Bridled Tern: A 1am start, two ferry crossings and a 466 mile round trip from Chester to Manchester and then Manc to Farne.
But what a AWESOME day!
Once again we struck lucky as we arrived early and decided to jump ship and get the early 6am crossing from Seahouses to Farne.
The ferry crossing was brilliant we were surrounded by hundreds of Puffin,Guillemots and Kittiwake. We also spotted Gannets, Razorbills and the ships captain spotted two Manx Shearwater, but unfortunately I missed them.
As soon as the ferry landed we saw the bride tern roosting within a giant flock of Arctic Tern. The bird then flew right passed us and landed just a few meters away giving us some spectacular views.
Obviously Scott, Liam and I were made up and grinning from ear to ear, not only because this bird is the first twitchable bird since 1988 but the fact we bagged the bird so early as Mr Payne and co were booked on the 9am ferry and had to wait almost 4 hours before catching a glimpse of the bird.
Ringed Plover: Other highlights included this Ringed Plover which was happily watching all the twitchers marveling at the Bridled Tern.
Arctic Tern: The Farne Islands are famous for its summer breeding seabird colonies and are home to over 100,000 pairs of breeding seabirds, including 55,000+ pairs of puffins.
Although I think its the Arctic Tern colony which the Farne's are most famous for,they can be tolerant of people however, that may not be quite the right word for the Arctic Terns.
They have a very aggressive side as they try to protect their nests from anyone who comes too close.
They do this by dive-bombing unsuspecting folk like this ranger and pooing all over their heads and shoulders as they pass through their nesting colonies, not something to be forgotten in a hurry!
