Source: Forbes

That's better, Neil doing well (Ciaran Hatsell)

The boys enjoying the seawatching and Grey Phalarope spectacular

Classic Farnes; Yellow-browed Warbler on Longstone Lighthouse (Graeme Duncan)

Good numbers of Short-eared Owls (Graeme Duncan)

Tuesday 11th October comments: And we’re off. The seal pups are starting to appear in greater numbers now, with ten having been born as of yesterday’s count. This means a total of seven have arrived since our last count only 3 days earlier, a sure sign that we’ll soon be right in the middle of pupping season and knee deep in the cute fur-balls! South Wamses is the bigger colony at the moment with six pups, four of which can be easily viewed resting on the shingle beach.

Our first pup is still doing very well, and now at 14 days old it will most likely be under a week before he moults into his adult coat and will be able to take to the water for the first time! Pups two and three are growing well and all three now have very attentive and protective mothers keeping an eye out for them.

In non-seal news, the islands have continued to have good wildfowl passage, with an adult Whooper Swan flying low over Inner Farne today, along with 213 Pink-footed Geese. Sunday’s moderate winds brought good movement of ducks, with large numbers of Wigeon, Teal and Scoter recorded flying across the sea, along with 23 Red-throated Divers. Three Long-tailed Ducks, a male a juvenile and female, showed well in the kettle on the 10th.

Sunday 9^th October highlights: Wigeon 651, Teal 304, Red-throated Diver 23, Great Northern Diver 3, Brent Goose 58, Barnacle Goose 82, Common Scoter 104, Velvet Scoter 2, Red-breasted Merganser 1.

Tuesday 11th October totals: Pink-footed Goose 213, Whooper Swan 2, Redwing 5, Song Thrush 3, Blackbird 1, Skylark 1, Dunnock 1, Robin 1, Wren 1, Goldcrest 1, Siskin 1, Peregrine 1.

Saturday 15th October comments: The Farnes never fails to disappoint! After the jubilation of yesterday’s Richard’s Pipit, the team were yet again jumping for joy after the discovery of another Farnes speciality: a Bluethroat! A stunning bird was found in the morning on Brownsman, briefly showing well but becoming very elusive at times! The Farnes has become one of the best places in Britain to see this Scandinavian stunner, especially during the autumn as of later years; today’s sighting marking the sixth consecutive year in which it has been recorded.

Inner Farne’s Richard’s Pipit was spotted briefly again today, sticking close to the species’ famously annoying behaviour of refusing to perch or pose on the ground for cameras.

With just a few other common migrants, these two birds really were the star of the show. The warden team are hoping that one or two more surprises will appear shortly to add to the birding bonanza that is the Farne Islands.

Tuesday 4th October comments: Old man westerly has awoken once more, with forecasts showing at least a week of strong winds from our least favourite direction! The change in direction has quashed any hopes of further rare migrants for the time being, and will put a stop to the passage of Scandinavian migrants such as Redwing and Song Thrush, as they get pushed into the European Continent.

Monday, however, brought another Siberian surprise to Brownsman island, as yet another Yellow-browed Warbler was found by the pond. This tame individual was viewed well by the two resident wardens. Inner Farne played host to the first Jack Snipe of the autumn, and a lingering Yellow-browed Warbler from the previous day.

A welcome addition was a second seal pup, discovered on the North Wamses, and most likely one day old. Our first seal pup is still going strong on the South Wamses, and has put on quite a bit of weight; he can often be seen being suckled by his attentive mother on the shingle beach. With many pregnant mothers now congregating on the islands, and bull seals hauling themselves onto the rocks keeping an eye out for potential opportunities, it won’t be long until the seal breeding season is well underway.

By this morning, most of the birds have gone from the islands, though a few Brambling and thrushes remain, along with Wheatear and Willow Warblers. The warden team is hoping that the westerly winds will break sooner rather than later, bringing an opportunity both for viewing migrant birds and for getting supplies and showers on the mainland!

Hopefully the strong westerly winds bring our head warden David, Jamie and all the Fair Isle team some rare American vagrants...

Monday 3th October totals: Redwing 13, Song Thrush 12, Brambling 2, Goldfinch 2, Redpoll 3, Linnet 23, Siskin 2, Blackcap 2, Whitethroat 1, Chiffchaff 5, Willow Warbler 7, Yellow-browed Warbler 1, Goldcrest 9, Pied Flycatcher 1, Skylark 4, Wheatear 10, Pied Wagtail 2, Meadow Pipit 23W, Tree Pipit 1, Reed Bunting 2, Jack Snipe 1, Dunlin 9, Manx Shearwater 1N, Kestrel 1, Peregrine 1.

Sunday 2nd October comments: Well, what a weekend we’ve had. Light easterly(ish) winds and damp misty conditions gave the islands perfect weather for a fall of migrants and it didn’t disappoint!

The Saturday morning sunrise dawned on our resident Kestrel roosting on the Brownsman sticks, surrounded by a plethora of migrant passerines including two male Blackcaps and 11 Brambling, whilst the ever-present female Peregrine watched from the south end of the island. It wasn’t long before the Kestrel was off hunting for butterflies and snatched a red admiral out of the air 5 meters away from the Brownsman team, an awesome sight!

As the (human) visitors arrived on Inner Farne, thrushes in their hundreds began to pour over the island, with over 700 Redwing and over 120 Song Thrush recorded both flying overhead and resting on the ground. The sight was a welcome bonus for the visiting public, who enjoyed the spectacle, a true Farnes experience! It truly was a sight to behold, a full-on demonstration of migration in action.

Then, as the team gave the island a proper walk-around after visitors left, a call went out on the radio. Not one, but three Yellow-browed Warblers had been found in the Lighthouse garden on Inner Farne! These tiny Siberian sprites were contentedly feeding around the dock stalks, providing excellent views to the admiring warden team. The team were relieved to finally get a fall of these beautiful birds after jealously watching them crop up on the Northumberland coast all autumn!

As if this wasn’t enough, a pipit was discovered on top meadow. After brief views led to the initial assumption of Tree Pipit, further glimpses allowed the team to confirm that it was in fact the fourth ever Olive-backed Pipit to be seen on the Farnes! The bird gave brief but good views, allowing all present to appreciate the finer points of its identification. Breeding in Siberia and wintering in south Asia, a few of these birds fly the wrong way due to winds and inexperience and end up on our coastline.

Sunday brought in more surprises, with Brownsman playing host to a variety of birds of prey. Two Kestrels, a Peregrine and two Short-eared Owls graced the skies above the outer group of islands, playing havoc with the passerines. The real star of the show, however, was the female Hen Harrier. This upland wanderer quartered above both Staple and Brownsman for most of the day, providing spectacular viewing, before finally heading west (once the mist had briefly cleared) over Inner Farne and on to the mainland. Later on in the day, although the Olive-backed Pipit was no longer present, the Yellow-browed Warbler count on Inner Farne increased to four. Cracking stuff!

Saturday 1^st October totals: Redwing 768, Song Thrush 129, Blackbird 16, Brambling 53, Redpoll 4, Snow Bunting 1, Reed Bunting 4, Tree Pipit 2, Olive-backed Pipit 1, Yellow-browed Warbler 3, Blackcap 2, Goldcrest 2, Red-throated diver 11, Velvet Scoter 1, Black Tern 1, Peregrine 2, Sparrowhawk 1, Kestrel 2, Great Skua 3.

Sunday 2^nd October totals: Redwing 92, Song Thrush 71, Blackbird 10, Brambling 21, Redpoll 11, Chaffinch 6, Linnet 4, Siskin 2, Reed Bunting 5, Tree Pipit 7, Meadow Pipit 125, Dunnock 4, Yellow-browed Warbler 4, Chiffchaff 4, Willow Warbler 6, Blackcap 6, Goldcrest 8, Robin 2, Skylark 8, Swallow 2, Wheatear 6, Lapwing 2, Black-tailed Godwit 1, Hen Harrier 1, Short-eared Owl 3, Kestrel 2, Great Northern Diver 1.

First of many (Graeme Duncan)

Sunny day brought out the butterflies (Ciaran Hatsell)

One full Peregrine - remains of a Corncrake discovered (Graeme Duncan)

First Brambling of the autumn (Jamie Coleman)

Spotted Flycatcher (Jamie Coleman)

Sunday 25th September comments: WHAT a day. It's been a quiet spell for the islands (despite the Curlew Sand and Long-tailed Skua's trying their best to cheer us up), as the westerly dominated winds have prevented very little migration though the islands. However today produced a flurry of birds with some noticeable highlights.

The morning had produced a reasonable movement of wildfowl past the islands whilst the first autumn Brambling dropped into Inner Farne. However, Brownsman was the place to be mid-afternoon, as the seasons first Icterine Warbler was discovered near the pond and remained until dusk, showing well to all the warden team.

However the day didn't all go according to plan, as the remains of a Peregrine 'kill' were discovered on the south end of Brownsman which proved to be a Corncrake. The 'kill' was very fresh and the bird must have arrived earlier in the day but sadly succumbed to the the resident raptor. Despite the disappointment of not seeing the bird alive, the wardens couldn't complain as it had proved to be a cracking day as the totals will show;

Today's sightings: Red-throated Diver 13N, Breant Goose 2N, Pink-footed Goose 93W, Shoveler 7N, Tufted Duck 4N, Wigeon 33N, Teal 68, Common Scoter 13N, Corncrake - 1 found dead - raptor kill on Brownsman, Wheatear 6, Whinchat 3, Robin 2, Icterine Warbler 1 on Brownsman, Blackcap, Chiffchaff 4, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Brambling 2 and Lesser Redpoll.