse

A very small seal but I wanted to show you her tail as she spread it out. This shows you why they can swim very very fast. 

Guillemots

Guillemots

This Kittiwake was in a real scrap

My crewman Andy, casually birding with one hand. Show off. 

 The board walk being fixed by the rangers

 The rangers doing a great job getting the Inner Farne ready for the new season

and of course the Farne Islands favorite the Puffin