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Simple,The Farne Islands are one of the most important breeding seabird colonies in The British Isles. Thousands, & I do mean thousands, of seabirds can be seen AND more importantly for us, photographed at obscenely close distances. To put it into context, 40,000 plus pairs of Puffins for starters!!

Puffins - The first Puffins start to return in Early April. Puffin numbers increase until by early July they are at their peak with all the non breeders and juveniles present.

(Puffins by the thousands!!)

Eider - By mid May Eider duck chicks will be hatching. (Most Eider will have left the Islands by the end of the Month).

Mid June sees the hatching of young Kittiwake and Guillemot.

By early July most of the young Kittiwake, Guillemot and Arctic and Sandwich Tern will have fledged and left the Islands. By late July all the puffins will be gone.

I went in Mid June & I can honestly say, that not only were all the birds still present but the activity, was AWESOME. Do...consider visiting in mid to late June if flight shots of Puffins, Guillemots etc really float your boat.

Homage Step One - Waiting for the boats over to The Islands - Seahouses Harbour, Northumberland.

Boats leave from Seahouses Harbour at set times. ...These trips are popular with bird photographers & because they carry camera gear, fewer people can be accommodated on each boat. Do...check times and pre-book.

I hadn't photographed Eiders before, so when I spotted this chap I got excited and approached it very slowly and carefully. But a bit of my sandwich humbly offered proved to be all that was needed to get him & his buddies within feet of me.

Maybe... you haven't got this close to them yet..I hadn't (As a bird photographer).

What I didn't prepare myself adequately for was the shear spectacle of seeing thousands of seabirds..so mind-blowingly close. It started on the boat where flight shot photo chances were put forward on a plate! There were birds everywhere..left, right, over, on, & under the water. It was so bad that I was shaking with excitement as my camera worked constantly on the masses of birds. By the time we were about to land, I had taken over 300 photos. (I could have taken more, but the boat was packed & my field of view was limited). 30 minutes into my Farnes experience & I was in a bird photographer's Nirvana...excellent, & the main course still to come! Were my 11 (eleven) 1GB memory cards & a 40GB portable hard drive going to be enough?...I was concerned.

(Guillemots were plentiful on the boat trip...expect birds to left, to the right, in front, behind, & over..& by the hundreds & thousands!)

Do...be prepared whilst on the boat. Have a handheld lens on the end of your camera. Wait for the inevitable, then let rip.

Maybe...you should warn the poor birder sat beside you that in the very near future you are going to go crazy with your camera.

Don't...have less than 2GB worth of memory card available in your pocket, I was surprised just how many photos I took on the boat.

A bit shaky on my feet due to my blissful environment, we landed on the first Island. ..Staple. Here I photographed Puffins, Guillemots & Shags in particular. Do...take your time, I was one of the last people to set foot on Staple. While waiting to show my National Trust member's card to the wardens, I realised that I was bang in the middle of the Guillemot equivalent to Heathrow main runway, I felt it would be rude not to take their photos, so I did for ten superb minutes!

So I joined in as there were simply thousands of flying Puffins bombarding us..never diminishing!!!...Heaven.

Super close-up photography is great. Do...take a very low focal length lens. I used a 70-200 zoom & taking it all the way back to 70mm was necessary many times.

Guillemots were congregated in one area of the Island & I watched them as they came in off the sea.

I knew what was coming, but some didn't. The Arctic Terns on the boardwalk were very protective parents & would draw blood if you didn't protect yourself. Do...come prepared!

(Mark Wilson, another one of my pals, getting the usual Artic Tern treatment – brilliant photo by Ken Plows – The two people to Mark’s right lost their smile shortly afterwards as the protective parent turned its attention onto them)

(Ken with a fabulous Arctic Tern on his head) Brilliant photo (one of my favourites) - By Mark Wilson - www.rusticolus.co.uk

Within minutes we were inundated with birds...first on many photographer's hit-list were the Arctic Terns...I'll say it again..SO SO close!

On a serious note - during my stay, a visitor had mistakenly stepped on a Tern chick, so Do...be so careful as you walk around the Tern areas.

Near to the middle of The Island Sandwich Terns had their own colony. Flight shot by Ken Plows.

I went to the end of The Island & found YET MORE 'within touch' Puffins at ridiculously close range. So, I photographed them - portrait style & my favourite - in flight...nice!

It got so bad (constant Puffin photo opportunities!!), that even I had to look at other birds there, & beside my feet were a pair of Razorbills. Even now, I still feel privileged and amazed that these wild birds put up with us humans & allow us to enter their world at such a sensitive time...brilliant.

The day was nearly over & I set back to pick up the boat, when I almost missed this beautiful Eider duck. Again, allowing me so close..quite moving really. If you want to photograph Eiders Do...check Inner Farne - near the small buildings close to the boardwalk is a good place as are the central vegetated areas close to the walkways. Don't...leave it too late in the season (by Late June they'll have moved off the Island..indeed, mid June, when I was there, only a handful were still present).

So there it was. My Farnes Homage was over for the day (Five more happy day trips followed..by the end of which I was drained, exhilerated & so so pleased). I worked my Canon 1D Mark 2 so hard that the shutter mechanism broke on the penultimate day!!

If this is your first visit, Don't...book an afternoon only visit. Do...go for the all day trip. You really do need every second as the experience is over so quickly.

Do...consider becoming a member of The National Trust before your visit. Why? You will pay The Trust £10.80 in landing fees per day. I went for six days = £66. The Trust's current membership fee for me is £40. So I saved £26 & also enjoyed the other benefits of being a member (Free access to their sites, including parking fees etc).

Do...your homework before your visit. I've tried to give general advice but other issues such as the sea conditions, may mean that the boats will not go out to the Islands. See my links below.

Don't...take loads of heavy gear, as a tripod and massive lenses are not needed. I took my 500mm one of the days there and it was a disaster.

Do...take as much memory & battery power as you can. Even the most restrained photographer will have their finger on the button constantly...trust me!

Don't...worry that you won't come away with great photographs because you will!!

If you visit The Farnes & are disappointed in any way, I will eat the hat I wore when going through the Arctic Tern ordeal!!