Seabird colony to reopen to public after two-year closure due to avian flu

An internationally-important seabird colony which shut to human visitors for two years due to bird flu is reopening this week.

Wildlife watchers will be able to get a closer look at the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast where 200,000 seabirds make their home.

Visitors have been restricted from going ashore for the past two years after an outbreak of avian flu which killed at least 6,000 birds in 2022 and around 3,650 last year.

The lower number of deaths has given experts some hope that the colony had developed some kind of immunity.

The last two years have been really tough, but we are keeping everything crossed that the birds are starting to build natural resilience to bird flu

Sophia Jackson, National Trust

Now, the first migrating seabirds are beginning to return to the islands to breed. They will depart once their chicks are fully fledged, at the end of the summer.

Visitors, who have only been able to watch from boats for the past two years, were due to be welcomed back on Monday, but poor weather meant there were no sailings from Seahouses.

The National Trust manages the Farnes with wildlife rangers looking after the puffins, terns, kittiwakes and other species.

Boats to the Farne Islands sail out of Seahouses, Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Owen Humphreys

Sophia Jackson, area ranger for the National Trust, said: “The last two years have been really tough, but we are keeping everything crossed that the birds are starting to build natural resilience to bird flu.

“We will continue to closely monitor the birds for signs of the disease over the coming weeks, in the hope that we can remain open for the whole season.

“But the health of our precious seabirds has to be our priority, so we do have a ‘closure plan’ that we’ll implement, should bird flu return.”

Inner Farne is the only island to open to visitor landings this year while the National Trust trials limited opening.