AssetID: 54640132
Headline: First Puffins Of 2025 Return To Northumberland's Farne Island
Caption: The first puffins of the year have arrived on the Farne Islands in Northumberland. The birds return to the islands, two miles off Seahouses on the Northumberland Coast in the spring, departing once their chicks are fully fledged, at the end of the summer. The seabirds returning to the islands and those that live there all the year round, remained free of bird 'flu' in 2024, after being hit hard by the disease in 2022 and 2023 when rangers collected nearly 10,000 dead birds (6,000, and 3,647 in the respective years), giving some hope that immunity is building within the colony. 2025 marks 100 years of the 28-island archipelago being in the Trust's care and visitors' boats will be landing on the Farne Islands from April in time for the start of the breeding season, with bookings now open with boat trip operators. The Farne Islands are a National Nature Reserve and are an internationally important home to approximately 200,000 seabirds. Inner Farne will be the only island to open to visitor landings this year.
Keywords: Natural World,Farne Islands,puffin arrival 2025,Inner Farne reopening,National Trust,Laura Knowles,Sophia Jackson,bird flu monitoring,puffin breeding season,centenary of National Trust care,seabird colony,Farne Islands wildlife,seal pupping season,William Shiel,Billy Shiel’s Boat Trips,visitor landings,St Cuthbert’s Chapel,Inner Farne lighthouse,Pele Tower,Arctic terns,kittiwakes,seabird conservation,Northumberland Coast,Seahouses,UK birdwatching spots,boat tour bookings,puffin migration,UK coastal wildlife,seabird sanctuary,bird flu resilience,spring wildlife arrivals,eco-tourism UK,Farne Islands tours,National Nature Reserve UK,puffin nesting season,coastal bird colonies,wildlife viewing experiences,marine conservation UK,British island nature reserves,seabird breeding grounds,nature tourism England
PersonInImage: