Northumberland tourist attraction to reopen to visitors after two years
19.02.2024 - 10:45
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A bird habitat will welcome visitors again after closing due to bird flu. The Farne Islands in Northumberland, home to around 200,000 seabirds like puffins, Arctic terns, and kittiwakes, will reopen this spring. For the first time in two years, visitor boats can land on these islands from March 25.
Every year at the end of March, the birds come back to the islands to breed and leave once their chicks are fully grown at summer's end. Two years ago, bird flu hit the colony hard, with more than 6,000 dead birds found. In 2023, the disease was still there but the number of dead birds fell by about 40%, giving hope that the birds were getting some immunity.
However, people were not allowed to land on the Farnes to protect the birds and stop bird flu from spreading accidentally.
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Nature lovers could still watch the wildlife from boat trips, but they couldn't land. Now, that restriction will be lifted next month. Rangers will keep an eye on the islands for signs of bird flu and might restrict landings again later in the breeding season.
Sophia Jackson, who looks after the area for the National Trust, shared: "We have been closely monitoring the impact of the disease on our breeding populations as part of international research into bird flu."
She explained that this research shows how some birds and places in the UK have been hit hard by the sickness, which makes it really important to keep looking after them.
Sophia added: "Like at other sites, it seems that the disease has declined in our birds, although we will continue to closely monitor them as the breeding season starts again."
This year, only Inner Farne will be open for people to visit