Farne Islands to be closed to spring visitors after 'unprecedented' impact of avian flu

The Farne Islands will not open to visitors this spring in anticipation of bird flu ravaging breeding seabird colonies, after an “unprecedented” spate of deaths last year.

- Phoebe Weston

The rocky outcrop of islands off the coast of Northumberland has been looked after by the National Trust since 1925 and there are no records of so many endangered seabirds dying at once. More than 6,000 carcasses were picked up last year, which is believed to be the tip of the iceberg.

Guillemots were worst affected, with more than 3,500 carcasses collected, followed by more than 800 kittiwakes. Rangers are particularly concerned about the small but vulnerable population of sandwich terns. There are an estimated 330 pairs nesting, and last year the bodies of about 300 adults and chicks were picked up.

“We suspect bird flu is going to hit us in a similar way to how it did last year,” said Harriet Reid, lead ranger for the Farne Islands, which are a National Nature Reserve because of their remarkable seabird colonies.