Puffin Colony – LIVE from Farne Islands

If you are enjoying this Window to the Wild, help us restore nature with a donation: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/national-trust-nature-appeal

The Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast are home to 200,000 seabirds, including around 50,000 breeding puffin pairs, who journey back to the UK islands each spring to breed and raise their chicks, called pufflings. This camera allows you to get up close to the colony, watching them go about their daily lives courting, nesting and providing for their young.

Please note, this is a real-time wildlife camera and viewers may see fighting, mating or scenes of a distresing nature. While we monitor the birds closely, we have a non-intervention policy and cannot enter the colony once nesting has begun. Please note, due to the remote location, breaks in the streaming service due to power failure may occur.

With thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies, for supporting this project through their Digital Accelerator, allowing us to improve our technology infrastructure so we can help you connect with the UK's nature and heritage.

As day breaks, catch the sunrise and watch these charming birds – also known as 'clowns of the sea' or 'sea parrots' thanks to their colourful appearance – go about their business before they head out to sea to feed. Evenings are lively too, as the puffins return and settle down for the night and sunset tries its best to steal the show on sunnier days. You might spot puffin pairs 'billing' – rubbing their bills together to reinforce their bonds. Stay tuned during and you may even be lucky enough to spot young pufflings towards the end of the season – at the end of July and beginning of August – when they fledge the nest. They'll spend the next few years at sea before returning to their birthplace to breed themselves.

With your support we can continue to care for this remote stretch of coast, where you can also look out for kittiwakes, razorbills and different gull species. You may even spot birds of prey like kestrel, merlin or peregrine falcon. If you want to visit the Farne Islands in person, the best way to do this is by joining one of the boat trips from Seahouses harbour. Tour boats leave the harbour each day whenever weather permits.

Your donations help protect the Farne Islands for puffins and other wildlife and for people to visit. Your support will help provide a year-round ranger presence on the Farne Islands – crucial for protecting and monitoring the wildlife, particularly puffins.

This live stream offers an intimate window into one of the UK's most important seabird colonies. Watch puffins at their breeding grounds throughout the spring and summer season, from early courtship displays through to chick-rearing and fledging in late July and early August. The remote Farne Islands provide a pristine habitat for thousands of these iconic seabirds, along with razorbills, kittiwakes, and birds of prey.