The National Trust has begun its annual grey seal census on the Farne Islands, recording the season’s first pups and using drones (in use since 2018) to improve counts while minimising disturbance. More than 3,000 pups are expected this season. Data from the survey will be analysed by Newcastle University with results due next spring. The colony has been monitored continuously since 1952, forming the world’s longest-running grey seal study.
First Grey Seal Pups Counted as Farne Islands Annual Census Gets Under Way
The National Trust has begun its annual grey seal census on the Farne Islands, recording the season’s first pups and using drones (in use since 2018) to improve counts while minimising disturbance. More than 3,000 pups are expected this season. Data from the survey will be analysed by Newcastle University with results due next spring. The colony has been monitored continuously since 1952, forming the world’s longest-running grey seal study.
01:18 PM, 11/13/2025Environment
First grey seal pups counted as Farne Islands census begins
The National Trust has begun its annual census of grey seals on the Farne Islands, recording the season’s first pups at one of England’s largest colonies. The count helps monitor population size and health, and provides data to shape conservation efforts for the species.
The charity has used small unmanned drones since 2018 to obtain more accurate counts while keeping disturbance to wildlife to a minimum. Drone imagery allows rangers to spot pups that might otherwise be overlooked and enables rapid image analysis with less impact on colonies.
Sophia Jackson, area ranger: "Each pup born here is a testament to the conservation work we do and to the resilience of this species in the face of environmental challenges, particularly rising temperatures and warming seas."
The survey will run through the autumn. Once complete, the data will be analysed by Newcastle University, with results expected next spring. More than 3,000 seal pups are anticipated this season, underscoring the importance of long-term monitoring.
Visitors can observe the seals from licensed boat trips, but landing on the islands is restricted during the pupping season to avoid disturbing mothers and pups.
Long-term study
The National Trust notes that annual monitoring of the Farne Islands colony began in 1952 under Grace Hickling MBE, an ornithologist and naturalist whose decades of work established what is now the world’s longest-running grey seal population study. Her research helped shape modern conservation practices in Northumberland and beyond.