The National Trust has brought puffin cam back to the farne islands for a second season as seabirds return to breed. The live cameras are running again this season, and visitor boats are now landing on the islands after the seasonal reopening.
The setup gives viewers a front-row view of about 200,000 seabirds on the islands. Last year, the live cams drew over a quarter of a million views, while a second camera is now trained on the guillemots that roost and nest on the cliffs.
Laura Knowles on the return
Laura Knowles, the National Trust’s visitor operations manager, said: “The breeding season is always a special time of year as our ranger teams gear up to monitor the birds daily over the spring and summer months.” She added: “We’re thrilled to bring puffin cam back for a second season.”
Knowles also said: “Last year the live cams attracted over a quarter of a million views, and we were overwhelmed by the incredible messages from people across the world who tuned in to watch the puffins go about their daily lives.”
Bird counts next month
Rangers will conduct bird counts next month to assess how the species have fared after bird flu and storms. Sophia Jackson, the area ranger for the National Trust on the Farne Islands, said: “We’ve been closely monitoring the impact of bird flu as part of international research into the disease.”
Jackson said the charity recorded over 6,000 dead birds in 2022 and more than 3,500 in 2023, after bird flu hit the colonies hard in both years. She added: “Comparing that to fewer than 10 in 2025 suggests things may be improving, but we can never let our guard down.”
Storm damage on the Farnes
Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation at the National Trust, said storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra caused “floods and devastation for both humans and wildlife” and battered the Atlantic coast of the UK and Europe at the beginning of the year. He said long-term monitoring through the Seabird Monitoring Programme shows stormy weather can reduce seabirds’ ability to feed and, in the worst cases, leave birds washed ashore dead or dying.
McCarthy said: “We don’t yet know what this means for the puffin and other seabirds which are returning to breed on the Farnes this year, but this makes these counts even more important when put in context with the more extreme weather our wildlife is also battling against due to climate change.”
