'Puffin cams' to livestream the antics of Farne Islands seabirds with plans for a UK tour
Last year 250,000 people tuned in to watch the everyday lives of the puffins and guillemots
Bird lovers will get a front row seat to the antics of 200,00 puffins at a nature reserve off the Northumberland coast.
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The Farne Islands are home to around 200,000 seabirds, including puffins, Arctic terns, guillemots and kittiwakes.
From today, viewers will be able to watch their everyday lives thanks to 'puffin cams' dotted around the Nature Reserve as the breeding season gets underway.
Another species taking a starring role on the live camera feeds will be the guillemots, with a second camera trained to capture their antics on the cliffs where they roost and nest, the National Trust said.
Laura Knowles, visitor operations manager for the National Trust, said she was thrilled to bring back the puffin cams for the second time after more than 250,000 people tuned in to watch last year.
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"It was wonderful to see how deeply the live stream connected viewers to the Farnes, especially those who may never have the chance to visit in person," Knowles said.
There are also plans for a national tour, with the puffins set to make appearances in city centres including Newcastle, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Bristol as part of the Festival of Nature.
The nature reserve was badly hit by bird flu in 2022 and 2023, when rangers collected nearly 10,000 dead birds across the two years.
The islands saw fewer than ten confirmed cases during 2025, giving cautious hope that immunity is strengthening within the colonies.
Sophia Jackson, Area Ranger for the National Trust on the Farne Islands, said: “We’ve been closely monitoring the impact of bird flu as part of international research into the disease.
"In 2022 we recorded over 6,000 dead birds, and more than 3,500 in 2023. Comparing that to fewer than ten in 2025 suggests things may be improving, but we can never let our guard down.
“We’ll be completing our annual seabird counts in June, which will also help us understand the impact of the recent seabird wreck following winter storms.”
The charity will also be keeping an eye out to spot puffins fitted with tags last year as part of its colour ringing programme to better understand puffin survival and movement.
Ben McCarthy, Head of Nature Conservation at the National Trust said: “The stormy start to the year with storm Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra caused floods and devastation for both humans and wildlife. The series of storms battered the Atlantic coast of the UK and Europe.
"Long term monitoring collected through the Seabird Monitoring Programme clearly demonstrates the impact of such stormy weather on seabird’s ability to feed, with resulting loss in condition and, in worst case scenarios, so called ‘wrecks’ where birds are washed ashore dead or dying.
“We don’t yet know what this means for the puffin and other seabirds which returning to breed on the Farnes this year, but this makes these counts even more important when put in context with the more extreme weather our wildlife is also battling against due to climate change.”