The Farne Islands

It has been far too long since I have written my blog. So to get going again here are some photos from a fantastic day trip I had out to the Farne Islands earlier this summer to see two of my favourites, puffins and seals...along with a whole lot of other bird species. The Farne Islands boast a large seabird colony with 23 different species to be seen along with an abundance of grey seals. The Farnes are a cluster of Islands off the Northumberland coast and easily accessed by boat from Seahouses. Below are just some of the highlights of a great way to spend a day surrounded by wildlife!

Grey Seals

I have been scuba diving off the Farne Islands a number of times and loved it every time. The seals are plentiful and playful. I have had many a wonderful encounter with inquisitive seals nibbling my fins. I have experienced seals close enough to touch looking straight at me their big brown eyes. I call them underwater labradors and I feel very lucky to have been accepted into their habitat. However, I have always been in the water marvelling at the amazing underwater world and so it was time to actually land on the islands.

Young Seal basking in the sun

There are a number of boat companies that run trips out to the Farne Islands and you can choose to visit Inner Farne, Staple Island or both (during the summer season). I went out with Serenity boat tours  who were very helpful and knowledgeable and I would recommend booking in advance as they do get booked up.
 
As we approached the Farnes we cruised around the cliffs geting a closer look at all the bird life. The most dominant species being the Guillemot, Uria aalge. The guillemots nest in huge colonies all around the Islands.

Guillemot, Uria aalge

Guillemot, Uria aalge

Bird watcher's Paradise

After some time sailing around the islands admiring both the seals and the brids it was time to land on Inner Farne. I was excited about seeing the Arctic Tern, Sterna paradisaea as I have not encountered them before. As soon as we stepped off the boat and headed up the slipway we were greeted by arctic tern chicks looking very cute and fluffy. However, what comes with cute and fluffy chicks is very protective and conscientious parents.  

Arctic tern chick

Arctic Tern with Sand Eel

I had been warned about the arctic terns and took the advice to wear a hat to avoid being hit on the head as the terns swooped down upon the intruders. It still didn't prepare me for the spectacle in front of me. The terns were everywhere swooping and dive bombing - protecting their young and bringing back food to their nests.

I felt a bit of an intruder and did ask the rangers if they thought we have an effect on the terns as they were wasting all this energy on warning the humans away. The rangers thought that the terns would behave in this way anyway as they spend all day protecting their young against other birds. 

I moved on up the boardwalk to enjoy what I had really come to see, the Puffins, Fratercula arctica and I was not disappointed. I have always wanted to get one of those classic photos of a puffin with sand eels in its beak. Now I'm not a great photographer and I have a pretty basic camera but I just wanted to photograph these adorable looking birds.

Puffin showing off his catch of sand eels

The rangers explained that the puffins stand with a beak full of sand eels to show the other puffins how amazing they are at catching eels. I am sure the ladies are impressed, I was! So I apologise but here are more than necessary photos of puffins, but I took a lot more! It is a wonderful way to spend an hour or two just observing birds, watching their behaviour and trying to capture this through a lens.

Puffin proudly showing off his catch

The other quite prolific bird on the islands is the Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla. A lot of them still had chicks, gorgeous balls of fluff hunkering down on their nests to keep out of the wind. Some of the guillemots also had chicks and most were getting ready to fledge. I arrived mid July and it was getting close to the end of the breeding season. If you are planning a visit June and July are good months to go.

Kittiwake with chick

Guillemot, chick and Razorbill

One other striking bird we saw quite a lot of was the Razorbill, Alca torda and how it got it's name is quite self explanatory, although it is also known as the bird in the dinner jacket. 

Razorbill - showing off his bill!

We also saw a number of shags, Phalacrocorax aristoelis, often confused with the Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. The shag has a green sheen to its feathers and the cormorant is more blue and black. The shag's beak is also quite a vibrant orange and if you still can't tell them apart you are safe to say you saw a shag on Inner Farne as the cormorant does not nest there!

Shag and fluffy chick

Shag

So I will leave you with another seal photo and I hope this has given you a taste of what there is to see out on the Farnes. My little trip to the Farnes took me right back to when I visited the Galapagos Islands in 2009. It truly is a remarkable experience to see wildlife so close up and in its natural environment. Even if you are not an avid bird watcher you will enjoy a trip out to the Farnes. The other good time to visit is in October when the seal pups start to arrive and with it now being September I feel another visit coming on!!

The Big Moss Map Survey

For my Birthday I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day than learning a bit more about Sphagnum moss and how important it is to certain areas of our landscape. So I got up early and headed down to Edale in the Peak District to spend a fantastic day with a bunch of other volunteers and some very knowledgeable moss nerds Joe and Tom from the Moors for Future Project. 

A bit of background first...The Peak District was once home to an abundance of sphagnum moss and over many years ancient peatlands formed. However during the industrial revolution, the production of acid rain caused the land to become just too acidic for even these acid loving mosses and degradation of the land was the result. Peat bogs all over the country have also suffered due to harvesting of the peat and drainage of land, erosion by the weather, grazing and competition from non-native plants. 

Sphagnum capillifolium

Sphagnum moss is more interesting than you may think - honest...
In the UK there are 34 different species of sphagnum moss and they come in a variety of leaf shapes and the colours are pretty amazing too - ranging from bright red to bright green. In the Peak District there have been about 15 of these species recorded. In my local area, the Lake District we are lucky enough to have quite an abundance of sphagnum moss.

Sphagnum moss

Polytrichum commune pictured on the right here - often confused with sphagnum moss

So why is Sphagnum Moss so important?
Sphagnum moss plays a major part in the fomation of peat, which takes many years to form. In waterlogged conditions, decomposition of plant material is extremely slow or non existent. Waterlogged areas become anoxic - that is lacking in oxygen and so the decomposing bacteria cannot survive.  Sphagnum moss grows from the top and does not possess roots and as the bottom of the plant dies - it goes through this slow decomposition process until it eventually forms peat along with other organic plant material.

Why is Peat so Important?
Peat could be described as a carbon store and a historical record of environmental conditions over the years. The organic material that forms peat is made of carbon and this carbon is essentially gets locked up in the peat store. 

Climate Change and Sphagnum Moss
With ever increasing temperatures sphagnum moss could become more threatened. Sphagnum moss can hold about 20 times its own weight in water and over 15 degrees C it begins to degrade.

Why Survey Sphagnum Moss?
The Moors for the Future Project have been been working hard to restore the sphagnum moss to the blanket bog peatlands of the Peak District to try and protect the peat. They now want the general public to help to see if this has been successful. More information on how to do this can be found on the Moors for Future Project website

The basics of the survey is to find a path by using the website and a starting point to survey from. Record your start point and off you go. You need to survey up to 2 metres either side of the path. You measure the size of a patch found in 25 cm segments and write down the grid reference of where you found it. 
You need to specify the growth form : Hummock, carpet or wet hollow and then specify the habitat it is found in:
Bog, heath, grassland, flush or woodland. 
A photograph of the patch is handy to show the area it is found in and then a close up to help with species identification.

How do you identify Sphagnum Moss?
Sphagnum moss is often confused with Polytrichum moss (pictured above), which is another common type of moss found in both the lowlands and the uplands.
One distinguishing feature that is very useful in identifying sphagnum moss is that it has a capitulum at the top of the central stem. Identifying the individual species gets a little more complicated! There are some good identification guides out there but its best to use a hand lens and a good guide to ensure you get your identifaction correct. For the big moss map survey - the main thing is finding the clumps of sphagnum and then trying to identify the individual species.

Sphagnum moss

Feather moss - has no capitullum like Sphagnum moss

Common feather moss - no capitulum

Some of the most common sphagnum moss species include Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum denticulatum, Sphagnum papillosum and Sphagnum pallustre. And some of the best guides to identify these with are the Field Studies Council Guide or have a look at the British Bryological Society website and there are also some good books around.

Here's a couple of my favourite books and guides:

The great thing about sphagnum moss or in fact any species of moss is that it doesn't fly or run away and it is present pretty much all year round. This makes it a perfect species to go our and have some fun looking for and trying to identify...but beware it could become quite addictive! if you are interested in helping out just go to the Moor for the Future website, download some survey forms and get out there!